Pair of Workbench Holdfasts Bench Clamps Made from Ductile Iron 8" Tall, 4.25" Reach Use in 3/4" Holes Come with 1" Leather Pads

These are generally good castings with little defects that should not effect how long they last, a small amount of grinding on the toes/feet and the main arm and they were good to go, a word of caution do not grind to make pretty grind only where casting heavy lines, slag was left and not ground off where it should have been.

This was my first purchase of these cast iron bench hold fasts. These are durable. If your setting them properly they will last. Use a mallet or smaller hammer 16-20 oz Max, needs less. If your setting them with a 3 pound hammer you stand a chance of breaking them.Woodworkers use a small hammerBlacksmiths use a light touch or make your own. Great value for the reasonable price.

Just as everyone else has mentioned, these didn't work when I first took them out of the package. I had to grind the back to make them stick to my bench.

I'm quite pleased with these holdfasts. They work perfectly with my Sjorbergs bench (3/4" bores). The surface of the shank is nicely powder coated, but not too smooth to grip the bench dog bores -- no need to grind off the finish. With these old fashioned holdfasts, it's important not to pound them into submission -- no need to, really. A single assertive knock does the trick. A similar light knock will release them. I think some reviewers who found them troublesome may simply be using too much force. Anyway, I just ordered a second pair.

Out of the box it was impossible to get them to stick in a 3/4" dog hole, even with a 3 lb hammer. After taking the powder coat off the front and back edges of the shaft with an angle grinder (and roughing it up a bit in the process), they hold and release just fine with a light mallet.

Been using for couple months on weekends. No complaints. If ya want something that polished ya can spend more money and get it

I thought I was getting a bargain, one of those hidden little things on Amazon that you think you're the only one to find. But now I've got two unusable holdfasts. They're of a decent enough quality, and long enough for my 4" thick benchtop, but they're just too narrow to hold well in a 3/4" doghole. I'm used to setting a holdfast with one middling strike from a mallet. I hammered on these at twice the power, and they still didn't hold firmly. My dogholes are a true 3/4"; both my aluminum and brass Veritas bench dogs are a verrrrrry snug fit.So, yeah, if you're going to undersize your holes, these will be great (and nothing else will fit those holes). But if you want to use anything else, look for something that's a true 3/4".

Having only just received them, I can only say they appear to work exactly as advertised. Quality, "fit and finish" seem very good.The price/value ratio is what sells me on them, though. So many "bench dog" and other such gadgets are either very expensive, OR they are cheap and barely functional. These holdfasts seem to hit the sweet spot at affordability for what you get.I recommend.