Do YOU use handscrew clamps?

[Frederick Skelly]

There's another thread where a guy in europe is buying a bunch of clamps and asked for advice. There's some back and forth about wooden handscrew clamps. (Like these (https://www.amazon.com/Bessey-HS-8-8-Inch-Handscrew-Clamp/dp/B0007D88X6/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2XSX96NBK3KBM&dchild=1&keywords=hand+screw+clamps+for+woodworking&qid=1596714071&sprefix=Handscrew+clamps%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-7)) One man says everybody has some but most people don't use them often. Another man says he uses them for a lot of things. I didnt want to hijack the other thread, so I started this one.

In what ways do you use your wooden handscrew clamps? I have 4 and I use them seldom. So I'd love to see pictures or hear descriptions of how others make use of them.

Thanks guys!
Fred

[Charles Taylor]

For years I had only four handscrew clamps and used them rarely. I use two of them to hold my router table fence in place against the table. There's nothing especially advantageous about using handscrews for this purpose--other kinds of clamps would do the job just fine--but they have the job. Thinking back to years past, the only uses I can remember putting the others to was clamping them to fence posts to rest stringers on while I fastened the stringers into place, or giving my bar clamps something to pull against when drawing together a long panel made from two sheets of plywood (I clamped the handscrews along the edges of the sheets).

More recently, though, I've found them useful in more glue-up situations and have been growing my collection. The larger sizes have deeper reach than my usual favorites, my Bessey K-bodies. The center of mass of a handscrew is somewhere perpendicular to the clamping direction, as opposed to being off to the side in the case of a bar clamp, and sometimes that matters for balance or stress on the workpiece. Obviously they offer some use in clamping where the outer surfaces aren't parallel.

I used them as effective edge clamps for a headboard and footboard late last year by clamping them tight to the panel and using wedges under the screws. They hold smallish parts for operations on the bandsaw or drill press--the smallest size I have will just about fit on the tiny table of my sensitive drill press. They really are pretty versatile tools, more so than I realized for a long time.

[David Buchhauser]

I use my Jorgensens occasionally, most recently on my router table with my Incra box joint jig - clamping the work piece to the fence. They are handy for this and release quickly for speedy operation. I'll see if I can find some photos and post.
David

[glenn bradley]

I'd hate to be without them. Like any tool their value will vary with what you do. I keep mine handy hanging in a knotted cord in an otherwise useless corner.

438481

I use one in place of a board jack at the bench.

438482

Of course, they excel at clamping irregular surfaces. I also use them as small parts holders; any time I paint myself into a corner and have to mill a small blank I clamp it into a hand screw to make it larger. This allows safe router table work holding, sanding, drilling. Anywhere that clamping the small part directly is awkward, clamp it in a hand screw and clamp the hand screw to the machine or table.

I have leather liners on some for delicate work, grooves in others for holding round stock. I think the time Rockler had them on sale for 75% off during one of their garage sales back in the mid-2000's could have had something to do with my collection. The 4" are Harbor Freight I think. They work fine but the larger HF hand screws use an odd thread that slips. Glad I only tried one of them ;-) New Jet and Rockler along with some used Jorgensen and old no-names are the bulk of mine.

[Steve Eure]

i love using mine on the drill press to hold small parts. I have two that I have cut v-notches in to hold dowels and small square stock on end for drilling. One is 4" and the other an 8", They excel in this regard. Would not want to be without them. They have their place.

[Ron Selzer]

Most used clamp in my shop
use one as a stop on the radial arm saw fence all the time
have 4" not much use, 8" and 10" use a lot and larger ones that get used for glue ups
sometimes have all of the 8,10 and large in use for a glue up total of 30+-
Ron

[Bruce Volden]

i love using mine on the drill press to hold small parts. I have two that I have cut v-notches in to hold dowels and small square stock on end for drilling. One is 4" and the other an 8", They excel in this regard. Would not want to be without them. They have their place.

THAT!!

Bruce

[Jim Becker]

I have two of them that I got early on in my woodworking activity. I use them maybe once a year, if that. They are certainly handy for some tasks, but not what I reach for first.

