# Clamps and where to start !



## Jonathanfry (4 Apr 2020)

Hi I’ve recently cleared out the garage and I’m setting up a hobbyist work shop in the garage and would like to know what affordable clamps you recommend? Thanks !


----------



## fezman (4 Apr 2020)

Well I guess it depends on what you are wanting to clamp. 

I use these from Wilko for small clamps. https://www.wilko.com/wilko-speed-clamp-6in/p/0339068 . I've had a few for about 3 years now and the only thing wrong with them is the rubber pads are starting to split. I've had a number of similar style ones from Lidl-De-Aldi and they have all broke without much use - the wilko ones seem significantly better. 

I've got a few Irwin Quick Grip clamps for when a bit longer reach is required. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001DZQ3HA 

For longer stuff I use the generic aluminium ones available in loads of places - but essentially these are them https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000LFXIGC 

I also have quite a few parallel clamps now from either axminster (https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-t ... p-ax945386) or Bessey (https://www.besseytools.co.uk/bessey-fl ... -quad-pack) . This style have quickly become my favourite. 

Lastly I've also got a bunch of C , G and F clamps - all no name brand and cheap as chips, hardly ever use them, but they are nice to have as backups when "just one more clamp" is required.


----------



## Woody2Shoes (4 Apr 2020)

+1 for the 'horses for courses' point made above. I find that single-handed bar clamps are very useful for all sorts of general stuff, I buy the Irwin quickclamps when I can see them at a 'special' price and own several - they're very good. I also have some from Lidl/Aldi and they're not bad and a lot cheaper e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe-lXn9o9Ug


----------



## nev (4 Apr 2020)

You buy what you need for job 1.
Then you buy what you need for job 2 if the ones you have are not suitable.
Repeat throughout your life.


----------



## bourbon (4 Apr 2020)

I pick the ones from aldi/lidl. Whenever they are in. You can never have enough clamps. Must admit, the aldi ones are a little better than the lidl ones. I also have a couple of 700mm bar clamps from silverline, they were cheap enough at a show and have a steel bar on them.


----------



## Blackswanwood (4 Apr 2020)

I would agree that the single handed bar clamps are a good all rounder.

Wooden variable angle clamps are also imho exceptionally useful https://www.fine-tools.com/wooden-hand-screw-clamp.html. 

You can make them and find them far cheaper than the link above.


----------



## MikeG. (4 Apr 2020)

Blackswanwood":2p7wjm3g said:


> I would agree that the single handed bar clamps are a good all rounder......



I find them a bit feeble. For one handed clamps I use these. They're bomb proof. For 95% of clamping duties I use F clamps.


----------



## Blackswanwood (4 Apr 2020)

MikeG.":20mxk9ec said:


> Blackswanwood":20mxk9ec said:
> 
> 
> > I would agree that the single handed bar clamps are a good all rounder......
> ...



Feeble? 







Actually the ones Mike has posted are very effective


----------



## Sideways (4 Apr 2020)

+1 to the style Mike recommended.
Usually a little discounted in 10's
They are super easy to use and fairly light. Just pile them on until you have no more room and the clamping is nicely distributed.
I use them far more often than any others so that's what I would start with.

That said, they aren't all the same. Some nice new yellow ones from toolstation turned out not to be as good as the scruffy old orange things I've been using since Screwfix used to sell screws and not much else. Silly little details about imperfect alighment, slightly sloppy fit of the ball joint on the plastic pad, the hooked back end tending to foul where a simple L shaped tail is doesn't. So check them out if you can before you order a bunch.

Future options
Various companies do promotions on the Irwin one handed clamps. These are nothing special but they are light and handy and made in different lengths. Try a pair when they go on sale.
If you get into track saws, they need special clamps. 
Small paramo / record / whatever traditional G clamps with a screw are handy in small sizes - buy when you find you have nothing else to do the job.
Personally I don't much like clamps were I have to twist a handle screwdriver style - but I'm a bit feeble and it didn't stop me buying the Axminster clone of the big Bessey revo clamps for assembling bigger jobs.

Clamping is agame of it's own. Do you want to put pressure in the middle of a panel ? Clamp a 2x3" timber across with a little packing under each end and inflate a "win bag" between the timber and the panel ... you adapt what you have to the job and if you have nothing that will do, it's time to buy a new type of clamp


----------



## Jonathanfry (4 Apr 2020)

Thanks all the advice is much appreciated I already have a pair of Irwin and solo zip clamps and two dewalt ones for the plunge saw was looking more at sash clamps but these bits of advise are much appreciated thanks


----------



## Woody2Shoes (4 Apr 2020)

Feeble! Pah! :shock: 

Don't forget the usefulness of opposing wedges if you want to make your own clamping arrangements e.g.


