Z-Series Toolmaker & Parallel Clamps

There are two styles of clamps included. They are very similar, but have a slightly different form factor and method of tightening. Of the two I recommend the Toolmaker's clamp, but I have included both for completion's sake.

For both prints, I used ABS-GF for the bodies and, and Matte PLA for the knobs. PLA may work, PETG may also work. I've not really tested these with any other materials.

Toolmaker's Clamp

Bill of Materials

• 2x M5x??? hex-head bolts. Length is your choice, but I'd recommend as long as you can get. This is a perfect use of any left over 100mm long bolts from building  D-series Dovetail Vise  If you ordered in any kind of quantity.
• 3x M3x12 Countersink Screws
• 3x M3x6 Heat-set Inserts
• 2x M5x12 Heat-set Inserts (you can get away with 8mm or 10mm long, too)
• 2x M5 Nylock Nuts
• 1x “toolmaker-obverse” print
• 1x “toolmaker-reverse” print
• 1x “toolmaker-topper” print
• 2x “Knob DC16x16-M5hT” prints

Assembly

1. Slide the Knob print onto the hex-head bolts. You may need to glue them into place.
2. Insert the M3x6 Heat-set inserts into the three holes in the “toolmaker-topper” print
3. Insert the M5x12 Heat-set inserts into the two holes in the “toolmaker-reverse” print. I recommend inserting the front one (towards the jaw) from the outside, and the back one (away from the jaw) from the inside, but it doesn't much matter.
4. Slide the “toolmaker-topper” pieces onto one bolt. The recess on the printed piece should be placed away from the head of the bolt. I will refer to this bolt as the “front”  bolt (as in towards the jaws) hereafter.
5. Thread one nylock nut onto the front bolt all the way until it sits into the recess of the topper. Enough room should be left between the topper and the head of the bolt such that the bolt can spin freely.
6. Slide the “toolmaker-obverse” onto the front bolt.
7. Thread the "toolmaker-reverse pieces onto the front bolt, but only a handful of turns. to leave yourself some slack.
8. Thread the other bolt (the Back bolt) through the back hole on the “toolmaker-reverse” pieces. You'll want to thread this almost all the way through.
9. Slide the back bolt through the back hole of “toolmaker-obverse”.
10. Thread a nylock nut onto the back bolt. You want the nylock nut to sit into the recess, leaving enough thread such that when you close the “toolmaker-topper” pieces on top, the end of the back bolt should be flush with the top of the “toolmaker-topper” piece.
11. use the M3x12 bolts to bolt the “toolmaker-topper” onto “toolmaker-obverse” from the inside.

Parallel Clamp

Bill of Materials

• 2x M5x??? hex-head bolts. Length is your choice, but I'd recommend as long as you can get. This is a perfect use of any left over 100mm long bolts from building  D-series Dovetail Vise  If you ordered in any kind of quantity.
• 4x M3x12 countersink screws.
• 4x M3x6 Heat-set Inserts
• 2x M5x12 Heat-set Inserts (you can get away with 8mm or 10mm long, too)
• 2x M5 Nylock Nuts
• 1x “parallel-obverse” print
• 1x “parallel-reverse” print
• 2x “parallel topper” prints
• 2x “Knob DC16x16-M5hT” prints

Assembly

1. Slide the Knob print onto the hex-head bolts. You may need to glue them into place.
2. Insert the M3x6 heat-set inserts into each of the “parallel-topper” prints.
3. Insert the M4x12 Heat-set Insert into the back hole (away from the jaws) of “parallel-obverse" and the front hole (towards the jaws) of “parallel-reverse”
4. Slide each “parallel-topper” onto each bolt such that the recess faces away from the head of the bolt.
5. Thread a nylock nut onto each bolt. The nut should fit into the recess of the “parallel-topper” print, but leave enough clearance between the print and the head of the bolt to let it spin freely.
6. Slide the “parallel-obverse” piece onto one bolt, and the “parallel-reverse” piece onto the other.
7. Thread each bolt through the appropriate hole of the opposing assembly, together.

Other Considerations

• if you find the fit to be a bit loose, you can add M5 washers around the nylock nuts. I found three (one on one side, two on the other) to be a good fit.