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Thread: clamps

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    clamps

    So my previous wood working required minimal clamps, I had dewalt about half a dozen dewalt quick clamps in 12-18 inch and a few 36 inch and a few little ones. I also have a pair of dewalt bar clamps in 12 and a pair in 24.

    I am realizing that for furniture glue ups I am really in need of some more clamps (was wanting to glue up 4 laminated bench legs last night and really would have needed more to do this).

    I know sizes will vary a lot by project and I will need a variety, so I guess my question comes down to type / brand. My instinct is to go to harbor freight and get a decent assortment bar clamps for a reasonable price so I am covered for what I need, then as I add more slowly I will get better brands. Are the HF ones usable enough for this to be a good approach or would I be better off with a smaller number of better ones?

    If getting better ones HD has dewalt and Norther tool has bessy for similar price, HD also has parallel clamps but the cost is much much higher. Rockler and Amazon seem to have similar pricing but Rockler is a bit of a drive.

  2. #2
    I've heard nothing but good things about HF's clamps, especially the aluminum tube style bar clamps.

    That said, my entire clamp collection, saving one Bessey Parallel and a handful of irwin quick clamps, are second hand pipe and older cast iron I-Beam clamps. The i-beam clamps are easily my favorite and it appears Wilton Hargrave still makes them, although at a premium over HF.

    The old adage that you cannot have enough clamps seems correct to me. Buy the HF ones you need right now, buy better ones if you find a sale, keep an eye on flea markets and used sources for quality older clamps and eventually you'll have a few hundred and brand just won't matter.

  3. #3
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    I think HF F-style clamps are the best deal going. One thing to watch for. Make sure the hole for the screw is drilled and tapped straight and not at an angle to the clamp.

  4. #4
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    One thing to consider is pipe clamps. This allows one to change the "backbone" when different sizes are needed.

    A quick consult with Dr. Google indicates Lowes carries a model made by Irwin using a method of attachment not requiring one end of the pipe to be threaded. This would be handy if you need to make a lot of 2' clamps from an 8' length of pipe and do not have a pipe threading die.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
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    Jorgensen Pony clamps are the best for the work I do. Pipe clamps are too heavy, bulky and cumbersome.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Stone Mountain, GA
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    Face laminating requires lots of clamps. I think I used 18 bar clamps to glue up each of my bench top slabs, and a few more wouldn't have hurt.

    So far I have made do with F clamps. Most are 24" Bessey or Irwin from the big box store, the medium duty ones. These do the job, but they are nothing special for the price. I would consider the HF F-clamps instead of these if I were starting over.

    It is nice to have a few clamps that have a wide throat. I have a pair of HF welding clamps- they are kind of a beefed up F clamp with a copper clad screw, and have maybe a 7" throat. These get used a lot, especially for clamping things to the bench.

    I also have a set of 4 el-cheapo 12" long f-clamps from Woodcraft, that I bought for $10 or something since they were left over from a black friday sale. These are not great clamps, really- the jaws are too loose on the bar, so it's tricky to get them set with one hand - but for some reason I find myself using these all the time. They are just light and handy.

    The 12" and 24" clamps seem to cover 95% of my needs. I have a few long F-clamps (36", 48") but they are light duty and can't provide much force. They aren't completely useless, but close. I would spend the money for at least the heavy duty F-clamps in anything over 24" lengths. The medium duty are fine for anything I've needed with the shorter ones.

    For applying a lot of force over long distances it's tough to beat 3/4" pipe clamps. They are heavy and awkward, though. Ratchet straps can be useful in these situations as well. You can even use a good low-stretch (i.e. not nylon) rope and a windlass.

    For smaller clamps, the little Pony 1.5" c-clamps are nice to have, along with spring clamps. Another occasionally useful type are the vise-grip c-clamps, particularly when you need to clamp and unclamp repeatedly- the HF versions of these are pretty good.


    For more specialized clamps, I have gotten a lot of use out of the veritas 4-way picture frame clamps for any sort of mitered frame or box.

  7. #7
    I needed clamps to build my bench and went to HF.
    Got a bunch of the aluminum bar clamps...creating a wood insert is a requirement...they twist like an empty soda can. I also super glued plywood pads on them. I think for a big, heavy glue up you want something more substantial at least to supplement these.
    I also grabbed some of their f clamps. Some are better than others, not sure why. Two of my 24 inch ones will twist and bend as they are tightened. Others don't.

