Clamp recommendations

[Astrobits]

You can put an Allen key in the handle of the Bessey for further tightening, which is easier than Axminster rotating handle when the clamp is close to the bench.

That is a new addition that my Bessey's don't have. Must be a change due to the competition
Nigel

 

[Swiftedge]

No love for pipe clamps?
I’m trying to find the most affordable way to clamp a workbench top and then, if it goes successfully, a dining table. But I don’t have long term plans to build lots with them.
A number of metal sites have been posted selling 4’+ pipes with screw ends for £8, then four ok looking clamps can be had for £30. They look like they’ll be incredibly strong and do the job I want. Is there a downside?

thanks

 

[Droogs]

Are you making the bench/table tops on another bench/counter/surface or will the pieces be clamped up and left against the wall kind of thing?

2 possible solutions
1. if you are making on another flat surface then at various points screw or glue down some wooden block about 4" long 2" high by 2" wide running parallel to the laminitations. then bang in wooden wedges to keep them tight together.
2. if no bench to work on then make some cauls wider than the width for both top and bottom and use threaded rod to secure the laminations flat and then bang in wedges between the rod and the outside lamination.

hth

 

[Hornbeam]

arallel cramps are much quicker to use than traditional sash cramps. The main thing I like about them is I can clamp up for example a panel, lift it off the bench with the cramps still on and it will just stand up on edge on the cramp heads if that makes sense.

I still dont see the big plus. If you use sash clamps of te same length and alternate which side the are on, then the whole assemble stands up on its own. Perhaps i am too traditional. Good quality record sash and G clamps do vitually everything and are fairly quick if you set everything up firts. Also helps tp have pre made wooden pressure pads and spacers to hold the bars a set distance off teh panel

 

[Swiftedge]

Are you making the bench/table tops on another bench/counter/surface or will the pieces be clamped up and left against the wall kind of thing?

2 possible solutions
1. if you are making on another flat surface then at various points screw or glue down some wooden block about 4" long 2" high by 2" wide running parallel to the laminitations. then bang in wooden wedges to keep them tight together.
2. if no bench to work on then make some cauls wider than the width for both top and bottom and use threaded rod to secure the laminations flat and then bang in wedges between the rod and the outside lamination.

hth

I have no work surface other than the reasonably flat garage floor. I’ll see if I can find some pictures or videos of the methods you have described as uncertain. Thanks

 

[Droogs]

watch this to make a caul and jut make it wide enough so that you can fit a wedge between the threaded rod and the edge of the bench top edge inside the cauls

 

[Dazed]

600mm Bessey KREs span more than 600mm. I used 20 of them recently on 615mm frames. Near their max though. Also not compact or lightweight, flippin' heavy in fact! But very strong, only suffering very minor bowing when fully torqued up.
And as said they can sometimes be contrary when trying to set one-handed, there's a knack to it..

I still use Record cramp heads on lengths of 2 x 1 ash. Very cheap at the time, can you still get them? Nowhere near the clamping area or projection of the Besseys though.
Steve

 

[Swiftedge]

watch this to make a caul and jut make it wide enough so that you can fit a wedge between the threaded rod and the edge of the bench top edge inside the cauls

Ah I understand now thank you. I suppose these would work well. Certainly not as expensive as some £20 clamp, but still I’d need flat planed pieces of wood, then the fixings to go through them and the time to make them. I’m not sure how to really compare that cost wise.
Is there a risk of them getting stuck to glue that leaks between the gaps? Because they themselves are applying quite a bit of vertical force onto the piece.

In this video is he using them to stop the panels bowing out in the middle? He’s not using them for what you suggested and driving wedges down the side, looks like he’s using parallel clamps to squeeze the wood horizontally.