[Kevin Jenness]

Very handy for holding doors and the like upright on or next to a bench- clamp the handscrew to the bench and use it to hold the door.

[Brian Tymchak]

I think I hit the same sale that Glenn mentioned as I bought a box of 10 10" handscrews from our local Rockler store ( @ WoodWerks). Think I've only used at most 4 at any 1 time primarily to hold small parts on the router table and drill press and to clamp stock on edge. They definitely fill a nitch need in my shop.

On a side note, last Fall, my next door neighbor found a set of handscrew hardware ( 1 each of 8", 10", 12") in a relatives garage cleanout. He asked me to make the jaws for a gift to his father. Was a lot of fun to do. Jaws are hard maple.

438487

[Chris Sherwood]

I use mine frequently. Most recently to help position boards when building a shed as a one man job.

[Andrew Seemann]

I have about a dozen. They get used, but not as often as the cheap F clamps, pipe clamps, and C clamps. They do have their place, and when you need them, nothing else works better. As mentioned above, they are good for clamping small things for use in the drill press, making ersatz handles for things, odd sized and positioned work, concentrating pressure at a certain point, etc.

[Bruce Page]

I have 2 that were given to me and 2 that belonged to my dad. I rarely ever use them.

[mike stenson]

Let me see.. in the past month (and I haven't been spending a lot of time in the shop this month) I have; used them to hold cylindrical objects, used them to make a tall and narrow item stand on a bench surface for assembly, used them to clamp a piece to a crosscut sled, used them to hold a piece in a more ergonomic position (clamped the item, then clamped the handscrew in a bench vise), used them as a third hand in assembly (reassembling a table saw specifically), used them as a temporary mounting so that I could measure and mark.

I have about 12 of them, ranging from 24" to 3". I'll not get rid of any of them. If they're just sitting around, IMO, it's because you haven't played around with them :)

[Andy D Jones]

I have maybe a couple dozen hand screw clamps, from 4" to 14" in size. A couple of old Craftsman's, some newer Miro-Moose (Dubuque), and the rest are older Jorgensen's, made long before they sold out to China. I inherited maybe half of them from my best friend.

I use them for work-holding a lot. Sometimes I hold one in a machinist vise on one of my benches, to hold small work nearer to eye level. I often use one to hold the work, and another to clamp the first clamp to a table/bench/etc., as a makeshift vise, especially at the kitchen table.

I have cut V grooves in the jaws of a few of them (usually cross-wise, but lengthwise on one), to hold round stock more securely, or square stock at a 45 degree angle.

I use them for stops on fences and fence rails, for various stopped or repetitive cuts, drills, routes, etc.

I use them to create clamping ledges on the legs or rungs of chairs I have repaired. Or as stops to keep a band clamp from riding up on splayed, round legs.

I use them to spread furniture pieces apart for replacement/repair.

I use them for a temporary foot/brace to hold something up, vertical on the bench.

I use them to create a safe handle on small work pieces on the router table and drill press. One of them has a scar to show for it.

Not all uses are for woodworking or furniture repair. I modified one for a crude sight-pusher on a handgun, with a threaded insert and a soft-tipped screw through one jaw. The modification did not interfere with normal use of the hand screw afterwards.

Their broad, wooden clamping surfaces obviate clamp pads for most surfaces. I haven't affixed leather to any of mine, but I like that idea!

A tip I saw somewhere recently, suggested always holding the end handle in the same hand (and the middle handle in the other). That way, you always spin it the same direction to close/open. All these years, and I never thought of that before...

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[roger wiegand]

I have maybe a dozen acquired at an auction decades ago for about a buck each. I've never used them all at once and I've seldom, if ever, used them to clamp a glue-up. That said, they are, no doubt, the most frequently used clamps in my shop. Any time I want something to hold still on a temporary basis I grab one or two of them, from temporary fences, holding things on the drill press, holding a workpiece down to the bench, creating stops for cuts, and a million other things. I'd hate to be without them. I find them fast, convenient, and secure (unlike, say, the popular pistol grip clamps).

