Enough clamps??

[Trainee neophyte]

I refound this thread about making your own clamps yesterday:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/how-to-make-your-own-wooden-sash-cramps.103631/
I'm having a go at the moment - will hopefully post an example soon. In the meantime, here are all the clamps I own: need moar!

 

[GarF]

My wife developed a strategy of putting a £2 coin in a jar whenever she got one since they weren’t all that much use on a day to day basis when they were first widely in circulation. In a short space of time it became a fairly substantial slush fund for the occasional purchase of shoes or bags with no guilt attached. My approach is somewhat different. I just buy clamps whenever I see a decent deal. There was some talk of buying a tool a week here recently , which I think is definitely worth applying to clamps. Unless you are able to use a vacuum bag, curved work of any description seems to require equally large quantities of clamps and lateral thinking.

 

[johnbaz]

Hi John...do you differentiate between cramps (not the human body type) and clamps? Those screw types were referred-to as 'cramps' when I was a lad. The ratchet types of the modern era were called clamps.

Hi Jack (Always wanted to shout that to an old schoolmate whilst on a plane!! )

I used to call any type of clamp, A cramp!!, It wasn't until I read it somewhere and realised i'd been calling them wrongly all my life!!

The chairback is all back together now, The top rail is plywood, The glue had let go but it's solid now, I laso found my touch up pens and covered the light coloured marks back to the dark hue!

I took the pic before waxing it so there's finger dabs all over the rail!!

John

 

[johnbaz]

Cheap clamps usually have an acme thread which is rolled as opposed to machine cut as with the old Record clamps. You can buy 'Record Irwin' G clamps off the 'A' site and they seem as good as the original Records and a pleasure to use.
As for sash clamps you really need to tailor your work to your clamps. If its joinery nothing beats the Record although they are not made anymore. For light work like boxes you don't need heavy clamps - even 'F' clamps get very cumbersome and awkward. I use the 'Hatagane' Japanese clamps available from www.fine-tools.de and they are brilliant. Better to buy a few quality clamps at a time and you will avoid a collection of cheapo cheapo paperweights !

I paid next to nothing for the G and F clamps, They came from the bootsales for 50p or a poundeach, They do what I need them to do, Have to agree that the Acme threaded ones are generally much lower quality than the proper machine thread ones


My garage is rubbish and is quite damp so any iron/steel tools need to be oiled, In cold winters the inside of the roof actually has ice on it that's frozen moisture from the air, During the day this melts and it actually drips/rains inside!

It's a sectional concrete garage with corrugated cement roof, I'll have to look into getting a new roof for it, I've put up with the damp for long enough!!


John

 

[clogs]

I'm fairly sure they are available there.....
I first found em in California 40 years ago
Pipe clamps......they wont hold a bridge together but very useful......
U buy the end fittings and supply ur own tube....3/4"BSP.....the pipe is cheap and can be bought in any length u want upto 6m...I use galv.....
]]]]]]]]]''; i j ,[]-0i,p;,pp[[

sorry about that, nursing 2 new born kittens that we found in a skip.....
n, yes we are keeping them.......kittens and puppies...mmmmmmm....hahaha....
we foster new born puppies for a charity here...... these were 3 days old, still blind and ears closed.....
that's until they are adopted, normally after 14-16 weeks...loads'a fun...Bill n Ben...have a picture of them in a flower pot somewhere....hahaha
if ur interested they've been going to Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the UK..... we get to see how they grow up for the first year......fairly warms my heart......

and one of our Border paternal Collies,.....

anyway clamps,
cheap and cheerful but they work and easy to store.....the dead end has a self locking mechanism so slips up the pipe to where u need......thats why they only have the only a 6" thread....

gotta go feeding time at the zoo..........hahaha....

 

[clogs]

Jon Baz,
look into insulated Steel roof sheeting......overall not that dear, virtualy self supporting, watertight imeadiately, no maintence and the job can be done in a couple of hours......
fit n forget.....

 

[clogs]

First found em in California 40 years ago.....
Pipe clamps...cheap to buy....they wont hold up a bridge but strong enough.....
they use 3/4 BSP pipe, I use galv for mine.....u can get the pipe any length up to 6m......hahaha....
easy to store and plenty strong enough......
where u would use a Record sash cramp these u'll need two.....you can never have enough clamps anyway....
but have u seen the price of the Record ones if ya can find em....almost collectable now.....!!!!

 

[MikeG.]

That's all very well, Frank, but although they're available here, they're relatively expensive and relatively rare. Being cheap in California is not a lot of use to us.

-

Couldn't you type out "you"? This isn't a text message/ SMS forum.

 

[clogs]

mike G
sorry about that...force of habit....but not GONNA change now....
pipe clamps are available on Amazon and Ebay for £6,50 per unit.....
still cheap dont u think....

 

[johnbaz]

Jon Baz,
look into insulated Steel roof sheeting......overall not that dear, virtualy self supporting, watertight imeadiately, no maintence and the job can be done in a couple of hours......
fit n forget.....

That sounds great Frank, Many thanks


John

 

[MikeG.]

mike G
sorry about that...force of habit....but not GONNA change now....
pipe clamps are available on Amazon and Ebay for £6,50 per unit.....
still cheap dont u think....

Without the pipes. Thanks so much for your consideration of the other readers here.