 

[Droogs]

I am sugesting a way to improvise if you can not afford to buy clamps. Remember man was sticking bits of wood together and using the pressure from wedges for around 6k years before the screw thread was invented. The fact that cauls help keep it flat is a bonus. it is a way to apply clamping pressure on a large item without having a bench, unless you use pasta twists, the metal threaded rod will outlast the wood of the caul believe me. just remember all the fancy gear just does what the old ways did but with more convenience and sometimes accuracy (not needed in this case). Just get some CLS to make the caul and the rod costs £1.20 a metre in B&Q get a couple of washers and nuts and away you go all in about £10

 

[Inspector]

No love for pipe clamps?
I’m trying to find the most affordable way to clamp a workbench top and then, if it goes successfully, a dining table. But I don’t have long term plans to build lots with them.
A number of metal sites have been posted selling 4’+ pipes with screw ends for £8, then four ok looking clamps can be had for £30. They look like they’ll be incredibly strong and do the job I want. Is there a downside?

thanks

When I started playing with wood I bought Pony pipe clamp heads and various lengths of pipe and used them. My father had used them in his shop for at least two decades before in furniture production. I have a couple dozen at least and if pipe is easy to come by definitely worth considering. They are capable of a lot of pressure if needed and can mark the wood so a caul is used unless you want be reworking the edges later. You can also do as my father did and that was to drill a hole in a couple blocks of wood and slip them onto the pipe between the jaws. You can have various lengths of pipe so switching is easy and couplers let you join 2 lengths together if both ends are threaded for the odd long job. The only minor downside is that glue squeeze out where the wood touches the pipe can turn black. Laying some paper on the pipes or putting a bit of blue painter tape on the pipe takes care of that. You can also elevate the glue up on some sticks to keep the wood off the clamp. Alternating the clamps on either side keeps everything flat. I would caution you to get good clamps as the cheap ones are more of a headache than they are worth. Right now the Bessey pipe clamp heads are really nice and would be what I would get today. Pony clamps are not US made anymore.

I have a bunch of older K- body Bessey clamps, the ones with plain red plastic on the jaws. They are great too but naturally a lot more money. My experience with some of the cheaper varieties has taught me to skip them.

Pete

 

[Swiftedge]

I am sugesting a way to improvise if you can not afford to buy clamps. Remember man was sticking bits of wood together and using the pressure from wedges for around 6k years before the screw thread was invented. The fact that cauls help keep it flat is a bonus. it is a way to apply clamping pressure on a large item without having a bench, unless you use pasta twists, the metal threaded rod will outlast the wood of the caul believe me. just remember all the fancy gear just does what the old ways did but with more convenience and sometimes accuracy (not needed in this case). Just get some CLS to make the caul and the rod costs £1.20 a metre in B&Q get a couple of washers and nuts and away you go all in about £10

I think I'll give it a go, working on some smaller pieces first before trying to laminate a workbench top.

Jumping off your video I found this one:

where he is using the clamping cauls and then a wedge as you suggest.

Do you think an M6 wing-nut would do the trick? I don't want to use a nut and have to tighten and loosen it with a spanner each time, seems handier to make it tight by hand alone. I can't find any of the clamping knobs, or star knob with hole through at B&Q, Wickes, Toolstation, Screwfix etc. I was surprised how cheap the M6 rods are.

 

[Swiftedge]

When I started playing with wood I bought Pony pipe clamp heads and various lengths of pipe and used them. My father had used them in his shop for at least two decades before in furniture production. I have a couple dozen at least and if pipe is easy to come by definitely worth considering. They are capable of a lot of pressure if needed and can mark the wood so a caul is used unless you want be reworking the edges later. You can also do as my father did and that was to drill a hole in a couple blocks of wood and slip them onto the pipe between the jaws. You can have various lengths of pipe so switching is easy and couplers let you join 2 lengths together if both ends are threaded for the odd long job. The only minor downside is that glue squeeze out where the wood touches the pipe can turn black. Laying some paper on the pipes or putting a bit of blue painter tape on the pipe takes care of that. You can also elevate the glue up on some sticks to keep the wood off the clamp. Alternating the clamps on either side keeps everything flat. I would caution you to get good clamps as the cheap ones are more of a headache than they are worth. Right now the Bessey pipe clamp heads are really nice and would be what I would get today. Pony clamps are not US made anymore.

