I was another lucky enough to beta these. They are freaking awesome, and quickly became my go to clamps. I have used them for working holding while surfacing a work piece, V carving, and pocketing with both upcut and downcut endmills. They just freaking work! As (themillertree) said; "do yourself a favor and buy these!
I used the clamps as side stops with the grub screws for work holding for this.
how’d i miss out on the beta test?
The same way I did unfortunately. Guess we need to pay better attention to this forum!
Ordered an aluminum set for work. Prob gonna open them up for 1/4"
Brass tipped versions would be pretty slick for non sparking oops abilities 
They should be ready for 1/4" hardware already. It was only the prototypes that needed to be opened up. You should be good to go.
That’s actually a different project but in short we only do a small limited no’s of betas.
As and when they go up they get filled super quickly. People are chosen at random from those that reply.
I am looking for ways to encompass wider groups of members going forwards though.
Such a top class design, the angled grub screw and toothed flat end is an awesome idea!
I was thrown by the dustboot design, I was definitely expecting a z-independent design. however hearing about the performance of the C3D boot, and the simplicity of it, i’m keen to try it.
@Luke I’m still holding your beer though
I opt for the stainless steel vs the aluminum version. On this pic, you will notice that the bottom of the screw head digs into the aluminum recessed shoulder. I find this to be problematic long term. A washer between the screw head and clamp would resolve this issue but I doubt a washer would fit in the clamp.
McMaster-Carr has wave washers that would be a tight fit on the shaft of the screw, but would work for 1/4-20 SHCS fasteners. 0.252" ID x 0.375" OD
I clipped some nylon washers to fit — the production clamps are a bit more generous here.
Waiting for the arrival of my SS clamps. I will have hands on to see how I can prevent the screw head from gouging the clamps.
Good, keep it cold please
Totally agree about the grub screws they are genius and make workholding straightforward especially when the thing you are making is going to be cut out from the stock.
@Luke I have a beer with your name on it or a coffee if you prefer:)
I laser cut some stainless washers to fit. The aluminum version definitely needs them.
Can you share a pic or two …Thanks
Sure. They are just washers though. I made them a tight fit for 1/4-20 SHCS for the ID and about .010 smaller that the clamp slot for the OD.
I’ll take some pics and give measurements when I get home.
Are you also seeing the issue of the screw head gouging the gator clamp?
Your thoughts if the washer helps prevent this issue.
I’ve been using a nylon washer (clipped along two edges since I have pre-production ones with a narrow slot) and it’s eliminated the marking.
The washers definitely help. Keep in mind, these are prototype clamps, and the slots were too small for 1/4" hardware. The aluminum clamp in the first two pictures, the slot was opened up by hand with a Dremel. If you really tighten down on the aluminum clamps without a washer, they can gall pretty bad. The washers pretty much eliminate the galling.
I cut these at .255 ID, .405 OD