----------



## Sideways (4 Apr 2020)

Total hodge podge on a simple storage box for sawblades made up out of repurposed / leftovers.
Jet clamps, Irwin, Axminster, Veritas, Quick Grip, and some cheap tat mitre clamps.
Long clamps are great except when you're storing them


----------



## Woody2Shoes (5 Apr 2020)

Sideways":fm55ny68 said:


> Total hodge podge on a simple storage box for sawblades made up out of repurposed / leftovers.
> Jet clamps, Irwin, Axminster, Veritas, Quick Grip, and some cheap tat mitre clamps.
> Long clamps are great except when you're storing them



Looks like the clamp mating season is well under way...


----------



## beech1948 (5 Apr 2020)

I have Bessey, Irwin, etc etc in all about 40 clamps.

I am faced with a contract due in 2 months for an 18Ft long board room table which is 4 ft wide. I have estimated that I will need around 20 or so new clamps.

The cost of these clamps is prohibitive at around £1300 or more if made by Bessey. 

After much research I intend to use two methods to progress.

1) Folding wedges where possible

2) Self made clamps based on a design by John Heisz.

If I don't use these two approaches then the profitability of the job is significantly compromised with a much much reduced profit.

I'll let you all know how it goes.


----------



## MikeG. (5 Apr 2020)

beech1948":2wun891w said:


> .......I am faced with a contract due in 2 months for an 18Ft long board room table which is 4 ft wide. I have estimated that I will need around 20 or so new clamps........



Why not add a few ratchet straps into the equation? If you can put some rounded-over packers on each edge then they can be a useful additional bit of pressure, albeit not you want to have as your primary clamping. And they're cheap, cheap, cheap.


----------



## Woody2Shoes (5 Apr 2020)

beech1948":2t1frdre said:


> I have Bessey, Irwin, etc etc in all about 40 clamps.
> 
> I am faced with a contract due in 2 months for an 18Ft long board room table which is 4 ft wide. I have estimated that I will need around 20 or so new clamps.
> 
> ...



A quick google reveals more than a couple of places that will hire out clamps - assuming they're still functioning with c19 - would this be an option (either that or maybe finding someone to lend you some)?


----------



## Inspector (5 Apr 2020)

When I started out I got a number of Jorgensen/Pony pipe clamp heads because you can use them on a variety of pipe lengths or use a threaded coupler to join them to make them longer and scrounging pipe was easy. Even though I have a decent number of K-body, F-clamps, one handed quick grips etc., I still reach for them often. From your location I would buy the 3/4' Bessey Pipe Clamps. The pipe is cheap enough and readily available here, don't know about your neck of the woods, and they let you do what other clamps can't...............make them longer.  

https://www.besseytools.co.uk/bessey-wo ... et-bpc-h34 

Pete


----------



## heimlaga (1 May 2020)

Anything of decent quality that you can find cheap secondhand will come in handy one day. I have a strange mix of just about any odd cramp from any odd maker in the latest century and they all tend to be used.
My latest purchase was three rather large nameless bar cramps of seemingly good quality. Purchased for 50 cents a kilo at the local scrap yard.


----------



## Trainee neophyte (1 May 2020)

Simple rule: if you see clamps for sale, you MUST buy some. Even if they are rubbish, they are still clamps. Eventually you will be able to become more discerning, because you have nearly enough clamps, but it will take some years.

The only exception I have is the lidl single handed bar clamps everyone is raving about on the first page of this thread - I bought four, broke three on their first time out, and haven't ever used the fourth because what's the point? I bought them 15 years ago, so perhaps things have changed since...


----------



## Bod (1 May 2020)

No matter how many you have, you always need more...




Vast majority from car-boot sales.

Bod


----------



## AndyT (1 May 2020)

how-to-make-your-own-wooden-sash-cramps-t103631.html


----------



## woodhutt (5 May 2020)

Just to confuse, I agree with _everything_ that _everyone_ has said  
although I do tend to favour the quick clamp and avoid screw type clamps as they have the annoying habit of moving the workpiece as you tighten them.
I also have one of these for the numerous multi-faceted pieces I tend to work with.