[Mel Fulks]

A tip I saw somewhere recently, suggested always holding the end handle in the same hand (and the middle handle in the other). That way, you always spin it the same direction to close/open. All these years, and I never thought of that before...

-- Andy - Arlington TX[/QUOTE]

Yep, and making a habit of always picking them up by the handles prevents pretty painful pinches when they pivot.

[Earl McLain]

Have several and use them regularly in all the ways mentioned. At times I use one to clamp small parts to a wooden fence on my miter gauge—since they are wood you can cut through them no problem. I have one each with 90, 45, and 15 degree cuts. The kerf has widened over time, but they hold well and the sacrificial fence does its job. Have a few notched for holding at the drill press, great for irregular pieces like antlers.
earl

[Mike Kees]

I use two on my shaper holding my outboard fence-there is no other clamp I own that could do this. Feather boards on my bandsaw table (18" jaw),two clamps as temporary vise at my bench,holding stuff at the drill press. Use them installing cabinets to clamp boxes together. One clamp on my bench leg does the job of a board jack. And on and on.... O yeah ,occasionally they get used for glue ups as well.:D

[Jim Matthews]

Not the first clamps I reach for (deep Bessey F for me)
but these excel on handling long boards, or for deep reach applications.

My favorite use is on small parts I can't otherwise manipulate while drilling.

[Mel Fulks]

Mods, I had another post here ,can't imagine why it would have been deleted. I notice "hybrid view" is that part of it?
Thanks

[Charles Taylor]

Mods, I had another post here ,can't imagine why it would have been deleted. I notice "hybrid view" is that part of it?
Thanks
I see two posts from you, #17 and #21.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for all the ideas guys!
Fred

[johnny means]

I clamp them in conspicuous places around the shop so clients get the impression that I'm some sort of traditional wooodworker. They're especially effective when paired with a handplane or several chisels.

[Rob Luter]

I have a few vintage specimens picked up for cheap at yard sales and antique markets. All but one are Jorgensens from Chicago. They're not used often but when they are there’s nothing like them. They’re great for work holding duties and real finger savers at the drill press.

[Jim Becker]

i clamp them in conspicuous places around the shop so clients get the impression that i'm some sort of traditional wooodworker. They're especially effective when paired with a handplane or several chisels.

roflol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pete Staehling]

I don't have any, but suspect I'd use them a lot if I did. Holding smaller parts on the drill press and using them as stops on fences sound like good reasons to have some. Clamping smallish items for gluing with no twisting force would be a good use as well.

I often use shop built cam luthier clamps for those uses, but hand screw clamps would probably be better suited to a lot of those tasks if I had some.

I am sure they'd be handy for a lot of other stuff as well. I just never had any so I never developed the habit of using them.

[Stan Calow]

as a stop on my router table. In a table vise, as a holder of small parts. As Johnny said, they do look serious when hanging on the wall.

[mike stenson]

I have a couple now reinforcing my saw vise, which is now going to be replaced. Indispensable :)

[Andy D Jones]

I don't have any, but suspect I'd use them a lot if I did. Holding smaller parts on the drill press and using them as stops on fences sound like good reasons to have some. Clamping smallish items for gluing with no twisting force would be a good use as well.

Snip...


While hand screws do not "twist", they can "walk" when used for gluing (along the length of the clamp body), especially if the jaws are not kept close to parallel.

For STRONG clamps that don't walk or twist (and have some "reach over"), Kant-Twist clamps work very well. They are a cantilevered, C-type clamp that originated for welding applications. The screw is at more or less a right angle to the clamping axis, so they are also useful in applications where C or F clamps might interfere with the work being clamped. They are not cheap, so I only have a few of them, in a couple of sizes.

I have also seen youtube videos of making plywood versions of them. Those might work well for light clamping jobs. Or not...

