I just started to use my elite machine to make cabinets. I am looking for ideas how to best clamp down 4x4 plywood. Yesterday, I tried the Oops clamps and they tend to interfere with the dust collection boot.
Any good ideas or is double-sided tape really the best solution here? Unfortunately, there is not much space on the sides left.
Also do people change the soft limits to get a bit more clearance from the defaults?
What type of dust boot are you using?
Are you cutting to the very edge of the plywood?
I am using the onefinity suckit boot but as far as I can tell also other boots would have a problem with the Oops clamps as the screw in the middle stands out. And yes, the cut goes up to 0.5in to the edge of the board; so pretty close.
I haven’t heard of composite brad nails. Will check them out and yes, I would love to have a bigger machine but I simply do not have the space for it and just got the elite one 
I agree that a vacuum able is the best option for this. If the plywood has any bow to it, holding clamping at the edges won’t be sufficient. If it is perfectly flat, you can clamp it within that .5" and be just fine. Composite nails might be an ok option, but I hate putting any kind of nails in my spoilboard and material. You might just break down the sheet with another saw and just use the CNC to cut whatever detail you want in the pieces.
I’m not able to visualize the problem with the dust boot though. I think it’s a fixed Z boot, so you could raise it up so it clears your clamps. You might want to install a longer brush, depending on how far you want/need to raise it.
23g pin nailer works well
I have been cutting 2’ x 4’ 1/2" and 1/4" on my Journeyman. I lay it with side the bows down and clamp the edges which flattens it well enough. I printed some low-profile hold-downs, so I’m not worried about crashing the bit into a metal clamp.
I really like your low profile clamps. Do you mind sharing your 3d model for printing?
Sure, give me some time to dig up files. They are set up to work with 12mm and 18mm.
That is also what I am working with. Would really appreciate it. Also if you prefer to email them to me, just send you a private message with my email address. Thank you again, Tim
I think these are the latest files. The clamps were done in Fusion 360, and the knobs were done with an SCAD script. . . I think
knurled_knob_v10_7.stl (645.9 KB)
ply_clamp-v6.stl (11.4 KB)