    I grabbed 3 of the Bessey 1/2 inch pipe clamps with a Xmas gift card. Ordered galvanized threaded pipe from Amazon for half the price HD is charging.

  8. #8
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    For applying a lot of force over long distances it's tough to beat 3/4" pipe clamps. They are heavy and awkward, though.
    One essential for making many types of clamps less awkward is to set them up before hand with a dry run.

    Having all the clamps ready before spreading any glue will make things go much better.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    One essential for making many types of clamps less awkward is to set them up before hand with a dry run.

    Having all the clamps ready before spreading any glue will make things go much better.

    jtk
    Thats one of my favorite things about the cast iron ibeam clamps. They produce a lot of force and they are stable and won't roll like pipe clamps* if you are gluing something larger than your bench. For face laminations I generally build a base of 4-6 ibeam clamps to get the heart of the beast secure and then use pipe clamps to cover every inch.

    *Yes, yes I know you can fabricate v-blocks to set the pipe clamps in, but thats just another little thing for me to lose

  10. #10
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    *Yes, yes I know you can fabricate v-blocks to set the pipe clamps in, but thats just another little thing for me to lose
    Instead of v-blocks drill an appropriate sized hole in small blocks of wood and store them on the pipe clamps. They will not get lost.

    If they are sized correctly one can be held in place near the head of the clamp with a small drop of epoxy.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. Interesting, hadn't thought of that, thanks!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Instead of v-blocks drill an appropriate sized hole in small blocks of wood and store them on the pipe clamps. They will not get lost.

    If they are sized correctly one can be held in place near the head of the clamp with a small drop of epoxy.

    jtk
    This is a very good tip!

  13. #13
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    FWIW my favorite long clamps are the Dubuque aluminum channel ones. Lee Richmond (thebestthings.com) has good prices on sets of 4 and 10, drop-shipped from the factory. The HF clones are about half the price, but I've had marginal experiences with their stuff and am willing to pay double for the US-made Dubuques. They're almost completely replaced pipe clamps and steel bar clamps in my collection due to the huge weight difference. I keep heads, pipes, and couplings on hand for when I need very long clamps, though.

    For stuff that requires more depth I use a combination of Bessey Revos and long F-clamps (mostly Bessey Tradesman and the "heavy duty" ones from LV). Be aware that the Besseys have been discontinued and that an improved design is coming out shortly, though.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chase View Post
    FWIW my favorite long clamps are the Dubuque aluminum channel ones. Lee Richmond (thebestthings.com) has good prices on sets of 4 and 10, drop-shipped from the factory. The HF clones are about half the price, but I've had marginal experiences with their stuff and am willing to pay double for the US-made Dubuques. They're almost completely replaced pipe clamps and steel bar clamps in my collection due to the huge weight difference. I keep heads, pipes, and couplings on hand for when I need very long clamps, though.

    For stuff that requires more depth I use a combination of Bessey Revos and long F-clamps (mostly Bessey Tradesman and the "heavy duty" ones from LV). Be aware that the Besseys have been discontinued and that an improved design is coming out shortly, though.
    I strongly agree. If you can afford the Dubuques, you won't regret it - I love mine. I bought mine from Lee too. Good guy to deal with.

    If you buy the HF bar clamps, you can improve them by inserting a piece of hardwood down the center of the bar. Google it.

    Good luck!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  15. #15
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    If I had it to do it over I would buy the Dubuques as well. I bought a bunch of Bessey Revo Jr. clamps that Highland Woodworking ran a special on. I have learned to dislike those clamps! They are frustrating to coax into sliding up or down, some much more than others. The plastic caps over the faces split into pieces and then fall off. Without the caps they are practically useless. I talked to Highland, they sent me to Bessey. Bessey said they had no plans to offer replacements for the caps and did not want to take back a couple that I felt were just defective. Every time I use them I consider tossing them all in the trash and starting over. I have a few regular Besseys which I used for years with only minor issues. I bought the smaller clamps because I wanted something lighter. The regular Besseys worked well, but tended to slide up & down too easily, which is why I thought the slower sliding smaller clamps might be an improvement.
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 02-09-2018 at 9:11 PM.

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