Are cheap sash cramps worth it?

[LFS19]

I've got some that look just like that, came from Screwfix. I've used them quite a bit. I also have a set of much heavier steel 'mock Record' ones from Axminster. On the downsides, I wouldn't want to put as much pressure on with the ali ones (but with good joints, who needs to :wink: ). The threads are far from smooth. But on the plus side, for light work they are pretty convenient. Light to manoeuvre, the heads don't fall off the ends of the bar, no pins to fall out, and they don't topple over so easily. And the ali doesn't leave black marks if it touches oak with glue on it.

Thanks for the post, Tony.
We’re these the ones you got from screwfix?: https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-sa ... p-24/2683v

 

[LFS19]

Don't forget that if you have a selection you can use a heavy cramp to pull something up then a lightweight one to hold it, moving the heavy one on to another place.

Not sure I quite understand what you mean, Phil. Could you elaborate a little?

Thanks a lot.

 

[LFS19]

Interesting, thanks for the Post! Guess they can’t be too shabby with the modifications if Paul sellers uses them.

Once fully modded, they work well for the sorts of things he does.

I got a 12-piece set of these for Christmas, Rolson brand I think but likely all made by the same company anyway. Mine have the acorn nut ends on the tommy bars.
Only problem is that they're the big 1500mm ones - Great for my current uses, but will prove a bit too long in my future endeavours... I might have to cut them down, although I'm loath to lose the length 'just in case'.

But certainly they're good enough for gluing up workbench tops.
18mm ply battens fit very nicely up the shaft, especially if you cut it slightly shorter to avoid catching on the notches. This really helps make them solid and stops the clamp from twisting.
Gently file the paint off the screw thread. Add some wood faces to the jaws and you're all good.

Thanks for the post!
Yeah, one thing I’ve been unsure about is the actual brand, but if they’re all made by the same company most probably, then hopefully I’ll be alright. There are four or five different ones on eBay that look identical so I wasn’t sure which to go for.

I too was going to go for the 1500mm ones. My fear was that I’d have to drop another £100+ on bigger ones later on down the line not. Is there a work around for the size when using 1500mm on big pieces? Or is it too much of a pain in the arse that cutting them down is a necessity. Guess it depends what you’re working on...

 

[LFS19]

I find them useful after being adapted. My one gripe though is that there is very little height to the clamping heads.

vs something like below. But it all depends on what you're clamping

Yeah, that does make sense, hadn’t really thought of that.

Thanks for the post!

 

[LFS19]

yes they're worth it, but make sure you retrofit them with wood inside (I used PAR redwood planed to fit), wax them, also file down and take off the cramp heads to make sure they are not jarring, the problem I have had with them is wood falling off the metal heads, it's an annoying ongoing problem with them, other than that they're ok, and you have to wax them quite regularly.

Will definitly be doing this.

Thanks!

 

[LFS19]

I also have steel record style sash cramps, they're far better made and definitely heavier duty, but about 10 times the weight, so not really suitable for anything other than large doors, sash windows e.t.c, not very practical for smaller scale work, or even medium size work imo

That’s a good point actually; cheers.

 

[LFS19]

I think cramps fall into that unsexy category of tool that serious woodworking requires you to just suck up and get the best you can afford. Much like trying to make do with gone-off or inappropriate glue, you run the risk of ruining many hours of careful work with a misstep at the critical moment.

I’m not saying that the cramps identified here won’t be suitable by the way (I just don’t have enough experience with them to say I’m afraid), just be careful not to kid yourself that they are, if they clearly are not. No one gets that warm fuzzy feeling from buying cramps that one might get from a whizz bang mitre saw or something but they are at least as important IMHO.

Certainly agree with you, I’ve been putting off getting some for ages! :lol:
Just got to suck it up, as you say.

