Clamp spots ????

[denis tuomey]

Glued up 1/4 of my edge grain butcher block top :) and when I removed the clamps (Jorgenson) there is a spot left on the wood :eek: where the plastic pad from the clamps made contact, looks like a wet spot but its been there for 2 days. It did it on Sepele, Walnut and Cherry. Anyone ever seen this happen or know if it will go away :confused:

[Myk Rian]

Try soaking it out with mineral spirits.
I use blue painters tape on the pads to prevent that, or a thin piece of scrap wood.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Use clamps pads. Many years ago I glued some 1/16" cork to 1/4" smooth both sides hardboard. I then cut this into 1.5" squares. I still have a dozen of these to use a clamps pads on any surface I care about.

[glenn bradley]

The jorgie pad spots have been discussed for years. There was even some noise about Jorgesen doing something about it some years ago; never happened. The newer Irwin Quick-Grips do it too, the old ones don't, Bessey's don't, Harbor Freights do, etc., etc. Mineral spirits or DNA seems to remove them but, who wants to fuss with that all the time? Wood cauls, tape or whatever will prevent it. On smaller clamps where one doesn't use crushing pressure I used plastic dip to replace the pads. This has been surprisingly durable . . . who knew?

[Bobby O'Neal]

I have had the same problem and found the marks do not go very deep. Whatever final surfacing is done between a glueup and finishing always gets rid of it. I mean minimal work... like maybe two passes with a card scraper or certainly one pass with a plane. A few strokes with sandpaper also would remove them.

[Chris Padilla]

The pads leech something into the wood due to the high pressure placed upon them. Toss some blue tape or a scrap piece of lumber there next time.

[Peter Quinn]

I ripped all those pads off years ago, into the garbage they went. They leave spots, sometimes easy to remove, sometimes not so easy such as on maple. Worthless. I've seen them dent wood even with the pads, its just too small an area for all the pressure. It's actually not the best way to clamp anyway, better off to put some cauls in there to throw the clamp pressure over a wider area, more even. I usually save some scraps from final trimming, or if possible leave extra width to cut off post glue up. Never a shortage of glueing pads in my shop. But the little plastic buttons? Not so good.

[Mike Heidrick]

Not the cabinet masters I am betting?

[Kent A Bathurst]

I use blue painters tape on the pads to prevent that, or a thin piece of scrap wood.

Perzactly. Famous Blue Tape. 6-roll pkg from Amazon is how I go about it.