# Homemade tracksaw clamps



## steex (Feb 19, 2013)

I didn't want to pay $40 for a pair of Dewalt tracksaw clamps. That just seems like far too much for what you get, they would clash with my Makita saw, and 98% of the time you don't need them anyway. So I decided to try making my own from a pair of Irwin quickclamps that I had laying around. They turned out pretty good, and it wasn't all that difficult. Here's how I did it.

Start with a small quickclamp (about 12" long overall).









Pound on the end of the metal bar with a hammer until you break loose the small plastic part of the clamp. Then slide off the part with the mechanism.









Remove the roll pin from the metal bar and set it aside. Then grind a section about 2"-3" from the end of the bar to about 1/4" wide. Also grind the 2" at the end of the bar just a hair until it slides freely into the slot on the bottom of the track. 









Heat the bar up with a torch and twist it 90 degrees at the base of the narrow part.









Heat the bar up again and bend it over 90 degrees in the middle of the narrow part.









Check and make sure it slides freely into the slot in the track. You may need to bend it a little more to make it line up better, or hit it again with the grinder to allow it to slide.









Replace the clamping mechanism and the roll pin and you're ready to go.

















The first one took me about 40 minutes, and the second one took me 30, including taking pictures during it. The hardest part was getting an idea of how much I needed to grind out to get the bar to slide into the track groove. I think if I needed to make some more I could do it in about 45 minutes for a pair, or maybe less if I had a MAPP gas torch. I've never used a set of the Dewalt clamps, but I would assume these work about the same and just look a little hillbilly.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Pretty ingenious! Let us know how they hold up.


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## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

Last I checked those clamps are pretty close to 20 a piece. At least 15 

So you saved 10 bucks?


Good thinking if you're planning on building a set of clamps for some custom application though


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## steex (Feb 19, 2013)

john5mt said:


> Last I checked those clamps are pretty close to 20 a piece. At least 15
> 
> So you saved 10 bucks?


I buy them in sets when they go on sale for $25 or $30. I end up with tons of the small ones like I used and I'm sure I'll get more this holiday season. They end up costing probably more like $10 for a pair, definitely nowhere near $15-20 each.


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## tonylumps (Dec 4, 2012)

steex said:


> I didn't want to pay $40 for a pair of Dewalt tracksaw clamps. That just seems like far too much for what you get, they would clash with my Makita saw, and 98% of the time you don't need them anyway. So I decided to try making my own from a pair of Irwin quickclamps that I had laying around. They turned out pretty good, and it wasn't all that difficult. Here's how I did it.
> 
> Start with a small quickclamp (about 12" long overall).
> 
> ...


They look just like the First pair of dewalt clamps I bought They should work for a long time. Don't forget the track is aluminum You will not need a lot of pressure. Wish I would hve seen this last week before I bought my second set.


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## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

steex said:


> I buy them in sets when they go on sale for $25 or $30. I end up with tons of the small ones like I used and I'm sure I'll get more this holiday season. They end up costing probably more like $10 for a pair, definitely nowhere near $15-20 each.


Hmm guess were just getting ripped off here.


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

Great tool mod. Make your self a MFT style top and use them as hold downs too. There is a ton of things you can do with that clamp system. 

I modded my Fetstool clamps to fit in Incra rails and to fit in the dovetail sled, if you use Incra a slight mod to your clamps will allow you another option.


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## Pitto (Nov 17, 2013)

*Big Thanks*

I joined purely to thank the original poster for his idea's

I spent a couple of hours today converting two quick grips [pack of two for AUS$25.00] into a great set of tracksaw clamps for my makita track.

the propane gun sis struggle, but we got there in the end. I didnt take too much steel off before we heated and bent up the steel, and this made the bending a bit more work, and also gave us a bit of steel to grind back to get it to fit in the channel for the final fit.

All in all, a great project, easy to do, and well worth it. I plan to make another set in a few weeks purely for use on my MFT table copy.

Thanks

GP :thumbup:


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