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Mac McConnell’s bull is an engineering masterpiece. Pin this on Pinterest!
A few weeks ago I blogged about a jig that I built that is intended to help in woodworking clamping tasks and, in some cases, even substitute for a work bench. I called the jig a Bench Bull and dedicated three blog entries to it. I was very happy to learn that the bench bull concept was picked up by a few of our readers who cleverly added or changed some of its features to better serve their needs.
Mac McConnell’s bull is an engineering masterpiece. With its endless clamping possibilities, it is undoubtedly the most versatile clamping jig I have seen.
Harry Rudin from Switzerland kept the gaps between the bull’s segments wide enough to allow an F-style clamp head to pass through. This allows him to clamp vertical objects along the entire length of the bull by placing the F-clamps through the relevant gap as needed. Harry’s bull is made from oak and has probably broken the altitude record for bench bulls, as it resides and serves in the Alps mountains.
If you keep the gaps between the bull’s segments wide enough you will be able to pass F-clamps through and clamp vertical objects at any point along the length of the bull.
Harry Rudin’s bull and two f-clamps hold it to down to a table top.
Harry’s bull
To read my original blog entries on the Bench Bull, what it is good for and how to build it, check out the links below:
‘Bench Bull:’ The Jack of All Bench Jigs, Part 1
‘Bench Bull’ – The Jack of All Bench Jigs, Part 2
‘Bench Bull’ – The Jack of All Bench Jigs, Part 3
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
Looking good. I was intrigued with two of the clamps on Mac McConnell’s bull. Especially the small orange ones on the base in each corner. The other one might be a good fit for a Festool MFT, it’s the red and black one, 2nd from top in the right hand corner. Both clamps I’m referring to are on the first pic.
I’m hoping someone may recognise these clamps and comment. Cheers, David.
Pretty darn cool! Great to see such a fun and useful idea spreading so quickly! (And so far!)