Customer Reviews and Photos for:
4-1/4'' Reach Hold-Down Clamp
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Average Rating:
1.9
(21 customer reviews)
$13.99
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1) Submitted by
Bryan, from Seattle, WA
on 3/4/2013
Customer Rating: 
These hold down clamps have been working well for me for over a year now and I have no complaints. I haven't had any issues with paint chipping or breakage and it took all of 2-3 minutes with a hand file to take off the casting ridge. These are simple tools that represent a very good value.
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2) Submitted by
Old School Skill
on 10/15/2011
Customer Rating: 
This is a solid product at a low price. Check around all you want. I have not seen a better price. Quality: It works as intended and because it is so simple, it will continue to work perfectly for centuries without any maintenance. One reviewer complains about a ridge or "line" in the middle of the so-called "pad." He is trying to describe the parting-seam that ALL such tools have. You can easily grind this parting seam down with a file or bench-grinder. It is much easier to just glue a piece of leather or cork to the face. I have been using similar hold downs for fifty years. My father used them since he was a boy in the early 1900's. They still work. I know MANY woodworkers who use these and absolutely ALL of them glue some kind of pad to the business end or "face" of the clamp. Therefore, the parting-seam "ridge" is absolutely no problem. I sincerely appreciate the fact that Rockler has this customer review section and allows negative reviews. In this case, all the negative comments I've read are either niggling details that do not affect quality i.e. "paint chipping" or non-issues caused by user-ignorance. The only way I know to get this quality for less money is to make them yourself, and that requires blacksmithing equipment and skills. Even if you have the equipment and know-how as I do, it is still more cost effective to buy these rather than make them. This is an example of a great simple tool that has remained unchanged for eons. It does not have to be pretty to do its job perfectly. You DO have to be smarter than the iron it's made of to use it. Great tool. Low price. Highly recommended.
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3) Submitted by
Brian Meyette, from Cornish, NH
on 1/30/2013
Customer Rating: 
As soon as I took it out of the package, I could see it's CAST. So of course it's going to be a lot more brittle and less flexible than a properly made forged one. I then looked at the reviews, as I should have done BEFORE ordering, and of course people are complaining about them snapping, as I expected. Others are complaining about the casting seams. While in and of itself not a problem, it indicates the tool is cast and thus will not work well and will be much more likely to break. The way the tool works is by flexible tension, so one that is cast and thus won't flex without breaking, is of no value. I'll probably be returning this. If not, it's only because of the trouble and expense of mailing a rather heavy steel item, not because the tool is acceptable.
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4) Submitted by
Bruce Melton, from Roling Prairie, INDIANA
on 8/8/2011
Customer Rating: 
This is the first hold fast clamp that I have used and I now will not do without one. I have been using it on a bed project on 8/4 oak chopping mortises and it is holding very well. I have not experienced any paint coming off nor breakage and I have wacked the clamp hard! wood mallet The clamp releases with just a tap. With what I know now I'd purchase another one.
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5) Submitted by
Bob, from Lake Forest, IL
on 1/26/2009
Customer Rating:
The clamps work reasonably well - as expected for this type of clamp. The face contains a ridge from manufacturing that leaves dents on the part being clamped. I removed the ridge by hand grinding the face. The blue paint rubs off too easily and is annoying when it gets on the part being clamped. This issue was resolved when I ground away the ridge. I use a wood mallet to tap the clamps in place, and have not had a problem with the metal snapping as others have had. Instructions should indicate where on the clamp to tap, use of a wood mallet, and to avoid steel hammers. It would be nice if the ridge and paint were removed in manufacturing. However, the price is right, and it is easy to grind the face clean.
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6) Submitted by
Bill Hall, from Jeffersonville, PA
on 10/2/2008
Customer Rating:
So far, so good. It's heavy and decently machined in Taiwan. The blue paint comes off on the piece being held down. I may tape it or do something to deal with that. I'll be using a rubber mallet in hopes of not busting it. I like being able to hold my work anywhere I have a hole in my workbench.
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7) Submitted by
John Landon, from New York, NY
on 1/27/2009
Customer Rating:
Very poorly made. The flat part that contacts the work piece had a large rough ridge down the center so it never properly holds the wood.
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8) Submitted by
Larry Schultz, from Snow Hill, NC
on 2/10/2008
Customer Rating:
I had purchased 1 of these hold down clamps at the Greensboro, NC store, that is now closed, and had only used it on one occasion. I was on a larger project, where I needed more clamps, so I ordered 2 more. About half way through the project, when the top just popped off, when I was tapping it down for pressure. The top "arm" fell off to the side and the "post" fell through the bench top to the shelf below. I must have looked very surprised, because about that time my wife came in to tell me about lunch, when she asked what was wrong. This was my first, and hopefully my last bad experience with Rockler products.
