I primarily use these type of clamps with my tracksaw, however, before yazall mutiny and accuse me of Fe$tool spruiking, Microjig have their own version of Dovetail track clamps,
I don’t have any of those, so yazall will have to turn a blind eye to my Fe$tool centric pictures.
There are basically 2 types of their dovetail clamps:-
1. The cheaper “standard"F style clamps.
... great in tighter spots.
2. Dearer ratchet clamps,
... quick action, space permitting.
As mentioned, I use these with my tracksaws if I need to anchor down the track… and can... otherwise I use dogs.
The standard F clamp is ideal,
when you need to get up close... and preferably the ratchet,
for ease and speed... space permitting because of the extending lever.
I’ve never been a fan of top down clamping,
as is obvious with the over the top protrusion.
Though tabletop surface thickness and accessibility plays a major factor, being an true blue black Aussie, I prefer the down under approach,
for less intrusive clamping.
This is why I prefer the MFT style tabletops (20mm), as a ¾” thick tabletop with ¾” dog holes, just manages threading the clamp through the hole… that extra 1mm of the 20mm dog hole makes a major difference… this also holds for those 19mm quick-grip shafts through 19mm dog holes… oh so squeeze.
These clamps are very popular for tabletops with a maze of dovetail tracks and can be seen in many workshop setups. I’ve never adopted the practice, however I a made a quick dovetail track for demo purposes,
While on the topic of dovetail tracks… Rockler sell these dovetail slides,
which could be very handy in jig making… that’s what I bought them for… but the jig was up and never used as such.
The main thing I can add with these clamps… though probably seldom used, they open up extra opportunities for awkward clamping requirements.
Another clamp that you have not shown is a brick, concrete block, lead weight can of bolts and nuts, well anything heavy to sit on top of a board till the glue sits up. Ha ha. Have used some dive weights for that.
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