Can I improve these old clamps?

[Mark Gibney]

I bought a bunch of older F-clamps, the problem is that the moveable jaw is about 4° from perpendicular.

388581

This looks like they have worn - the cant is not consistent - and it makes them awkward to use.

Is there a way to repair these clamps? Could I drill and tap the outer rim of the jaw and use a set screw to straighten the leg, or is the metal too soft to hold threads?

I'm open to any and all suggestions.
thanks, Mark

[Mel Fulks]

I would just use as is. There are lots of commercial shops using clamps with some wear on them. Where there is any chance of the wood sliding around you can just use a couple of finish nails to secure ,then remove them.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Mel...they are usable as-is. BUT...personally, I'd use them for those times when you need a few more clamps for pressure, rather than for critical functions by themselves where alignment is important.

[Mark Gibney]

Thanks Mel and Jim, good to get the voices of experience.

I think I'll drill and tap one clamp, because that's the nature of woodworkers, right? - we get an idea, and eventually we have to try to make it come true.

[Nick Decker]

Mark, I could be wrong but I think they're designed that way. The "cant" of the jaw, relative to the spine, is what holds the jaw in place when you tighten it down. I've seen other light duty clamps that are that way when they're new.

[Peter Christensen]

I think they have been graunched far too many times and are bent. If the grub screw doesn't work try and hammer the spine of the jaw (opposite the opening) on a big heavy piece of steel to bend it. Don't use an anvil because it will dent it and ruin it. Something more like a section of railroad track, an I beam or a whatever you can find.

[johnny means]

Besseys and other f-clamps actually have a set screw where your clamp is worn. Could it be missing this screw?

[James Pallas]

Those work by wedging. The set screw you propose may keep it from wedging and it will just slide along the bar. I'm with Mel and Jim, just use as is. The one pictured has a ball bearing set in the bottom. If you could do that it may work no bets tho.
Jim

[Greg Hines, MD]

One thing you can try is making a lower jaw for your clamp, out of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood, dadoed to enclose the bar and glued together, then when you use the clamp, your screw is pressing to that wooden jaw instead of on the work piece.

Somewhere there is an article in one of the WW journals that describes it, but its not complicated to understand.

Doc

[Wayne Lomman]

They work how they are. They may have been overused but they still work. Things like this don't stop the job getting done. If all our tools look perfect and new, no one will believe we know how to use them. Cheers

[Mark Gibney]

I'll use the clamps as they are until I try to remedy this issue, though not first choice clamps.

James - interesting to see a set screw right there, I haven't seen that before.

So thank you all.

[James Pallas]

I'll use the clamps as they are until I try to remedy this issue, though not first choice clamps.

James - interesting to see a set screw right there, I haven't seen that before.

So thank you all.
Mark It is actually a loose ball bearing sitting in a drilled hole. It appears that a hole was drilled from the top and into the bottom part the bearing dropped in and the bar installed to retain it in place. I've had the clamp over 30 years and it still works. Interesting engineering for sure.
Jim

[lowell holmes]

New clamps is the obvious answer. Lowes or Home Depot can fix you up.

[phil harold]

But these old clamps and they will last you a lifetime
https://valdosta.craigslist.org/tls/d/wetzler-clamps/6604674963.html

[Doug Dawson]

I bought a bunch of older F-clamps, the problem is that the moveable jaw is about 4° from perpendicular.

This looks like they have worn - the cant is not consistent - and it makes them awkward to use.

Crooked jaw, looking worn, inconsistent cant, awkward to use. Apparently unfixable skew. Just like granddad. What are you trying to imply here?