Cheers

 

[LFS19]

I bought two sets of these https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cht136- ... clamp-set/ and have had no problems with them.
Bill

They look pretty cool. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[LFS19]

If you have a Proper Job near you (Bristol area mostly) they do clamps which seem to be the same as all the other cheap clamps, but at a lower price. Unfortunately, they don't do mail order on these, you have to collect.

600mm F clamp for £4.50
http://www.properjob.biz/F_Clamp_600_x_80mm-M3226

5ft sash clamp for £9.99
http://www.properjob.biz/5_Aluminium_Sash_Clamp-M3243

I have a few of the F clamps and they're fine for my purposes.

Fergal

Ahh shame I’m up in East Yorkshire, they look really good value. I used to live in bath and still have family down there, so maybe I can convince them to pick some up for me as they’re coming down for Easter. :mrgreen:

Thanks!

 

[julianf]

Id normally not go near Rolson tools, but i have three brands of sash clamp here, none of which i have paid for, so theyre equal in that respect.

And the ones i go for are the Rolson ones?

The other two brands are Record, and Silverline. im surprised by the Record one - ive seen other Record sash clamps that are more akin to the Rolson that i use here, but this particular Record one is a bit flimsey, falls over easily, etc. I mean theres nothing really that wrong with it, but, surprisingly (to me!) ill use the Rolson ones over the others every time!

 

[LFS19]

Id normally not go near Rolson tools, but i have three brands of sash clamp here, none of which i have paid for, so theyre equal in that respect.

And the ones i go for are the Rolson ones?

The other two brands are Record, and Silverline. im surprised by the Record one - ive seen other Record sash clamps that are more akin to the Rolson that i use here, but this particular Record one is a bit flimsey, falls over easily, etc. I mean theres nothing really that wrong with it, but, surprisingly (to me!) ill use the Rolson ones over the others every time!

Surprising, where did you get the Rolson ones?

Cheers

 

[julianf]

They were in a shed at my parents place. My olds thought they were mine but I'd never seen them before! Who knows where they came from.

If I remember tomorrow I'll take a photo of the three types I have, and you can see for yourself.

 

[LFS19]

They were in a shed at my parents place. My olds thought they were mine but I'd never seen them before! Who knows where they came from.

If I remember tomorrow I'll take a photo of the three types I have, and you can see for yourself.

That’d be cool, thank you.

 

[julianf]

I just had a look online, and I suspect they're these ones -

The bar is very solid, no bend. They're stable (ie don't fall over on their sides), and mine lived in a damp shed for years and still move fine.

They're heavy though, which obviously has disadvantages too.

 

[Bodgers]

Found these on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-1200mm-A ... Sw2XFUi1C5

Of course, I’d rather Record ones, but all the ones I’ve seen are the above price for just one.
Can’t really afford them considering I’d need at least four.

There are plenty of aluminium ones like the ones I linked on eBay around £50 for four.
Reckon they’re worth going for?

Thanks!

A like for like quality alternative are the US made Dubuque clamps. I made a couple of videos on them comparing them to the cheap ones:

https://youtu.be/sLPAzcjqqAU

https://youtu.be/Ap-KPqsmI8g

If you aren't prepared to do the mods to the handles, they are almost unusable as the plastic ends fall off and the handles slide out. The other mods can help.

The Dubuque clamps are a lot better but a lot more expensive.

Good vids, thank you!
Puts the quality into perspective. I’ll definitly need the mods, then. There seem to be many sellers of these cheaper aluminium clamps we’re talking about.
Do you reckon some are going to be better than others? Or are they all going to be about the same.
There are at least four different ones on ebay that all look identical, so it’s difficult to know which ones to go with.

I don't think there are any significant difference on the cheap ones. It is likely they are are all made by the same Chinese manufacturer. The only variance seems to be colour and the fact that some seem to have the metal ball head nuts on the end of the handles - which would be preferable, but you aren't necessarily going to get what appears in the picture as the ones I ordered were pictured with the nuts, but came with the useless plastic caps.

