Is it bad to store clamps by having them clamped to something?

[Michael Yadfar]

I have a selection of Jorgenson and cheap plastic bar clamps, and I've just had them laying around in the past and a few on my peg board. I needed some room so I screwed a 2x4 to the side if my work bench and I have the clamps clamped to there. Now I don't know much about the life of clamps, but instinct tells me that that's not good for the clamps. I've never seen that type of set up in any other shop so I figure it's either bad for the clamp or just inconvenient having to unclamp and reclamp to store. I can easily build a proper rack for these which I will probably do anyway, but I'm wondering if that's a bad way to store clamps?

[James Baker SD]

I have stored Bessey old style K-body clamps for about 10 years by clamping them to 2x4 mounted on the wall. Hasn't seem to hurt them at all, but I do not tighten them much, just enough so that the friction keeps them from sliding off. Hand screws are stored the same way.

[John Sanford]

I have a fair # of my clamps stored like that. As long as you don't honk 'em down, it doesn't hurt 'em one bit. It's just inconvenient compared to simply reaching out and picking a clamp off the wall, which is why few folks do it. All of my Quik-Grip style clamps are clamped for storage.

[Duane Meadows]

I hope not! If so I'm in big trouble. Most of mine have been stored that way going on 20 years, though. They are only snug enough to keep them from moving.

[Kevin Womer]

I have stored clamps like that for quite some time and don't see how it could harm them in any way.

[John McClanahan]

I have had a few of my cheap black plastic spring clamps break while storing them that way. I use the braces on the overhead door for spring clamp storage.

John

[Mike Cutler]

If you're only tightening them enough to keep them in place, you're good.

[Ole Anderson]

It is not like leaving your clicker torque wrench set on 100 ft-lbs for months at a time, like I used to before I became more "knowledgeable". Even if you leave your metal clamps cranked down, I can't see any harm there.

[ken masoumi]

It is not like leaving your clicker torque wrench set on 100 ft-lbs for months at a time, like I used to before I became more "knowledgeable". Even if you leave your metal clamps cranked down, I can't see any harm there.
All my clamps are in locked position,never seem to have any problems.

I have a torque wrench set on 85 ft-lbs for years,now I wonder if it was the wrong thing to do.
Although the wrench has only one single purpose which is to torque the lug nuts on my car,twice a year when I switch from all season to winter tires.

[Frederick Skelly]

Stored a bunch of F-clamps that way for 10 years. I never noticed any ill effects.
Fred

[Mel Fulks]

"bunch of F-clamps "
Yeah, when I need them in a hurry, because I need to clamp something before the glue sets, that method causes me to
cuss.

[Keith Weber]

It is not like leaving your clicker torque wrench set on 100 ft-lbs for months at a time, like I used to before I became more "knowledgeable".

Well, I guess I need to file this in the "things I learned today, but wish I didn't" file. So, if you've messed up and left it loaded for years and the spring loses some of its spring, can it be simply re-calibrated, or do you need a new spring too?

[Frederick Skelly]

"bunch of F-clamps "
Yeah, when I need them in a hurry, because I need to clamp something before the glue sets, that method causes me to
cuss.

Yeah, me too Mel. Thats why I finally went to a more conventional clamp rack.
Fred

[Ole Anderson]

I read a good review a year or so ago, in Car Craft magazine in a doctor's office I think. Anyway it said to not leave them cranked up or you will loose some accuracy. And surprisingly they rated the HF clicker torque wrench as being one of the most accurate in the tests. http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/in-the-news/CarCraft-0413.pdf

[Lee Schierer]

Storing a steel or aluminum clamp clamped to something should not harm it at all unless you were to really torque it to clamp it. If the clamp has soft faces, those soft face materials could take a set from being clamped for a long time. Non-metalic clamps could take a set from being clamped for a long time.

[Kent A Bathurst]

......... I'm wondering if that's a bad way to store clamps?

Jeeeez...........I sure hope not. If it does cause a problem , the problem does not occur in the first 15 years, I can assure you of that much.



