Two in two days... Introducing the Gator Tooth Clamp

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.



They just freaking work, and they work well!

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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!

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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 :grin:

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

EDIT: Or just some Nylon washers.

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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

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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:)

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I laser cut some stainless washers to fit. The aluminum version definitely needs them.

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Can you share a pic or two …Thanks

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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.
image

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.

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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

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