Carl Beckett
06-26-2011, 5:24 PM
I have a set of 4 parallel clamps - Irwin brand. I dont use them much because they seem to 'self lock' when I try to clamp something. Meaning, the clamps lock up on themselves and dont apply the force to the work piece. It seems like it must be something to do with the pivoting positions and tolerancing for this to happen (or... just a fundamentally bad design, but they are all pretty much the same, no?)
Im wondering if they can be shimmed or adjusted or there is a trick to getting them to operate smoothly. Before I start drawing free body diagrams I thought I would just ask here.
Do note that they bite into the bar fine, so they arent slipping. They just rotate in a way that additional turns of the handle doesnt translate to the workpiece.
Thoughts? :confused:
Im wondering if they can be shimmed or adjusted or there is a trick to getting them to operate smoothly. Before I start drawing free body diagrams I thought I would just ask here.
Do note that they bite into the bar fine, so they arent slipping. They just rotate in a way that additional turns of the handle doesnt translate to the workpiece.
Thoughts? :confused: