Swing Clamps Guide

Swing clamps are devices, which use a swinging clamp arm to speed clamping and unclamping. As shown in Figure 8-56(a), swing clamps are made with either knob handles or ball handles in both post-mounted and flange-mounted styles. The post-mounted type (b) is mounted with a single screw in a mounting hole. The flange-mounted style (c) is mounted flat on the tool body and held with cap screws. These clamps also have a swivel foot at the end of the clamp screw. This foot minimizes the effects of vibration and reduces damage to the workpiece.

A smaller variation of the swing-clamp principle is the hook clamp, Figure 8-57. Like swing clamps, hook clamps come in a variety of sizes, in standard-arm and long-arm versions, long-arm hook clamps are made with either a plain hook or a tapped hook. Hook clamps are mounted either directly in the tool body (d) or in a holder (e).

Swing clamps
Figure 8-56. Swing clamps use a swing-away arm to increase clamping and unclamping speed.
Hook clamp variations
Figure 8-57. Hook clamp variations.
Cylindrical hook-clamp holders
Figure 8-58. Cylindrical hook-clamp holders are compact and ideal for high-rise clamping using riser cylinders.
Hook-clamp mounting blocks
Figure 8-59. Hook-clamp mounting blocks have built-in 90° stops to provide consistent arm positioning in both clamped and unclamped position.

Hook clamp holders are available in two different styles, cylindrical and block styles. The cylindrical style, Figure 8-58, is a compact mounting adapter for long-arm Hook Clamps, with a precision bored hole for smooth swing action. For high-rise clamping, see Riser Cylinders to extend the range of standard Hook-Clamp Holders. The riser cylinder is a stackable riser that provides additional height without taking up much space. The block style mounting blocks for long-arm Hook Clamps, Figure 8-59, have built-in 90º stops that provide consistent arm positioning in both clamped and unclamped position. Two sets of mounting holes allow either base mounting or side mounting. Precision bored hole for smooth swing action.