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have 6 handscrews and use them often, mostly for gluing rings of blocks for segmented turnings, in this case banjo rims. I also use them to clamp a neck blank by the sides of the heel, and then use a c clamp to hold the handscrew down to the workbench to rout the truss rod slot. I use a piece of straight board as a fence by putting it in the woodworker's vise, and then the necks just have to be secured with the centerline of the cut 3" away from the fence. I had some all wood handscrews but have worn them all out, eventually the wooden threads began to crumble. Of course they weren't new when I got them, so that may have contributed.

[glenn bradley]

Almost forgot. They are my go-to for reinforcing narrow things when pounding square holes into them ;-)

438780

[mike stenson]

Almost forgot. They are my go-to for reinforcing narrow things when pounding square holes into them ;-)

438780


Nice, I hadn't thought of that. Next time.. I will use that.

[John K Jordan]

There's another thread where a guy in europe is buying a bunch of clamps and asked for advice. There's some back and forth about wooden handscrew clamps. (Like these (https://www.amazon.com/Bessey-HS-8-8-Inch-Handscrew-Clamp/dp/B0007D88X6/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2XSX96NBK3KBM&dchild=1&keywords=hand+screw+clamps+for+woodworking&qid=1596714071&sprefix=Handscrew+clamps%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-7)) One man says everybody has some but most people don't use them often. Another man says he uses them for a lot of things. I didnt want to hijack the other thread, so I started this one.

In what ways do you use your wooden handscrew clamps? I have 4 and I use them seldom. So I'd love to see pictures or hear descriptions of how others make use of them.

Thanks guys!
Fred

I have only a few and don't use them often but I'd hate to be without them for some things. Besides holding small parts for drilling and such, I use mine when I need to crosscut oddly shaped and especially round stock such as a large dowel or cylinder turned on the lathe. A cylinder gripped in a clamp held flat against the bandsaw table makes for a safe cut. Also, I've used them to hold oddly shaped wood for carving/rasping, holding the wooden clamp in the bench vise.

JKJ

[lowell holmes]

I use them when cutting small pieces on the table saw or radial arm saw to hold the wood. This keeps my fingers clear. A also have a plywood ripping hook for ripping wood on the table saw.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have one that I put 2 opposing V grooves in it and use it, like others, in the drill press. I drill my pen blanks (woodturning) with this. Makes almost certain to center the blank in the clamp. I have another permanently mounted on a home made carving vise. That way, my errant chisel runs into a wood, vice a metal clamp.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Not in 20 years, not ever, not once. I have some nice Jorgensen's and they just sit on the wall.

[mike stenson]

So, for those who have them.. and refuse to use them.. did any of the usages in this thread even raise an eye brow? ;)

[Jeff Bartley]

What a great storage solution Glenn!


I'd hate to be without them. Like any tool their value will vary with what you do. I keep mine handy hanging in a knotted cord in an otherwise useless corner.

438481

I use one in place of a board jack at the bench.

438482

Of course, they excel at clamping irregular surfaces. I also use them as small parts holders; any time I paint myself into a corner and have to mill a small blank I clamp it into a hand screw to make it larger. This allows safe router table work holding, sanding, drilling. Anywhere that clamping the small part directly is awkward, clamp it in a hand screw and clamp the hand screw to the machine or table.

I have leather liners on some for delicate work, grooves in others for holding round stock. I think the time Rockler had them on sale for 75% off during one of their garage sales back in the mid-2000's could have had something to do with my collection. The 4" are Harbor Freight I think. They work fine but the larger HF hand screws use an odd thread that slips. Glad I only tried one of them ;-) New Jet and Rockler along with some used Jorgensen and old no-names are the bulk of mine.

[Randy Heinemann]

I tend to use them when I need clamping power over a somewhat large area in from the edge of a board. I also use my smaller ones to clamp wood to jigs (including my Incra). Those are the regular uses and some other miscellaneous situations where I need to clamp small boards together like gluing up layers for a bowl blank. I don't use them a lot but, when I do, it usually is the best way to clamp.

[Ron Selzer]

Found over 30 in the shop last night, probably more if I look a little harder. I don't keep a organized shop. I do try to keep it clean and can find most of what is in it. Sometimes it is like Christmas when I dig deep and find something I forgot about
Ron