I picked these up at an estate give-away. (family didn't want to bother with
> a sale) The original owner was a DIY furniture maker. I have an idea as to
> what they might be and how they might be used, but I'd like to hear what
> you folks think.
>
> 34" L x 5.5" W x 5" H. Tops and bottoms are 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood, supports are 3/4" particle board. Holes in the tops only. Very nicely made,
> very sturdy.
>
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I used the risers while building 2 base cabinets this weekend. Very useful. Raising the workpieces off of the assembly table to get clamps underneath the carcass or drawer and/or to keep workpiece from moving made assembly much easier.
However, if I were to build my own, I’d make the “overhang” on each side about a half inch wider. The heads of my F clamps barely fit on the clamping surface, especially the ones with slip on pads. I’d prefer not to have to struggle with or choose a specific clamp. I’d prefer that all my F style clamps, be they old school bar clamps or trigger clamps, all fit easily so it doesn’t matter what I grab.
As far as my earlier comments about the fact that the undersides did not look like they ever had clamps attached to them, even though the top surface indicated that they had been used regularly, one of two things may have occurred:
Either the original owner never clamped anything to the risers or he protected the underside very, very well.
After just the limited usage this weekend, I can already see marks - mainly smudge marks from the pads on my clamps - on the undersides of the edges. They went from looking pristine to looking used in just a couple of days.
In any case, they helped and I’m sure I’ll be using them more in the future. They are certainly more stable and convenient than the blocks of wood I usually use to lift a workpiece off of my assembly table.