clamps!

[durango dude]

Hot diggity - just in time for my project!

http://westslope.craigslist.org/tls/3714665612.html

[phrog]

Hot diggity - just in time for my project!

http://westslope.craigslist.org/tls/3714665612.html

Are they made of gold?

[durango dude]

upon closer inspection - the clamps aren't what I thought they were.

(I thought they were higher quality than they were)

I'm going to get some pipe clamps at the local Orange Temple.

[LCHIEN]

upon closer inspection - the clamps aren't what I thought they were.

(I thought they were higher quality than they were)

I'm going to get some pipe clamps at the local Orange Temple.

Did you read the BT3 Clamp tutorial? http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=27489

Personally, I don't like Pipe clamps.

[ironhat]

Did you read the BT3 Clamp tutorial? http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=27489

Personally, I don't like Pipe clamps.

Hey Durango, please do yourself a favor and do what Loring said. That tutorial
is very good and will save you $$$ in the long run, even if it keeps you from buying those pipe clamps. I have a pile of them and they just don't work well.

[durango dude]

Thanks for the reading assignment!

I have a half dozen Jorgensen clamps (3x12"; 2x24" ; and 1x36").
I also have some budget Bessey clamps (12" and 24") that I picked up at Lowe's.
I also use my Irwin Quick Grip clamps (4) weekly.

Building furniture, I'm starting to see some big challenges with long length clamps.

The problem with my bar clamps is that they bow when I clamp over 24".

I can't really afford the parallel clamps, yet - so I'm thinking the pipe clamps might be an option. Will think again.

Cheers.

[Pappy]

If you do decide to get pipe clamps, go to HF. They have 2 versions. One is a spring loaded lever on the moveab;e clamp and the other is plates. Get the 3/4" plate style. I have never had one of them slip on black pipe. The others will.

Another gem from HF is the aluminum bar clamps. I have them up to 5' and generally my go to clamps.

[LCHIEN]

Thanks for the reading assignment!

...

The problem with my bar clamps is that they bow when I clamp over 24".

...
Cheers.

if you think that's bad the pipe clamps are twice or three times as bad! Seriously! They're very heavy for the length and their own weight makes them bow over 24 inches and just to keep them from falling off you have to tighten them pretty much and that bends them even more. The problem is that a circular cross section is not latteraly that stiff for the weight and size (as opposed to a flat bar on the narrow side). That's the tradeoff for using a universally available and replaceable length member.

If you want stiffer clamps, the so-called aluminum bar clamps are much stiffer and will bend less over long distances; the trade off is that they have very short depth- the pads are within an inch of the bar. for most furniture that might not be a problem. They're mentioned in the clamp tutorial. I have some 36-inchers that I use when doing panels and I need a non-bending clamp.

The U-shaped extruded aluminum bar is much stiffer per unit length and weight than equivalent steel flat bars or round pipes. Having a shorter depth by half also reduces the bending moment by another half.

Round tubes are good in compression but that's not much help here. Take a piece of 8x11 paper and roll it into a tube 8" tall and tape a 1" overlap. Stand on end an you can probably support a small book on it if you are careful to balance it so the load is distributed evenly. With the book on it, flick the side of the cylinder with your fingernail and it will come crashing down.

The parallel clamps are the king of stiff. But Unfortunately they're mucho heavy and mucho expensive.

If you use all your quick grips every week you probably need some more!

[annunaki]

Missing from the Clamp Tutorial were-

1. "C" Clamps

2. "3 Way C Clamps" -great for gluing edging.

3. Locking C-Clamp Pliers

[LCHIEN]

Missing from the Clamp Tutorial were-

1. "C" Clamps

2. "3 Way C Clamps" -great for gluing edging.

3. Locking C-Clamp Pliers

yes, it could cover a bunch of specialty clamps, including those you mention plus miter clamps and vises, etc.

I don't hear of C-clamps being used much in WWing. Does anyone voluntarily use them for that?

[annunaki]

The Tutorial DID mention Miter Clamps and I just finished making a small gate out of 2x4's with miter joints and used a set of 4 miter clamps.

[phrog]

Are they made of gold?

The reason for my earlier comment was that I had bought several of these smaller ones as well as the belt clamps for about $3 each at a Lowe's sale. Therefore, I didn't think this was a good deal.

[Brian G]

I don't hear of C-clamps being used much in WWing. Does anyone voluntarily use them for that?

I like using them for bent laminations.

Many woodworkers say, like the tutorial, you can never have too many clamps. I'd counter that you can have too many bad clamps. I have a few that were cheap for a reason, which I discovered too late.

[atgcpaul]

I like using them for bent laminations.

+1

Also good for leveling the ends of boards on a wide glue-up.

[HumorMe00]

Last time I was in Harbor Freight, they had some of the aluminum bar clamps with a much larger clamping pad on them. Similar in size to a parallel clamp.

I grab a couple, but haven't used them yet. Hopefully they work at least as well as their other style aluminum bar clamp.