I have a bunch of older K- body Bessey clamps, the ones with plain red plastic on the jaws. They are great too but naturally a lot more money. My experience with some of the cheaper varieties has taught me to skip them.

Pete

It does feel like pipe clamps aren't that popular any more. I have relatives in Washington and was having a quick look to see if it might even be cheaper to have them bought and posted from there, but the stores I looked at didn't even have pipe clamps any more. Plenty of parallel and sash like here. They look like such a good idea its surprising.

 

[Droogs]

it will be fine if your fingers can stand the pressure when tightening them or get a ratchet ring spanner that fits the nut size you want to use. Nice find on the vid - not seen this chap before, was enjoyable to watch.

 

[Inspector]

It does feel like pipe clamps aren't that popular any more. I have relatives in Washington and was having a quick look to see if it might even be cheaper to have them bought and posted from there, but the stores I looked at didn't even have pipe clamps any more. Plenty of parallel and sash like here. They look like such a good idea its surprising.

Not as pretty so they don't get the press and the "sponsors" of magazines and videos get better product placement and reviews for their more expensive products. Why promote a pipe clamp head set that sells for 1/4 to 1/6 of their other offerings?

As for the M6 hardware. You could use a nice fat peg the size of your thumb in the holes for the wedges to bear against. A couple large rubber bands will keep the cauls together while tightening the wedges. A tap with a beater here and there on a block of scrap will line up the pieces being glued.

Pete

 

[Droogs]

I don't think he wants to be that Heath Robinson lol

I'm game tho

 

[Swiftedge]

Giving it a go. I’m not laminating these for any particular purpose, just cheap CLS to see how effective it is before I make any more. This section is only about 7” long, but the total caul length is 34”, as that’s eventually the size of a table top I’d like to make.

I think the caul wood I chose is too narrow, hopefully strong enough still over 30”. I drilled some rubbish holes to start, not squarely aligned at all. Not sure how to get precision eyeing it with a hand drill.
Is there a better profile to use for the wedges? I found them a bit long to work with and hammer in, they’d get in the way of each other if I had a longer piece of wood being laminated. You can also see where the cauls have slid from parallel when the wedges were hammered.

I was going to put scrap wood in between the wedge and the piece being laminated, but I don’t think they are going to do any damage. Maybe more important if working on something where the finish is important.

 

[Droogs]

hammer them in in the other direction from outside to the centre. if you are having difficulty drilling perpendicular holes, make a guide.
cut 2 blocks about 30mm (H) x 20mm (W) and 20mm long and then glue them at 90 deg and use the 2 sides of the internal corner as a guide for the drill bit

 

[Dlyxover]

I went for the pony jorgensen parallel clamps, they are very nice and put a lot of pressure down and good value I thought.

JORGENSEN CABINET MASTER 24" 90 PARALLEL JAW BAR CLAMP - Tools-Warehouse.co.uk, Brand Tools. Value Prices.

down side they did take a few weeks to arrive

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Marginally more complicated - the 4 way scissor bar clamp. It's on the list to make, with so many other things. I did make some bar clamps, (or were they cramps?) but they do allow for the boards to warp when under pressure. I'm hoping that the shiny 4 way action will improve things.

Here's a warts and all video:

 

[Inspector]

Is there a better profile to use for the wedges? I found them a bit long to work with and hammer in, they’d get in the way of each other if I had a longer piece of wood being laminated. You can also see where the cauls have slid from parallel when the wedges were hammered.

Make smaller wedges as pairs and hit them in from each side. You can if needed use a C/G clamp/cramp to squeeze them together if you need to.