Clamping's making my head spin.

[LocalOak]

Hi

I have a number of shelving/bookcase/cupboard projects to do and I've been trying to work out what type of clamps I need and it's making my head spin.

In the past I've borrowed some standard sash cramps, about 1200mm, and they have been fine. I've been thinking about getting my own for a few months and have been cruising the Axi/workshopheaven/r&*%^nds sites. And to be honest I'm really unsure just what it is I need. I've got plenty of small to medium clamps and are fine with those, its the big clamps that I'm getting stuck on.

The projects over the next few years are a mix of MDF fitted units (built out then fitted and shimmed in place) and some higher quality hardwood bits of furniture like bedside tables and a hall stand (way beyond my current experience but I like to stretch myself).

I've looked at sash cramps and parallel jaw clamps and F clamps, and bar clamps and elephant toenail rhino presses (well maybe not). And I've realised that I don't really know what these various clamps are designed for and the limitations and advantages of all of them. Like everyone I have a limited budget and would like to get some that will be as versatile as possible.

Can anyone out there enlighten me, should I just buy a bunch of cheap sash cramps or is there something I'm missing. And I do know that there will be lots of different opinions :?

Perhaps there is room for an introduction to clamping?

Toby

 

[awkwood]

I have used al sorts of clamps, but i find these 42" and 48" clamps are always first to be used, extension bars make them even more useful
http://www.cglass.co.uk/record-136-t-bar-clamps-pr-17323.html

 

[Shultzy]

I bought a set of 4 cramp heads and made bars out of beech of varying lengths.

 

[OPJ]

Like Shultzy, I've also taken a liking to using sash cramp heads and making your own hardwood bars for waste and scrap. I find these spare lengths of 'bar' are much easier to store than conventional sash cramps and the heads themselves can sit in a box, drawer or on a shelf.

Ideal for the hobbyist. Probably too fiddly (having to remove heads and fit to a longer bar) for someone running a business... Unless you use cheap pine, you'll generally get a stronger clamp than the cheaper aluminium ones as well! :wink:

 

[Paul Chapman]

The trouble with cramps is that you need a lot, so the cost soon mounts up. When I started doing lots of woodwork in 1970 I needed lots of cramps but didn't have much money, so I started buying Record #130 cramp heads like these (they were £1-50 a pair in those days )

I eventually bought 18 pairs and for years these have been my only sash cramps. They are really very good and you can manage perfectly well with them.

I'm now also building up some Record #135 sash cramps which, in my view, are the best, like these

http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/search.php?se ... =&x=10&y=7

Much better than all the fancy Bessy stuff that people go on about.

Add some Record #120 4 inch, 6 inch and 8 inch G cramps and you'll be able to deal with most things.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[xy mosian]

I,ve picked up quite a few sash cramps of various lengths, un-used, unloved, etc., over the years, but I keep finding myself using sash cramp heads on whatever is lying around. I think it has a lot to do with weight. Eight sash cramps can seriously damage health if they move at the wrong time in the wrong direction. My first heads were Record, but the next lot were some other brand, why, longer threads. Bars, I have used cheapest pine to seriously damaged mahogany. The pine allows sufficient clamping to compress the timber, what more do you want?

HTH
xy

ps if using cramp heads line the bar surface adjacent to the glue with pvc packing tape, that way they don't get stuck.

 

[mailee]

If I had the money I would buy lots of Bessey's but I don't. I have two
Record sash cramps, two sash cramp heads which I use on two dedicated bars and a set of the Rutlands Bessey clones and one of the cheaper Bessey clamps which has fallen apart now! :roll: I know the opinion on here of the Rutlands ones is not good but I have found them to be a great clamp so far. I bought my set when they were on offer and have not looked back. I am thinking of buying another smaller set now to compliment the ones I have. HTH. :wink:

 

[wobblycogs]

I was lucky enough to get a couple of Bessy clamps from SWMBO for Christmas and I've used them in anger a couple of time now. There is no doubt they are expensive but they are also seriously nice to work with. I've also got some of the really cheap Axminster bar cramps and they are ok but a bit more fiddly. I've used the Record style that others have mentioned and I find them to be a good comprimise between price and enjoyment to use.

 

[woodbloke]

The trouble with cramps is that you need a lot, so the cost soon mounts up. When I started doing lots of woodwork in 1970 I needed lots of cramps but didn't have much money, so I started buying Record #130 cramp heads like these (they were £1-50 a pair in those days )

I eventually bought 18 pairs and for years these have been my only sash cramps. They are really very good and you can manage perfectly well with them.

I'm now also building up some Record #135 sash cramps which, in my view, are the best, like these

http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/search.php?se ... =&x=10&y=7

Much better than all the fancy Bessy stuff that people go on about.

Add some Record #120 4 inch, 6 inch and 8 inch G cramps and you'll be able to deal with most things.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

I went down the same sort of route as Paul (in fact I bought most of my early tools at the same shop, now closed ) but I couldn't get on with the cramp heads on a wooden bar as I found them too clunky, so I then started to build up a few of the standard Record sash cramps in various lengths, which IMO are the best out there...stay clear of they Bessey thingies :lol: - Rob

 

[Mr Ed]

stay clear of they Bessey thingies :lol: - Rob

There speaks a man who has obviously never owned and lived with any. You can say what you like about them being overpriced, but you can't deny that they are an excellent clamp. Probably the best in my opinion - buy once, buy quality.

Ed

 

[OPJ]

I've not used any of the more expensive Bessey clamps (though, I'd expect them to be excellent, at those prices! ) but I do own a few Uni-Clamps. They're not bad for light use but, two of them have 'broken' in the last couple of years - I guess I've overtightened them as the sliding jaws no longer apply firm pressure; the handle keeps turning and the jaw slips (if you look inside, you can see where the screw clamp has burst through the inner plastic channel). I can't afford the Record's at the minute either, which is what has led me to using the cramp heads.

For what it's worth, I've also found these Expert Sash Clamps are pretty good for the money. They're a lot better than the cheaper aluminium ones.

 

[OLD]

'The projects over the next few years are a mix of MDF fitted units (built out then fitted and shimmed in place) and some higher quality hardwood bits of furniture like bedside tables and a hall stand (way beyond my current experience but I like to stretch myself'
For good work clamps need to pull components square in all dimensions and hold firmly the separate head sash and the best quality sash clamps can do this, but for a larger clamping area ease of use ( wood pads that are difficult to deal with are not always required) and strong grip its bessey or good quality copys.

 

[woodbloke]

stay clear of they Bessey thingies :lol: - Rob

... and lived with any.
Ed

...and there speaks a man who obviously takes his Bessey's to bed with him :lol: :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[Mr Ed]

stay clear of they Bessey thingies :lol: - Rob

... and lived with any.
Ed

...and there speaks a man who obviously takes his Bessey's to bed with him :lol: :lol: :lol: - Rob

You can use the small ones as nipple clamps

 

[yetloh]

For me, the best sash cramps and the only Record ones worth having are the T bar variety - the flat bar ones bend under pressure. The trouble is the T bars are very pricey. I have some of these http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=376881&name=sash+cramps&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=0 which run the Record Ts pretty close.

I have tried the Bessey parallel clamps and found them pretty good but you cannot get the pressure possible with a T bar.

Jim

 

[woodbloke]

stay clear of they Bessey thingies :lol: - Rob

... and lived with any.
Ed

...and there speaks a man who obviously takes his Bessey's to bed with him :lol: :lol: :lol: - Rob

You can use the small ones as nipple clamps

Steady Ed or this thread's gona get nuked by Philly :lol: - Rob

 

[AndyT]

I've got some Record T-bar clamps, which are great if you can have them flat on the bench, with the wood above them. But for complicated big things they would be too heavy and awkward.

When I was just starting out I made a big kitchen dresser top and needed to be able to clamp it up.

Being hard up, I bought some lengths of studding and used scrap wood as bridging pieces. A bit fiddly for repeated use, but good clamping strength, light weight and cheap.

I've since seen the idea in Robert Wearing's excellent "Resourceful Woodworker"

 

[lurker]

I like these

http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/2/prod ... -32094.htm

They work out very cheap if you have a tame plumber who can get you the bar for free

 

[LocalOak]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Hadn't really considered separate cramp heads and wooden bars but looking around the workshop (and the spare room and hallway) I realised I've got enough timber to make some good strong bars and that is much more versatile that just have the cramps on fixed length bars. Probably plenty for my needs, just got to work out which cramp heads to get now...

Thanks

Toby

 

[Eric The Viking]

just got to work out which cramp heads to get now..

I've got some of the Record ones, but the better set I have (Marples I think, but they're not branded and I did buy them 30-odd years ago!) has a diagonal slot on both the ends, and a pilot hole too, for drilling up bars quickly. The advantage of the diagonal slots (for the pins) is that as you tighten, the heads bed down against the wood of the bar, meaning, as long as the bar is parallel, they stay square. Even my sash cramps don't work that well! Stupidly, I only have the one set (didn't have much money in those days! I'm still on the lookout for another set to make up a pair. I have a really chunky mahogany bar for them though, that's slightly concave on the clamp side and convex on the other (more convex than t'other side is concave IYSWIM). As you add pressure it straightens, which also helps to keep the jaws parallel.

There is one more big advantages too that hasn't been mentioned: cramp heads can be reversed on the bar, so as to push things apart, rather than push together. I've used my biggest bar cramp that way to fix door frames that are bowed-in. But that's really DIY, rather than 'proper' woodwork...

This is my tenth post so I ought to be able to post pics now. Will try to add some tomorrow (if I get a moment), so you'll see what I mean about the slots...
(posts, then goes to D&M site)
They're these!
To be honest they don't look quite as nice as my older ones, but they are the same design for sure, and work far better than the Record ones (IMHO), AND they're cheaper! In the D&M picture, the left hand pin is in the pilot hole you use for drilling the bar - you don't use it for cramping operations. Now I _will_ have a pair!