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9) Submitted by
James Lewis, from Richmond, VA
on 5/11/2008
Customer Rating:
The top part of the holdfast snapped off within the first 30 minutes of light use. It's obviously not intended for any real usage. I was using it to hold some small blocks of wood while I sawed the bark off. I was using a urethane maul to strike it with.
Editor's note: Our customer service at 800-279-4441 will be able to assist with a replacement.
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10) Submitted by
Dave hansen, from San Diego, CA
on 8/17/2008
Customer Rating:
The third time I used this hold-down, the top just popped off. I had tapped it to lock a board in place, but it wasn't held fast. I tapped it a little harder and the top came right off.
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11) Submitted by
Mike Foglesong, from Pleasant Hill, CA
on 6/13/2010
Customer Rating:
The top broke off with the first project I used it for. I tapped it in with a urethane mallet and didn't use all that much force.
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12) Submitted by
Marc, from Studio City, CA
on 11/13/2010
Customer Rating:
Mine also broke on the first use. I also used a rubber mallet. This is junk metal. A hold-down clamp should not snap in two during first light use. Really mind-boggling that they sell these.
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13) Submitted by
Steve Vincent, from Los Angeles, CA
on 11/26/2010
Customer Rating:
For price, these clamps deliver a product that needs some work to be usable if you use it directly on your work pieces. As others have said, the hold down face will need to be machined to remove the paint and provide a flat surface that won't mark your work. I've been using mine for over a year, with a rubber mallet to tension the hold down. I've been able to really whack mine without issue, so either folks before were using steel hammers in cold climates, or Rockler heard the complaints and improved the quality. I would buy these again because they work, and their cheap, but they're not ready to go out of the box, unless you use scrap under the hold down to protect your work which I think, technically, we all should be doing, but we don't.
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14) Submitted by
Corey, from Mayville, WI
on 1/6/2013
Customer Rating:
This is a horrible product!It is cast iron and it can not handle the pressure of holding things down. I thought I had a bad one at first, so I called and they replaced it, only to get broken again. They break right where the base and neck meet every time. Buy one that is solid steel.
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15) Submitted by
James Catino, from Niagara Falls, NY
on 9/6/2012
Customer Rating:
This is a low quality poor imitation of a hold down. I have never written a negative review of a product until now. I purchased four of these and all four broke the first time they were used. I was chiseling out dovetails on my bench and only using enough pressure to keep my work secure using a rubber mallet.I have been a woodworker over 35 years and I know how to use tools properly. This a matter of a poor quality product.
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16) Submitted by
John Bell, from Beverly, MA
on 2/13/2011
Customer Rating:
I bought my hold down clamp two years ago and it has been one of my more useful tools. Other comments about marring the workpiece are dumb - this is a clamp and you should protect the finished product as with any other clamp. But the stories of breakage are real: today mine broke just like the other comments. It is a pity that such a useful tool should be so badly made - cast iron even ductile cast iron is the wrong material. Holdfasts used to be made from a forging - they take quite a load when you use them. Now I am wondering if they are worth $7 a year for the privilege. I am looking around for a forged one with little luck so far.
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17) Submitted by
William Weiser, from Lexington, TX
on 5/3/2011
Customer Rating:
I bought 4 of them. I use a rubber mallet to seat with light taps. Two of them broke first time, two of them are still working fine. This probably says something about the quality of the iron or the casting procedure. The blue paint is bad, the machining is bad, but these are cast iron so that can be fixed.
My problem is that I would like to have two more that are better made.
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18) Submitted by
Scott Timmons , from Chapin, SC
on 7/31/2011
Customer Rating:
The top broke off as others have stated. I have only used it about 10 times. I am looking to by a better product.
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19) Submitted by
David, from Osceola , WI
on 2/19/2012
Customer Rating:
Product broke on second use. Material is cast grain too large. Would not buy again.
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20) Submitted by
Robert Stalzer, from Conroe, TX
on 1/29/2013
Customer Rating:
After reading the reviews I decided to take a chance at a sale price. It seemed that I had gotten a good pair at first. Wrong... about the 6th use they snapped clean at the neck. I was astonished at how easily they broke. Up until then they were great. Both clamps broke with a rubber mallet rap. I spoke w/ a CS Rep and they are backing the product and sending 2 replacements. This is one of the reasons I shop Rockler...Service is excellent.
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21) Submitted by
Greg Toms, from Chambersburg, PA
on 2/16/2009
Customer Rating:
Mine also broke about the third or fourth time I used it. The top just popped of when I hit it. And I used a rubber hammer!
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