Does it hurt the clamps to store them clamped onto something?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have some quick grip clamps (Irwin, Craftsman and gasp even some HF) - the squeeze kind. I usually just clamp them onto something when I'm not using them.
I got to wondering if that might somehow be bad for them - like it might put some kind of stess on them or something - or make them wear out faster.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have some quick grip clamps (Irwin, Craftsman and gasp even some HF) - the squeeze kind. I usually just clamp them onto something when I'm not using them.
I got to wondering if that might somehow be bad for them - like it might put some kind of stess on them or something - or make them wear out faster.

Not within a 10 year horizon, by my testing. But since then, I reorganized my clamp storage - I got annoyed by the clamp/unclamp requirements, and cut slots into a 2x2 and hang them by their "tails" - the stop pin keeps them from falling through the slot. OTOH - this takes more distance from a wall, because they are hanging from their center - by clamping them in place, all of the clamp is extended away from the wall.

[george wilson]

I store many of my clamps by clamping them on a narrow little shelf that was made for that purpose.

[John McClanahan]

I store mine by clamping them to a rib on the garage door. I don't have much free wall space and the door works good. Just keep what you clamp them to thin. That way the spring will be the most relaxed. I have found the cheap plastic clamps will distort over time from the spring tension. Keeping them clamped to something thick will make this happen faster.

John

[shane lyall]

Don't know about doing this with clamps with pads. Seems to me that it would compress the soft pads over time but I don't have any data to back that up. With that said, I have a strip of ply screwed across open studs and hang them on that. Works well for my shop.

[Paul Janders]

I clamp mine to the steel I-Beam that runs through my basement. I don't clamp them down with a lot of force though. Just enough to keep them from falling. I have never noticed a problem after many years. My clamps are all Bessey Cabinet Masters and other assorted Bessey clamps.

[Jon van der Linden]

I got annoyed by the clamp/unclamp requirements

+1 I'm too lazy (or is that efficient?) to spend my time clamping clamps to hold clamps. I'd look for another way to do it, which really depends on your space etc.

[Cody Colston]

I have some quick grip clamps (Irwin, Craftsman and gasp even some HF) - the squeeze kind. I usually just clamp them onto something when I'm not using them.
I got to wondering if that might somehow be bad for them - like it might put some kind of stess on them or something - or make them wear out faster.

It won't hurt them...not in your lifetime.

[george wilson]

I don't squeeze them hard either when clamping them for storage.

[Jay Jeffery]

Just to be clear, the OP is talking about plastic one-handed clamps, not steel bar clamps.

There is clearly no issue leaving the all metal clamps in their clamped state. Metal does not exhibit time dependent changes to its properties.

Most plastics exhibit a phenomena known as creep. Under a load, it may deform, sometimes reversibly (viscoelastic) and sometimes permanently (viscoplastic). Whether it creeps, at what load it takes to creep, and how long it takes to cause significant deformation will depend on a lot of factors. The specific plastic used, the temperature, and how hard they are clamped would be factors. High quality clamps like Irwin will probably not have any issues, but I would not expect HF clamps to be as resilient. If you just put enough pressure to hold them in place, you would not be likely to have issues, either.

But as for me, I prefer to hang plastic clamps.