Historical Treatises: No Mention of Clamps?

[Luke Dupont]

Reading Historical Treatises -- weather in the context of Reenactment, HEMA, or Woodworking, is something of a hobby of mine. I like to know how things were done in the past.

And, it occurred to me after reading a few on woodworking:

No mention is made of clamps -- at least, not that I have come across.

There are, of course, vises and holdfasts. But using auxillery clamps, or clamping while gluing up, doesn't seem to be mentioned.

Am I missing anything? Or did they simply not rely on them to the same extent that we do in modern times?

[Frederick Skelly]

I know they had more ways to use wedges than you could count, Luke. Could that have been a substitute?

Fred

[Kees Heiden]

What period are you talking about? I seem to remember some big panel clamps in Roubo, 18th century. Should have to look it up though.

But I do think they typically didn't have those gigantum clamping racks you see in the modern shop. They did have different techniques:

- The rub joint. No need for a clamp if the hideglue acts as a kind of a clamp itself.
- Drawboring for all mortise and tenon construction
- Rope tricks. You still see this used for example in Japanese furniture making.

[Kees Heiden]

Felibien!

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Nr. E, left in the background.

[Luke Dupont]

What period are you talking about? I seem to remember some big panel clamps in Roubo, 18th century. Should have to look it up though.

But I do think they typically didn't have those gigantum clamping racks you see in the modern shop. They did have different techniques:

- The rub joint. No need for a clamp if the hideglue acts as a kind of a clamp itself.
- Drawboring for all mortise and tenon construction
- Rope tricks. You still see this used for example in Japanese furniture making.

I'll have to take a look at Roubo again, I guess. To be fair, I haven't thoroughly read all of the treatises just yet -- I skimmed through Moxon and Roubo, stopping on the parts that piqued my interest. Also reading a few lesser known works, such as "The Boy Joiner & The Model Maker".

Interesting point on "rope tricks". I've seen brief snippets of this, but never anyone showing or talking about the technique or how to execute it. I saw one person using wedges in combination with ropes, and another using what I thought was some kind of elastic band, but may have been mistaken. This seems like something potentially quite useful to know, as I always am finding myself lacking a clamp in the right size and place.

[Kees Heiden]

I don't have much time now, but when you go to youtube and find yourself some video of a Japanese box maker or furniture maker, you most probably see them using rope to press parts together for glueups.

[Kees Heiden]

There is a ropetrick in this picture. Look how the beam is clamped to one of the poles of the resawing contraption. They use a toggle to draw the rope tight.

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[Warren Mickley]

This picture from Felibien (1676) shows three types of clamp.
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The one on the left is called a crochet or sergent; the movable arm would have worked by being canted enough to provide a wedging action.

The one in the middle would have been one of a pair of estraignoirs. One could put a pair of boards in the in these and hold them tight for edge gluing by adjusting the upper pin and using wedges and battens. This is also illustrated in Roubo (1769). I made a pair in 1979 and used them for a while but they do not work as easily as a pair of clamps.

The one on the right is called presses de bois. This style is called a double screw by Moxon a few years later. Sort of a forerunner of what we call handscrews today.

Clamps would not have made a high priority list in the 18th century. Edge joints were routinely made my rubbing hot hide glue. Dovetails and mortise and tenon can certainly be made with no clamps. Eighteenth century cabinetmakers could make a sophisticated piece of furniture with no clamps at all. Hide glue was a part of that equation.

Kees posted while I was getting my illustration together.

[Warren Mickley]

Here is Roubo's pair of etreignoirs. The spelling changed more in a century than did the clamps.

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[Kees Heiden]

Kees posted while I was getting my illustration together.

But you added a lot of interesting info. Thanks.

[John Schtrumpf]

Yes, Warren did add interesting info. I was also intrigued by the comment of the Moxon vise being the forerunner of handscrews. As I use a pair of wooden twin screw cabinet makers clamps, in place of a Moxon.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

As others have stated, they used a lot of rope/twine with a toggle to twist the rope tight or wedges to wedge it tight, or both. There were also springboards that would be wedged against the piece and the ceiling or a wall. This was used by luthiers for gluing tops, and I want to say I saw a plate from Roubo, but it may have been elsewhere, showing springboards in use. I have used this method in boatbuilding, and have seen it used in building traditional clinker boats with boards sprung from ceilings, walls, and even screwed to floors and sprung.

