Carbide 3D Shop (Workholding Accessories)

Looking at the Black Friday sales in the C3D shop and was looking at the Gator Tooth, Tiger Claw and Lock Stops and was wondering if they work well with the hybrid table of the Shapeoko Pro. The Gator Tooth is like the green hulk clamps that come with the machine so no worries there however I’m wondering about the Tiger Claw and Lock Stops, are they a good pairing for the Shapeoko Pro?

Edit: Most of the videos I’ve seen for the Tiger Claw and Lock Stops are on the MDF spoilboards with the threaded inserts and not the hybrid table / t-track system so if they are lined up front to back do they drop below the MDF slats and sit on the aluminum extrusions and if yes do they still have enough to grip the material properly?

I have used all 3 of the c3d clamps, stops and they worked great. I have a 2" spaced spoil board with 1/4-20 tee nuts so cannot comment on the hybrid table. But the gator and tiger clamps work well with the stops. I have not used the new green plastic clamps so dont know about them.

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I’m not using clamps much but if they can hold that aluminium plate while the HDM is milling it, in that position (sitting on the aluminium extrusion between slats), you should be ok using them on the Pro like that

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That’s exactly what I was looking for, thanks for the picture and now it’s clear they fit into each slot between the strips of wasteboard and have plenty of height to securely grab onto the stock. Probably a good idea if they added such pictures to the shop.

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Some folks drill a sea of holes in their slats and install threaded inserts (like they would be on a traditional wasteboard), to have even more clamping options, so Tiger Claw clamps can also be used on the surface of the slats in that case. Having clamps that sit below stock surface is very useful in any case, especially if you do a lot of surfacing

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Agree, for the Tiger Claw I think I’ll go for the standard one (not the compact) to make sure that they will sit over two of the slats if they are oriented left to right. I think in this case the compact Tiger Claw may be problematic because while trying to bolt it down I feel like it would not sit flat as it gets pulled down into the groove of the t-track.

Edit:… while the other end on the clamp rests on top of the wasteboard slat.

For the threaded inserts I haven’t felt a need for it yet throughout the entire table surface but I’m definitely considering it for the most left and right slat to secure stop blocks/clamps for stock that uses up the entire cutting area as there is no usable t-track beyond this area. Also maybe across the front to secure a corner square.

I’m HUGE on workholding being more important than most people think. Honestly, the C3D Tigers, Gators, Lock Stops, and the newer composite ones are awesome. I have used Tigers pushing against Gators to pick up a whole SO3 XXL with HDZ and extrusion bed with a 2x4 Raiders of the Lost Ark style. they hold that tight. :slight_smile: I really hype them up and have a lot at home. They work awesome on the hybrid bed SO4 and SOPro machines I use. I also have threaded inserts in the slats to give more options.

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100% agree. After my HDZ upgrade I was lining up a spindle upgrade but figured it was a wiser investment to first improve my workholding options. A spindle will not serve me well if my stock being held in place is still using questionable clamping methods due to my limited options at the moment. So I did order a variety workholding clamps yesterday.

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It’s the HDM release vid, but that is definitely a Pro.

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Correct :slight_smile:
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The tiger claws are good in the hybrid T-slot bed as they are constrained from any lateral movement and you can put another bolt behind it if needed.

On my SMW aluminum threaded table they are kinda of hard to work with. The smooth bed lets them twist and slide when trying to tighten them. I own 2 sets and look forward to using them on my HDM with a few stoppers.

I got some 5" x 4" x 1/4" thick aluminum angle for cheap at my local metal surplus shop that was going to be made into stepper mounts on my Diy Cnc but the HDM removed the need for that machine so I plan to mill it into several sets of gator clamps instead.

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