Sam Howe
10-20-2006, 11:28 AM
Long time lurker, thought I'd say hi.
I live in Northern Nevada, south of Reno, east of Tahoe. On the edge between the desert and mountains. Been a woodworker off and on for most of my life. My dad bought me my first power tool 39 years ago when I was 12, a Delta lathe. I still have it.
My shop is part of an old garage. Not enough room at around 450 square feet, but better than not having one. Equipment includes a Delta contractors saw, DeWalt radial arm saw. OLD Sears drill press, 6" jointer and 12" band saw. Ryobi 10" planer (the original lunchbox planer), homemade router table, tilting head rockwell drill press, and the usual collection of hand held power and hand tools. Dust collection is done with a built in system.
Projects over the years have pretty much run the gamit. Beds, tables, chairs, kitchen cabinets, toys, Tv/ stereo cabinets, etc
Below is a tutorial I did on home made cam clamps. I've posted this on a couple other forums earlier this week, but it won't hurt to "spread the word" here also.
Sam
A cam clamp is real quick and easy to use. Slide the bottom jaw into contact with your workpiece and flip the cam lever. I can get over 200 lbs of pressure with mine, measured by clamping it on the bathroom scale.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/clamp.jpg
For the jaws and cam, I used maple. The bar is steel, mine is 1/4 by 3/4. I bought it in 20 foot lengths and cut it to size. The most used size is a 12" bar. I also made a few at 18". 24", and 36". The 36" ones are pushing the limit of the bar. The deflection of the bar reduces the clamping force available, but they are still useful. The roll pins are 3/16 by 1-1/2" long. Some hardware stores carry them. Another good source is McMaster-Carr. It take 5 roll pins for each clamp.
Start off by cutting the top jaws. These are also used as the blank for the bottom jaws, so make sure you cut two for every clamp.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/topjaw.jpg
Here's the dimensions of mine. Most of the dimensions are far from critical, but these have worked good.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TOPJAW3.jpg
You want the mortise in the top jaws to be a tight fit on the steel bar.
Take half of the jaws you have just made and start turning them into bottom jaws by cutting the cam slot with a dado blade on the table saw. Featherboards, stop blocks, and paying attention is recommended, this is a stop dado and you have to back the part away from the blade after cutting the slot. Also, enlarge the bar mortise so the jaw slides freely on the bar.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/CAMSLOT.jpg
Next, drill the stop hole and cut the tongue free. The tongue thickness is one of the critical parts, it needs to be thin enough to flex and not break when the cam lever is thrown.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TONGUE.jpg
Cut out the cams next. Make the thickness fit into the cam slot in the bottom jaw where it moves freely.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/cam2.jpg
Now hold the cam in place in the slot in the bottom jaw and drill the pin hole thru both as an assembly. Use a sharp drill bit and proceed carefully. Don't try to drill the holes separately, match drilling ensures minimum play of the cam against the bottom of the tongue.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/bottomjawassy.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/BOTTOMASSY.jpg
OK, now comes the fussiest part. Drilling the holes for the pins in the bottom jaw that lock onto the bar when the clamp is used. Actually, about any spacing that allows the bar to go thru the jaw will lock in place, but you want the jaw to be perpendicular to the bar when tightened down. Making a couple of extra jaws for setup purposes helps, as well as using stop blocks on a drill press.
Now, after cutting your bar to the desired length, insert it in the top jaw and match drill the holes thru the jaw and bar together.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/topjawassy.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TOPASSY2.jpg
Slide the bottom jaw on and go find something to clamp.
I left mine unfinished. An oil and/ or wax finish would work fine if you want to finish them. Some of the commercial ones have cork applied to the clamping portion of the jaws. I didn't use any, and haven't noticed any problems with marking what I'm clamping against.
I've been using mine for over twenty years now. A few times, I've had a cam split when really cranking down on them. Just knock out the pin, cut a new cam and drill it while holding it in position. Insert the pin again, and it's back in business.
Go ahead and make a batch, you won't regret it.
