Subject: re: clamps

From: [email-masked] (Bennett Leeds)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 17:57:51 GMT

I hate pipe clamps and will not have any in my shop. I sold my pipe
clamps years ago and have never looked back.

Yeah, as one poster stated, there are ways around the staining problem, 
and there are ways around their tendency to pull things out of alignment, 
and there are ways to avoid crushing your project, and you have to be careful 
not to bend the pipe, but my feeling is why bother with a tool that has such 
serious deficiencies? You can cut wood with a direct drive bench top tablesaw, 
too., but none of us here recommend them unless budget forces you to.

Many of us spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on things like hand 
planes, tablesaws, duct collectors, chisels, vises, etc.. We should budget 
accordingly for clamps. 

Like some others who have posted, I've got a nice set of Bessey K-Body 
clamps (the Gross-Stabil clones are reported to be good, too). These
clamps are strong, the jaws are large, they are quick to adjust, they 
don't stain your work, they don't crush your work: they're simply a
pleasure to use. A good starter set for furniture making would be 2 each of 
the 12", 24", 30", and 40" sizes. Yeah, we're talking well about $250 in 
clamps, but I easily use them more than I use my $325 chopsaw. 

If budget constrains you, then, depending on what you build, start with
the larger sizes. You can always use them for smaller work, you just have
to work around the bars, which is inconvenient, but more do-able than
dealing with all the stuff you have to deal with when using pipe clamps.
However, I'll tell you that I use my 12" clamps the most often, followed
by the 40" size (I've been building entry doors recently).

Forget any clamp with a swivel jaw tip. If you've got any kind of angled
work, the clamp will slip off anyway. For angled work, handscrews are
the best I've found - or cut wedges for your parallel jawed clamps.

- Bennett Leeds
[email-masked]

Opinions are mine alone.

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From: Patrick Olguin <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 18:19:20 -0500

Bennett Leeds writes:

[Bessey Clamps rule]

Yup. The right angle clamps are also swell, and simple to use. As for the
rather high price, try to hold off until one of the Woodworking shows
comes around, they usually run a special on 'em then. Oh, and for those of
you who do smaller projects, small spring clamps are great. They're also
life savers, as a nearly instant helping hand while gluing up large
pieces. An elaborate network of spring clamps, hanging from the joists in
your garage are quite the conversation piece.

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From: [email-masked] (Bill Peeler)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 23:27:19 GMT

In message <[email-masked]> - [email-masked]
(Bennett Leeds)13 Feb 1997 17:57:51 GMT writes:
:>
:>
:>I hate pipe clamps and will not have any in my shop. I sold my pipe
:>clamps years ago and have never looked back.
:>
<snip>

:>Like some others who have posted, I've got a nice set of Bessey K-Body 
:>clamps (the Gross-Stabil clones are reported to be good, too). These
:>clamps are strong, the jaws are large, they are quick to adjust, they 
:>don't stain your work, they don't crush your work: they're simply a
:>pleasure to use. A good starter set for furniture making would be 2 each of 
:>the 12", 24", 30", and 40" sizes. Yeah, we're talking well about $250 in 
:>clamps, but I easily use them more than I use my $325 chopsaw. 

<snip>

:>- Bennett Leeds
:>[email-masked]
:>
:>Opinions are mine alone.

what do you people think about the jorgensen (sic) i beam
shaped steel clamps?  i realize the jaws are not much longer
than the pipe clamp jaws.

bill

----------------------------
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (John Paquay)
Date: 14 Feb 1997 19:07:00 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
<edited>

>the best I've found - or cut wedges for your parallel jawed clamps.

Good advice, Bennett.  I confess to still using pipe clamps for gluing up
panels, but only the 1" size.  3/4" pipe gets bent out of shape far to easily
when you torgue the clamps.  And whenever possible (whenever the capacity
needed is less than 24"), I always use bar clamps.  I'm sort of partial to
old style steel clamps like those made by Hartford Clamp and Wetzler.

Personally, I'm generally content with swivel-pad clamps... at times I find
them far more useful than fixed-jaw clamps.  The swivel pad allows you to
apply the pressure at a slight angle, which you can use to advantage when
you're having trouble getting pieces to line up perfectly.  Skew the clamp
slightly, and as you apply pressure, the parts will squish around sideways
as the clamp tries to square itself.

Swivel pad clamps are, however, a total pain in the butt when you, for example,
need to clamp something with the clamp vertical, and want a pad or caul
between the swivel pad and the work. Unless you attach the pad or caul to the
swivel pad with double stick tape, it invariably the falls off just about the time
you have things lined up perfectly...

-- 
John Paquay
[email-masked],  [email-masked]
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~jep/
-----------------------
Without my wings you know I'd surely die...

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From: John N Scheffel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 14:22:31 -0800

> than the pipe clamp jaws.

I have not used these, but after years of using pipe clamps,
I bought some of the Bessey I-beam clamps.  They have them
at the local Home Depot at a pretty good price.  They are 
not as fancy or expensive at the K-body clamps, but are 
a pleasure to use compared to pipe clamps.  They are
lighter, and easier to adjust.  The jaws are about 2-3 inches
deep and have plastic pads on them.  
  
John Scheffel

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From: [email-masked] (Moosemeat)
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 06:22:10 PST

Much stuff snipped..........

>when you torgue the clamps.  
>
Much more stuff snipped........

Great God if you apply enough pressure to bend a 3/4 inch pipe you must be a 
strong fellow and your glue joints must be squeezed dry.  Maybe if the pipe 
was twenty feet long it might bend but who is gluing up stuff that spans 20 
feet in an ordinary shop?
Remember:
You can't be too thin
You can't be too rich
And-you can't have too many clamps.
               ..................... 
               .    -MOOSEMEAT-    .
               .....................