clamp question

[Brad Wood]

Geez, I feel like I am asking an awful lot of really stupid questions. Still being relatively new to woodworking, I am quickly discovering the more I get into it, the less I know.

Anyway...

If any of you have followed my most recent posts, I am sort of gearing up to what will be my largest project to date - large as in size, not complexity. I am starting to look at larger clamps and I think I need a handful of the "Pony" pipe clamps due to the ability to create custom lengths.

When I buy these clamps, I will need to buy the steel pipe from the hardware store... do I need to make sure one end is threaded in order for this system to work? .... so, taking an 8' pipe and cutting it to two 4' wont work if only one end is threaded??????

Thanks

[Kevin Stobb]

Yes, you must have one end threaded on every piece of pipe you want to use as a clamp. The local hardware store here in town only charges a buck to thread any size pipe.

[Ben Franz]

The BORG threads cut pipe for free in our area. I usually buy a 10' length and have them cut it and rethread the ends - this way I can use a coupler to join two lengths if I need a really long clamp.

[Lance Norris]

For the Ponys... one end will have to be threaded. There are some pipe clamps like the ponys that dont need one end to be threaded, Irwin is one that comes to mind. They have clutch plates on the head end, like the adjustable foot, that grab onto the pipe. I have some and they work good, with one complaint. The head swivels around on the pipe, unlike the ponys which are tight, because they are threaded onto the pipe end. My way to fix the Irwins was to drill through the head and the pipe and put a cotter pin through them to hold them fast. There is nothing worse that trying to clamp a large cabinet and having the head spinning around. Save up some money and buy parallel clamps. They are much better than pipe clamps.

http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml;jsessionid=ROQTSHBIGE4RMCQIUBSCHPQKBC QHQJCK?prodId=IrwinProd100032

[Chris Allen]

My local HD and Lowes have pre-cut black pipe, in various lengths, that are already threaded.

I really like my Pony's because of their affordability, quality, and clamping power. I'm finding out that I would really like some Besseys or Jets though. Much lighter and easier to work with.

[Lee Schierer]

Yes you need at least one end threaded for the clamps to work. However, I prefer to get both ends threaded as you can use a pipe coupler and combine lengths for those special clamping jobs. I've made clamps 16' long for some clamping needs I had while working on my deck using my couplers and available lengths of pipe.

[keith ouellette]

Like everyone said, yes on the thread.

I would get shorter pipe, a little more than half of what you need and have both ends threaded.

That way you can use a threaded coupling between the two shorter pipe to make the long clamp you need and then break them down so you have shorter pipe clamps that you would find more use for and not have the pain of storing 8' or 10' pipes.

I did this ad it works good.

[Chris Tsutsui]

At Lowes, they have what's called a "contractor pack".

You buy 10 feet of 3/4" pipe and you get it for a sale price. Normal price of the 10' contractor pack is $1.74 per foot. I got it for $1.07 per foot. (So $10.70 for a 10 foot segment)

They will cut it and thread the ends however you like for free.

So to make four 5 foot clamps, I bought two contractor packs and had them cut in half at the store. I also had them thread both sides in case I wanted to BUTT two ends together to make a really long pipe. Or you can put end caps on the ends.

Galvanized pipe is a little more expensive than the black pipe, but it was also selling for a good price.

Rather than getting Pony clamps which I know are good, I eventually tried the Harbor Freight 3/4" bar clamps. So far they seem like they will do the job fine. I can tell the machining is a little more "rough" than the Pony's but it doesn't really affect function.

On sale, the HF clamp is $4ea. The Pony's are like $15ea.

[Brad Wood]

Thanks everyone.. and to you to Chris, that was helpful. ... specially since I was looking at those clamps on the HF web site :)

[glenn bradley]

I thread both ends and use the protective spring-ends that thread onto the exposed end at the tail end. This helps keep the threads from getting dinged so they are in good shape when you want to couple two pipes for length. They also keep the tail piece form coming off if you're not paying attention.

[John Sanford]

When getting the pipe cut, don't cut a 10' length in half, unless you actually know that you have an immediate need for a pair of 5' clamps. I had mine cut to 7' and 3', 'cause it's a PITA to haul around 2 extra feet of clamp when you don't need to.

now, since I've got a fair stock of K-bodies, and haven't done any really long projects, I haven't even gotten my pipe clamps outta the corner in a while. Still, when I need them, they're ready to go, and I dont' expect to be parting with them until I shuffle off this mortal coil.

[Rob Price]

I may get flamed for this... but I haven't touched my pipe clamps since I got some parallel clamps and since I got aluminum bar clamps from Rockler.

I like the aluminum clamps because the clamping pressure is right on top of the bar, pipe clamps the pressure is a bit above the bar and can make assembling panels tricky. Pipe clamps are heavy (parallel clamps are too I guess). You can connect two bar clamps or parallel clamps for a longer clamp as well. You can buy premade couplers or make some yourself easy.

My pipe clamps sit in the corner collecting dust, I haven't touched them in two years.

[Dennis Thornton]

I thread both ends and use the protective spring-ends that thread onto the exposed end at the tail end. This helps keep the threads from getting dinged so they are in good shape when you want to couple two pipes for length. They also keep the tail piece form coming off if you're not paying attention.

I have the spring ends also. If I were to do it over I'd buy some pvc threaded end caps. It seems like there's never enough room and I'm always bumping the far end into something (too many spaz moments). I guess the pvc end caps would be a little more forgiving on the victim.