Sam
I live in Northern Nevada, south of Reno, east of Tahoe. On the edge between the desert and mountains. Been a woodworker off and on for most of my life. My dad bought me my first power tool 39 years ago when I was 12, a Delta lathe. I still have it.
My shop is part of an old garage. Not enough room at around 450 square feet, but better than not having one. Equipment includes a Delta contractors saw, DeWalt radial arm saw. OLD Sears drill press, 6" jointer and 12" band saw. Ryobi 10" planer (the original lunchbox planer), homemade router table, tilting head rockwell drill press, and the usual collection of hand held power and hand tools. Dust collection is done with a built in system.
Projects over the years have pretty much run the gamit. Beds, tables, chairs, kitchen cabinets, toys, Tv/ stereo cabinets, etc
Below is a tutorial I did on home made cam clamps. I've posted this on a couple other forums earlier this week, but it won't hurt to "spread the word" here also.
Sam
A cam clamp is real quick and easy to use. Slide the bottom jaw into contact with your workpiece and flip the cam lever. I can get over 200 lbs of pressure with mine, measured by clamping it on the bathroom scale.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/clamp.jpg
For the jaws and cam, I used maple. The bar is steel, mine is 1/4 by 3/4. I bought it in 20 foot lengths and cut it to size. The most used size is a 12" bar. I also made a few at 18". 24", and 36". The 36" ones are pushing the limit of the bar. The deflection of the bar reduces the clamping force available, but they are still useful. The roll pins are 3/16 by 1-1/2" long. Some hardware stores carry them. Another good source is McMaster-Carr. It take 5 roll pins for each clamp.
Start off by cutting the top jaws. These are also used as the blank for the bottom jaws, so make sure you cut two for every clamp.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/topjaw.jpg
Here's the dimensions of mine. Most of the dimensions are far from critical, but these have worked good.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TOPJAW3.jpg
You want the mortise in the top jaws to be a tight fit on the steel bar.
Take half of the jaws you have just made and start turning them into bottom jaws by cutting the cam slot with a dado blade on the table saw. Featherboards, stop blocks, and paying attention is recommended, this is a stop dado and you have to back the part away from the blade after cutting the slot. Also, enlarge the bar mortise so the jaw slides freely on the bar.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/CAMSLOT.jpg
Next, drill the stop hole and cut the tongue free. The tongue thickness is one of the critical parts, it needs to be thin enough to flex and not break when the cam lever is thrown.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TONGUE.jpg
Cut out the cams next. Make the thickness fit into the cam slot in the bottom jaw where it moves freely.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/cam2.jpg
Now hold the cam in place in the slot in the bottom jaw and drill the pin hole thru both as an assembly. Use a sharp drill bit and proceed carefully. Don't try to drill the holes separately, match drilling ensures minimum play of the cam against the bottom of the tongue.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/bottomjawassy.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/BOTTOMASSY.jpg
OK, now comes the fussiest part. Drilling the holes for the pins in the bottom jaw that lock onto the bar when the clamp is used. Actually, about any spacing that allows the bar to go thru the jaw will lock in place, but you want the jaw to be perpendicular to the bar when tightened down. Making a couple of extra jaws for setup purposes helps, as well as using stop blocks on a drill press.
Now, after cutting your bar to the desired length, insert it in the top jaw and match drill the holes thru the jaw and bar together.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/topjawassy.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/desertmoose4/woodworking/CAM%20CLAMP/TOPASSY2.jpg
Slide the bottom jaw on and go find something to clamp.
I left mine unfinished. An oil and/ or wax finish would work fine if you want to finish them. Some of the commercial ones have cork applied to the clamping portion of the jaws. I didn't use any, and haven't noticed any problems with marking what I'm clamping against.
I've been using mine for over twenty years now. A few times, I've had a cam split when really cranking down on them. Just knock out the pin, cut a new cam and drill it while holding it in position. Insert the pin again, and it's back in business.
Go ahead and make a batch, you won't regret it.
Sam