If I were you, I would order one or two of the cheap ones and then order just one of the Dubeque ones. That way you aren't too heavily invested, and then you can decide if you can live with the cheap ones.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I've got some that look just like that, came from Screwfix. I've used them quite a bit. I also have a set of much heavier steel 'mock Record' ones from Axminster. On the downsides, I wouldn't want to put as much pressure on with the ali ones (but with good joints, who needs to :wink: ). The threads are far from smooth. But on the plus side, for light work they are pretty convenient. Light to manoeuvre, the heads don't fall off the ends of the bar, no pins to fall out, and they don't topple over so easily. And the ali doesn't leave black marks if it touches oak with glue on it.

Thanks for the post, Tony.
We’re these the ones you got from screwfix?: https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-sa ... p-24/2683v

No, it was a while ago, and Screwfix don't seem to stock them anymore, but they are just like the ones you were looking at on eBay. Even the same colour.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't forget that if you have a selection you can use a heavy cramp to pull something up then a lightweight one to hold it, moving the heavy one on to another place.

Not sure I quite understand what you mean, Phil. Could you elaborate a little
Thanks a lot.

If you have something that's really hard to pull up the stress on the cramp is pulling it up, not holding it there once it's pulled up. Use the strong one to do the job then put the lightweight one alongside it, do it up tight then take the strong one off and use somewhere else. Sometimes if you need a lot of cramps only a couple need be good ones.

 

[Tasky]

No one gets that warm fuzzy feeling from buying cramps that one might get from a whizz bang mitre saw or something

Speak for yourself, mate...! :lol:
Opening a pack of 12 red sash clamps just like the ones I see all the 'proper' woodworkers using was actually quite a special feeling. Same as when I got that same marking knife Paul Sellers uses, the Marples chisels, my first plane, or unwrapped my dovetail saw from 1880 - Many things have a distinctive appearance that I've spent months and months reading about, researching and scouring eBay for, to teh point where every line, angle and detail is burned into my memory....
So when I finally have the real thing in my hands I start imagining all the things I'm going to be making with it. Clamps, for example, had me thinking about a massive great slab of wood being glued up into a worktop, with the uniform rows of properly spaced clamps lined up like ranks of soldiers... or a blanket box for the wife, sat on the workbench looking like a hedgehog with all these clamps sticking out around it.

However, nothing beats the delight when she surprised me by getting me a Veritas router. THAT is simply gorgeous!!

Is there a work around for the size when using 1500mm on big pieces?

Yep - Clear a lot of space in the garage... especially if you have low ceiling struts and have to turn a big, heavy 70kg thing over to clean up glue squeeze from the other side!!!!!!!!!

Or is it too much of a pain in the buttocks that cutting them down is a necessity. Guess it depends what you’re working on...

If you're doing smaller things, then smaller clamps will be pretty necessary. I recently glued up just two boards, only 9" wide, but 8½ feet long - The weight of the clamp rails all stuck out over one side actually turns the workpiece and even if I had a bench which was 1500mm wide, it'd still be piggin' awkward.
Now imagine you're trying to use these for clamping up something small, like a side table - The weight alone would skew the work!!

So yeah, once my bench is done, I'll be seriously considering whether I'll ever again need to clamp something 1500mm wide. As is, these were a touch over-long, but they were also free and beggars cannot be choosers! :wink:

And the ones i go for are the Rolson ones?

My Rolson ones look exactly like this, but in red:
https://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+hand-tool ... k75216pack

 

[Bodgers]

I had a feeling from opening my pack of Screwfix clamps, but it definitely wasn't warm and fuzzy!


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[Beau]

You could make up your own using cramp heads like these and some 2"x1" https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/pair-of-clamp-heads/. Made mine up on some Iroko which I occasionally wax to avoid them sticking to the work being clamped. Far less likely to dent your work using these and no risk of the staining steel cramps can leave if they touch water based glues. If you get an odd job that needs a very long or short cramp then no problem and you can just make up some in a jiffy.

Surprised these never seem to get a mention on here