Bowclamp?

[Scott Vigder]

I've had my Bowclamps for several years and use them frequently. They are worth every penny.

[Chris Padilla]

Aaron,

That is pretty much what I do with the bowclamps: use a 3rd clamp if/when necessary and loosen both clamps at the same time or a little bit at a time to prevent soiled undies. They are a tool like anything else and one needs to learn how to use it.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike, in the first picture that looks like an I-beam type caul, how did you make that one? Great tutorial, thanks.

Scott

If I recall, I used some 3/4" MDF for the flanges and 1/4" MDF for the web. I cut a groove in the 3/4" stock to let in the 1/4" web so that it would be glued in well. One thing to watch for is that when you cut the groove (if you use your table saw) is that you keep pressure on the stock so that the groove is equal depth all the way. Otherwise, when you go to glue up, you'll have a bow in the caul. If you want a bow, I'd put it in the 1/4" stock before glue up.

You could also use your router to cut the groove.

For what I was doing, I wanted a flat caul, not one with a bow, so that's what I made. Making an I-beam caul is pretty simple. The I-beam structure is good for long cauls.

Mike

[Jim Becker]

Yes I have several sets of Bowclamps and they work as advertised.

[Paul Johnstone]

I made some homemade cauls. I think they are great for clamping the face frame to a plywood carcass. Fewer clamps are needed, and the pressure is spread evenly.

I put one Bessey clamp in the middle of the cauls (at 90 degress) to hold them in place. Then I use Besseys on each end to tighten them down. After all the clamps are in place, I will sometimes add a couple more Besseys on the cauls. Not because it's necessary, but it makes me feel good.

[Greg Urwiller]

Thanks to everyone for the replies! The reason I was asking about these, is that I'd like to laminate a bench top, and these look like they'd be better than clamping the whole length of the top with clamps. That would take a lot of clamps! I'm in no hurry, so I could make my own. We'll see. Thanks again. Greg

[Adam Augustine]

You can make your own bowed cauls without a CNC machine. See here.

Mike

[Cost is just a few dollars - but you provide the labor. So if you have more time than money, make your own.]

Mike, I just wanted to say thanks for your post about the bow clamps. The pictures from your web site were very helpful. Adam

[Jerry Thompson]

I made the ones shown by Mike Henderson. They work as advertised and I find them a great time saver in panel glue ups.

[Clay Fails]

I purchased a few sets at a show a couple years ago. I think they work very well, exactly as advertised. They are pricey, and I'm sure you could probably make something similar on your own. if you have the budget and don't want to mess with making your own, they are nice to have.

[Michael Kellough]

I purchased a few sets at a show a couple years ago. I think they work very well, exactly as advertised. They are pricey, and I'm sure you could probably make something similar on your own. if you have the budget and don't want to mess with making your own, they are nice to have.

If nearly as good is good enough...

[Biff Phillips]

I Also.. clamping them down with parallel clamps is not that easy, can be done but I haven't found an easy way yet. Reason being is the clamp you do first will become loose when you tighten the other end, well if you don't have any threads left for tightening then you have to try and slide the jaw but the bowclamp has pressure on it so you can't just let the parallel clamp loose or the bowclamp will spring out. My solution so far is to use a third clamp and use it on the first end to re-tighten that end down and then just take off the one that was there.
.

This is a good idea. I often will put a clamp in the middle of the caul to help hold it in place while the ends are being clamped.
I use my homemade cauls for gluing faceframes to plywood carcasses. They really work well for me in that application.

[Stew Hagerty]

I actually have two sets of each size of the one-time-tools cauls from Woodpeckers. They're made from glue proof Phenolic material. I use them almost any time I need to glue up a panel.

http://www.woodpeck.com/ottclampingcauls.html

[Tipton Lum]

This is how I make them.
Make Your Own Curved Clamping Cauls

[johnny means]

Bowed cauls are also useful for keeping wide panel glue ups flat. Of course, they must be used on a known flat surface.

[Mike Heidrick]

Ron has some for sale on woodnet. They are/were perfect - I sold them to him last year