...... just inconvenient having to unclamp and reclamp to store.....

THis is why. I have mebbe 50 clamps stored "open", because I can, and the rest - mebbe another 30+ - stored by clamping on something because I have to.

[Brian Henderson]

Virtually all of my bar clamps are stored like that. They're not clamped down tightly, just enough that they grip the wood so they don't fall off, but I've never had a problem with it and I've been doing it that way for many years.

[Keith Weber]

...And surprisingly they rated the HF clicker torque wrench as being one of the most accurate in the tests. http://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/in-the-news/CarCraft-0413.pdf

Big surprise -- that link takes you to the Harbor Freight website. I wouldn't put too much faith in a single test result like shown in the magazine article. Quality control at Harbor Freight has been well-discussed. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not so much. Ask Boeing or Lockheed-Martin whose torque wrenches they use. Hint - it's NOT Harbor Freight. I buy disposable brushes to clean tools, and zip ties at HF, but my torque wrenches I buy from Snap On.

[Ole Anderson]

Big surprise -- that link takes you to the Harbor Freight website. I wouldn't put too much faith in a single test result like shown in the magazine article. Quality control at Harbor Freight has been well-discussed. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not so much. Ask Boeing or Lockheed-Martin whose torque wrenches they use. Hint - it's NOT Harbor Freight. I buy disposable brushes to clean tools, and zip ties at HF, but my torque wrenches I buy from Snap On.

At least HF didn't do the testing. Not uncommon at all for manufacturers to use magazine reviews in their advertising. I think we are all aware that finding a true test of any equipment isn't going to come from a magazine. Case in point Dust Collectors. But having some review to me is better than none at all. No magazine could afford to do a statistically sound review. I was just surprised that the HF TR was as accurate as it was and wanted to share. I have three, two of them are Craftsman DigiTork (3/8" and 1/2"), the other a cheap MIT 3/8" one that I have preset (yea, I know) for my Jeep's driveshaft U-joint bolts. Not everyone is willing or able to buy SnapOn, let along aerospace quality tools. And frankly, few applications require the difference in accuracy afforded by those expensive tools.

[Keith Weber]

Not everyone is willing or able to buy SnapOn, let along aerospace quality tools. And frankly, few applications require the difference in accuracy afforded by those expensive tools.

I agree, a lot of applications don't require a high degree of accuracy. If you're torquing wheel nuts on the family sedan, then close is probably good enough. My Snap On clicker is (or, should I say, used to be) preset for spark plugs. My $400 Snap On digital maintains aircraft where in-lbs is the norm. Considering the value of the engines and aircraft and what else is at stake, I don't consider the $400 I spent even remotely expensive. But I accept others' may have different sense of value than me.

I just found the magazine article's statement that the HF tool tested better than Snap On carried no credibility with a singular testing method containing only one of each torque wrench. You could have said the same if the Snap On came out on top. The problem was in the test itself. Personally, I wouldn't trust a newly purchased torque wrench from HF to be properly calibrated and certified. So, to be sure, you'd have to get it calibrated after you bought it -- which would cost more than the torque wrench itself.

The woodworking magazines are also bad for these little articles that put one brand on top of another. They really don't carry much merit when it comes to accuracy claims. They are, however, useful in regards to judging/rating them on things like features and design practicalities. I actually prefer to read reviews on Amazon to get a better idea of how good a tool is. You can expect to weed out a few biased review from kool-aid drinkers and idiots who are mad about shipping issues, but if a tool gets an average, say, 4.85/5 rating with 50 or 100 review, chances are you've found a winner.

[Ole Anderson]

To continue this thread hijacking: HF makes a $30 digital strain gauge 1/2" torque adaptor, as do others. http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-digital-torue-adapter-68283.html One reviewer on the HF site noted that it came with a factory calibration at three points, for whatever that is worth, which I thought was a bit beyond normal HF SOP.

[Michael Yadfar]

To continue this thread hijacking

Feel free l, my question has already been answered