Pete


----------



## Cheshirechappie (5 May 2020)

Find a copy of 'The Resourceful Woodworker' by Robert Wearing. In it, there are all sorts of home-brew dodges and lash-ups, and some quite posh shop-made devices, for cramping and many other aspects of woodwork.

For the pro, the old saying, "You can't have too many cramps" holds good, but for the amateur shop, too many cramps is just a storage problem - and a lot of sunk money. I think Nev's advice to obtain what you need when you need it is very sound indeed.

The cramps I've found most useful have been a set of four 6" F-cramps, followed by a set of four 12". A selection of small G-cramps (good quality ones, drop-forged) is most useful, but the larger ones (6" and above) being designed mainly for engineering work, are rather heavy for woodwork. That said, if someone offers you a boxful of good ones, don't turn them away!

For panel and carcase assembly, sash cramps or their modern equivalents are most useful - again, sets of four of a size if you can. I find the 36" size covers most eventualities, but maybe better to have a set of longer rather than a set of shorter, for obvious reasons!

The suggestion for ratchet straps (or it's older equivalent, the Spanish Windlass) is a good one. Very versatile, easy to store, and not terribly expensive.

Finally, get together a box of carefully selected offcuts to act as packing pieces to protect work from cramp heads. A few pieces of carpet offcut or similar to protect finished surfaces don't go amiss, either. It's better to have a boxful stored with the cramps rather than scrabble around trying to 'find' something. Also, do a dry run of any cramping set-up before applying glue, making sure that cramps are properly adjusted and packings are to hand, you know the cramping sequence, and so on - you'll only try an assembly job without doing this once!


----------



## thetyreman (23 Jun 2020)

I like heavy duty sash cramps, they're pretty bomb proof, rutlands did make some good ones but haven't tried their latest ones, get those or vintage record and they'll last forever.


----------



## Distinterior (23 Jun 2020)

I have so many different types.....And I still occasionally find I could do with more.

A recent job below.....


----------



## AndyT (23 Jun 2020)

What is it? Is it a rack for some of your clamps?


----------



## Distinterior (23 Jun 2020)

It does look a bit like a Clamp Rack!.....Its actually a set of Corian kitchen worktops i was making ....mid fabrication.


----------



## woodbloke66 (23 Jun 2020)

thetyreman":2v333cob said:


> I like heavy duty sash cramps, they're pretty bomb proof, rutlands did make some good ones but haven't tried their latest ones, get those or vintage record and they'll last forever.


Agreed, but they're too damn heavy! It's worth having a few 'T' bars to put on the bench, but you can also get so much pressure behind them that the job will distort alarmingly...I've witnessed it happening!! 
I have a couple of single handed Ax cramps and the same in the Bessey variety, both of which are excellent, but these single handed things simply don't give enough pressure (as David Charlesworth demonstrated some years ago). I use the lighter duty, normal Record (or the Ax equivalent) steel sash cramps; to date I think I've got around twenty - Rob


----------



## Trainee neophyte (23 Jun 2020)

The answer is "Yes!"

You need all of the clamps. Everything mentioned, and more besides. Not mentioned are little spring clamps like this:



which can be substituted by cutting short lengths of drainpipe:





And don't forget gravity - they even leave it on over the weekends (points if you know who's joke that is). Weights, bricks, tools, water (1litre =1kg), rocks etc. Anything heavy.


----------



## thetyreman (24 Jun 2020)

woodbloke66":14vqhlsp said:


> thetyreman":14vqhlsp said:
> 
> 
> > I like heavy duty sash cramps, they're pretty bomb proof, rutlands did make some good ones but haven't tried their latest ones, get those or vintage record and they'll last forever.
> ...



yes I agree that the cramps can be too heavy, but I got to a point where I'd had enough of the type sellers recommends, all the threads on mine were a loose sloppy fit and they all eventually failed, it made glue ups very frustrating and stressful, :lol: the bessey uniklamps are very good, much better quality I've found, still need to get some shorter steel sash cramps though.


----------



## Nigel Burden (24 Jun 2020)

Trainee neophyte":3ldosqcy said:


> The answer is "Yes!"
> 
> You need all of the clamps. Everything mentioned, and more besides. Not mentioned are little spring clamps like this:
> 
> ...



For gluing small thin pieces I use the clams from coat hangers, cost nothing, and exert sufficient pressure.

Nigel.


----------

