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Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
1/9 www.leevalley.com
For one pair of handscrews, you will need a few hardwood scraps, four 3/8’’ T-nuts, four 3/8’’ 
fender washers and a 36’’ long 3/8’’ threaded rod. I used pallet wood, which happened to be 
poplar, as well as maple cutoffs from my scrap bin.
Milling the Parts
Before heading to the planer with my 
pallet wood, I used my random orbital 
sander with a coarse 80-grit sanding 
disk to remove any bits of dirt and stone 
that could damage the sharp edge of my 
planer knives. Because the poplar was 
a bit bowed, I cut it in half to minimize 
waste. I ended up with 
1-1/4’’ thick pieces.
After a few passes on the jointer to 
straighten the long edges, I used the table 
saw to rip the pieces to the maximum 
width I could use (1-3/4’’).
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
2/9 www.leevalley.com
I used the miter saw to cut the four 
required pieces for the 1’ long jaws.
I chose to make them 1’ so that each 
handscrew would have a good 7’’ deep 
throat capacity.
I clipped off the end of the four jaws at 
20° using my shop-made miter saw acute 
angle cutting jig (http://bit.ly/HV9Pdk). 
I believe this is the safest and fastest 
way to cut acute angles.
Shown are the four milled jaws and the 
remaining required parts and hardware, 
including two 1-1/2’’ x 5’’ rectanglar 
hardwood scraps to machine two oval 
knobs, two ±2-1/2’’ square hardwood 
scraps to machine two disk knobs. The 
threaded rod is cut into four identical 9’’ 
long pieces to provide 5’’ openings for 
the handscrews.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
3/9 www.leevalley.com
Stack the two rectangular hardwood 
scraps together using double-sided 
tape and use the bandsaw to cut an 
elegant oval shape. A disk sander does 
a great job of refining and smoothing the 
perimeter.
Mill the two disk knobs at the bandsaw 
using a circle-cutting jig or at the drill 
press using a hole saw or an adjustable 
circle-cutting jig. Using either method, 
you will end up with a perfect center point. 
At this point, drill 3/8’’ through holes for 
the threaded rods. Use a bench chisel 
to separate the two oval knobs from the 
double-sided tape and cut the threaded 
rod into four identical 9’’ long rods.
Align the four jaws on your work surface. 
Use a square to draw one line 1’’ from 
the square ends and a second line 5’’ 
from the square ends. Find the center of 
each jaw and punch center holes.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
4/9 www.leevalley.com
After drilling the eight required 3/8’’ 
through holes, insert the rods to check 
the fit. You need it to be snug. Don’t worry 
if the jaws are not perfectly aligned, as 
shown, since the holes in one jaw will be 
enlarged later. To optimize the alignment, 
use a fence on your drill table while 
drilling the holes. (This is what I should 
have done!)
Here is the critical part. Use masking 
tape to temporarily cap the holes on 
the exterior side of two jaws, as shown. 
Mix some quick-set epoxy and smear 
it evenly on the inside surfaces. When 
done, thread the rods into their respective 
holes and gently slip the second set of 
jaws onto the rods. This will guarantee 
that the rods will be perfectly aligned with 
all holes. Let dry overnight. To be on the 
safe side, the next day drill a small hole 
through each rod from one side of the 
jaw and pin it with a 1-1/4’’ finishing nail.
At the drill press, use a Forstner bit (or a 
spade bit) to drill a 1’’ counterbore deep 
enough to sink the head of a 
T-nut into one side of each knob. Since 
you don’t have a center point, I suggest 
you drill a 1’’ hole in a thin scrap (shown 
behind), secure it with double-sided 
tape and use it as a guide to center the 
Forstner bit on your workpieces.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
5/9 www.leevalley.com
Drill another counterbore the size of the 
bodies of the T-nuts.
Since you are dealing with hardwood, 
make punch holes using the T-nuts and 
head to the drill press to drill shallow 1/8’’ 
pilot holes.
Using a hammer on a socket is a great 
way to properly bottom out the 
T-nuts in their final locations.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
6/9 www.leevalley.com
A router with a 1/8’’ round over bit creates 
nice edges on the knobs. A quick sanding 
removes any burn marks, and you’ll end 
up with very comfortable and smooth 
knobs to apply torque with. Also take 
the time to sand any of the jaws’ sharp 
edges.
The Assembly
Thread the round knobs on the rods 
closer to the square end, T-nuts down. 
You’ll use them to set the opening of the 
jaws when in use. Then slip the fender 
washers onto the same rods.
After you have enlarged and countersunk 
the 3/8’’ holes to 13/32’’ in the two floating 
jaws so that they will slide smoothly and 
easily, slip the fender washers onto the 
second set of rods, install the floating 
jaws and thread the oval knobs, T-nuts 
outwards, which will be used to tighten 
the handscrews. 
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
7/9 www.leevalley.com
A completed set of proudly shop-made 
handscrews. See below for a further 
adjustment you can make. 
A Step Further
The above floating jaws will only slide 
parallel along the rods. If you want or 
need handscrews that could be used 
to clamp angled pieces, I suggest you 
make a second set of floating jaws. All of 
the dimensions should be the same, but 
you’ll drill and countersink 5/8’’ through 
holes at the same 1’’ and 5’’ locations 
from the square ends. Drilling even larger 
holes increases the angle openings of 
your handscrews.
One at a time, sand a round dome at the 
end of a 1-1/2’’ hardwood dowel. (I used 
a leftover maple handrail.) Cut four of 
them, each about 1/2’’ thick, to use as 
rocking washers.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
8/9 www.leevalley.com
Find the center (I used a turner’s center 
finder) of each wooden dome washer. 
Pre-punch and drill 13/32’’ through holes. 
Remember that small pieces always 
deserve respect and attention! Use a 
safe way to secure them.
Remove the parallel jaws and oval 
knobs and slip on the freshly milled parts 
to create angle adjustable handscrews. 
The dome wooden washers ensure good 
contact with the jaws at any angle, and the 
disk knobs freely turn to tighten the jaws. 
The oval knobs cannot do this because 
of the angle of the floating jaws.
Here is a set of adjustable handscrews 
securing wedge shaped pieces on a 
carpenter’s bench.
Shop-Made Handscrews
Woodworking Newsletter
Vol. 8, Issue 2 - November 2013
9/9 www.leevalley.com
Once again, you can never have enough clamps! Be proud and enjoy your shop-made hand-
screws.
Text and photos by Serge Duclos
Serge Duclos started woodworking 40 years ago after purchasing a house. He soon found 
it was a way to relax from the stress related to his job as a human resources professional. 
Since retiring in 2004, Serge continues to enjoy his pastime and to update his bilingual wood-
working blog http://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com with his projects, as well as his tips and 
techniques.