Hold-down Clip (with offset)

Nothing fancy here, just a simple hold-down clip with a single recessed screw hole. Useful for holding a 2-3mm thick item in place. A key, but subtle, design feature is that the screw is offset from the support pad for better holding power than some other approaches.

My application is to secure a piece of plate-glass onto a board. It's for a precision sanding fixture for sharpening workshop tools. The glass sits in a slightly recessed spot and sticks up about 2.5mm above the plywood surface. These clips (used four of them, two each side) exert pressure to hold the glass firmly in place during use with a camming action. There's also a shoulder to register against the glass (or other material being held) keeping it in place.

The fixture has plate glass with strips of wet/dry sandpaper affixed to it with spray glue, and thus provides a very firm, flat and smooth backing surface for precision, graduated sanding.

The 'camming' action is created by a space beneath the screw hole which gives selectable pressure as the woodscrew is tightened. You could probably use it to hold down something even a few mm thicker if need be. Feel free to alter dimensions as necessary in your favourite design tool.

A very simple item that prints very fast and doesn't need fine resolution. Even at 20% fill, it seems to be working nicely for me.

Included a single as well as a four-up version of the STL files in case that saves you a minute or two getting set up.

Design Date: Oct 2019

Category: DIY