I don't know how long ago they started using them, but lapstrake boatbuilders have for a long time used a type of "C" Clamp where you have a slot cut in a piece of wood. The wood slips over the strake, and a wedge is driven to draw the strake up to the previous strake. That evolved into a type of "C" Clamp that is hinged on one end, and has a screw that draws the two pieces together. Another version is the slotted piece of wood with a cam on one end that is lifted to draw the two together.

I think since hide glue was the preferred glue, a lot of furniture builds were done one piece at a time and held while the glue cured, or the joint itself locked the piece together without need for clamps. I'm not saying this was the way it was always done, but I'm saying perhaps there was less need for clamps with hide glue.

[John C Cox]

I bet they didn’t use them as much as we do now because the glues didn’t need extended clamping.

Hide glue sets really fast. REALLY fast.... The challenge when using animal glues is to keep the joint warm for long enough so you have sufficient time to get the clamps set and tightened before it sets.. It’s nothing like Titebond which requires a couple hours to dry enough to handle the piece much less 24hr epoxies which require clamping for a day.

The challenge is getting your act together to get it all put together fast enough in 1 try so you don’t have a glue joint set while it’s half assembled.... Because if you move too slow - you end up sawing apart a messed up joint.

In that regard - it’s almost like gluing stuff with superglue where “clamps” are more often used to prevent the pieces from shifting during glue up...

[Jim Koepke]

Did someone mention rope tricks?

Quite a few lend themselves to wood working.

Much of my learning about rope and knots can be traced back to The Ashley Book of Knots.

This book was published in the U.S. then reprinted by a pirate press overseas. It is now available online as a .pdf:

https://www.liendoanaulac.org/space/references/training/Ashley_Book_Knots.pdf

One clamping knot many woodworkers are familiar with is the windlass. It is what tightens the frame on so many wooden frame bow saws.

Another knot that can come in handy is the clove hitch:

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Here it is holding an octagon during gluing. In use with the clove hitch is a truckers hitch:

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It isn't real clear in the image. The truckers hitch makes a loop in the rope to allow the rope to be leveraged against it self. It could be called a multiplier knot since it exerts more pull on the rope than a straight pull would create.

Used this way it also tightens the grip of the clove hitch. The other end of the rope is held securely in the tail vise.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

I'm sure pinch-dogs have been around a long time. I've bought some, and made some from flat bar stock.

[Mike Lemon]

Look for 'cramps'. I think Moxon mentions them (it was somone in the weird long s era, 85% sure it was Moxon).

[Jason Lester]

In "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker", originally printed in 1839, it mentions using a screw clamp during one of the glue ups.

[Warren Mickley]

Look for 'cramps'. I think Moxon mentions them (it was somone in the weird long s era, 85% sure it was Moxon).

Moxon does not use the word cramp at all. He uses the word clamp to mean a board fixed cross grain to a wide board or panel to prevent warping, like what we would call a breadboard end.

Cramp is a British term for clamp. Nicholson (1812) says that if the glue is quite stiff it may be necessary to us a cramp to pull a mortise and tenon joint together. I can't recall an earlier reference. I think the use of "cramp" is waning today.

[Jeff Bartley]

What an elegant cabinet makers triangle!


Here is Roubo's pair of etreignoirs. The spelling changed more in a century than did the clamps.

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[Nicholas Lawrence]

Moxon does not use the word cramp at all. He uses the word clamp to mean a board fixed cross grain to a wide board or panel to prevent warping, like what we would call a breadboard end.

Cramp is a British term for clamp. Nicholson (1812) says that if the glue is quite stiff it may be necessary to us a cramp to pull a mortise and tenon joint together. I can't recall an earlier reference. I think the use of "cramp" is waning today.

The complete Woodworker (Jones) uses both cramp and clamp according to the index. I will have to read it again one day and see if he uses the terms interchangeably, or if there is some distinction I have not noticed before.

[Mike Lemon]

Moxon does not use the word cramp at all...

Thanks for the correction. I didn't have my Kindle and was going from memory. Apparently I was mixing up my old guys.

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,

In the Workbench book, by Landis, the first section or two has drawings and paintings of vintage work shops, to show the workbenches, but some of them show walls with clamps on them. Those that do include: turn of the century Swedish shop, the 18th century Roubo drawing shows 6 or 7 clamps on the wall, the shaker shop shows handscrew clamps, and a 16th century guild chest drawing shows a C clamp.

Regards,

Stew

[Dave Anderson NH]

One additional nugget to think about. Edge gluing was done less often because wide boards were more readily available. Even a 36" wide table top might have one or no joints and carcass sides were almost always a single piece.