A tip for lubricating you clamps.

For many years I have had clamps that began to perform poorly. I learned by experience and through the advise of the manufacturers of how to over come the problems.

My wooden double handle screw clamps would loosen on their own. I would tighten both handles and could immediately watch the handles turn and loosen.

The solution, provided by Jorgenson, use a stiff wire brush to thoroughly clean the threads of the screws. Problem Solved.

Another issue that I learned to remedy by myself was that which affected my Bessy K-body style, Cabinet Master K-body clone, and fresh out of the box Jet K-body clone bar clamps.

The symptom. It seemed that when tightening the clamp handles that there was no lubrication. The motion felt dry and I felt that the screw was providing more resistance than the actual material that I was clamping. I will restate for clarity that all 6 of my Jet clamps felt this way straight out of the box. The Cabinet Masters over several years developed this feel as did the Bessy clamps. Oh, and so did my aluminum bar clamps with the butter fly style screw handles.

For years I cleaned the threads and sprayed a dry lube on the screw with very mixed results with most results being only slightly better.

Jorgensons answer and solution was to send me a free replacement screw head. That worked for a few years but......

Then through divine intervention the fix/answer came to me.

If any of you have witnessed this problem with any of your screw clamps this may be your fix.

I discovered that there is truly friction and resistance in tightening the clamp. As mentioned above it would seem obvious to clean and lubricate the threads of the screw.

I discovered one more spot to lubricate and doing so immediately made all of my brands of clamps operate closer to silky smooth than prior to locating his spot.

Starting to sound like one of those commercials, huh?

On most all of these K-body style clamps and the clones the part you need to apply oil is partially hidden and out of site.

You also need to oil the end of the screw where it is riveted onto the steel washer that delivers all of the clamping force. There is tremendous friction at that connection and a drop or two of oil instantly decreases the effort needed to tighten the clamp.

Reply to
Leon
Loading thread data ...

I use carburetor cleaner to keep my clamps working properly. The Carburetor cleaner has to beneficial properties. It being basically a light oil, keep the tool from rusting. Most importantly is is also a solvent that will remove the glue that always gets in the threads of my clamps. The clamps I use most are the perimeter clamps that I use to make picture frames.

Reply to
Keith Nuttle

Once caution about carb cleaner. or brake cleaner. if you weld, never use either. if there is any trace of liquid (doubtful long term) but still a possibility hitting the liquid with intense heat as a welder could leave you paralyzed or dead. it can cause nerve damage.

After reading about that, I no longer use it, as I do weld. I don't clean anything that I might use during welding with those cleaners.

Reply to
woodchucker

I don't weld, but occasionally burn the piece of wood that I am cutting on my table saw ;-)

Even if the cleaner you use contains a clorohydrocarbon, it would take a lot more that a trace on the material you are welding to cause any problem, including health problems like the ones you mentioned. The OSHA limits for exposure of an 8 hour period for from the attached MSDS sheet is less 125 mg/cubic meter

That being said because of the organic materials in the cleaner, it could be a flammability problem if you use a very large amount and then start welding, as you could have created an explosive mixture.

This is an example of a c cleaner that contains a clorohydrocarbon.

formatting link

Personally I use a cheaper on called Supertech from Walmart

formatting link

Reply to
Keith Nuttle

Ok, let me post this. Unfortunately OSHA had the info, but it's now been pulled.

formatting link

Reply to
woodchucker

woodchucker wrote in news:GaudnZv5WLN9pAfFnZ2dnUU7- snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net:

[...]

Repeat: IF YOU WELD, NEVER USE EITHER.

The first time I read about this, three or four years ago, I thought "yeah, riiiiight". Checked into it, though, and it's a *very real* hazard -- the result is one of the gases that was used in chem warfare in WW One. Phosgene, I think. Anyway, it's a *nasty* bastard.

Reply to
Doug Miller

The cleaner component that causes problems is carbon tetrachloride/perchlorethylene/methylene chloride and such. Those are VOLATILE compounds, with warnings to only use with good ventilation, and a day after applying them, they aren't on the apparatus.

You should also only weld with good ventilation. Ozone is nasty, too. And NO2, and so on.

Reply to
whit3rd

As I indicated in my original post where I posted the MSGS sheet, not all brake cleaners on carburator cleaners are created equal. I posted a cleaner based on Methylene Chloride. You posted a brake cleaner that contains tetraChloroethylene. The one I use Supertech contains Acetone, Toluene, and Methanol and no chlorohydrocarbons. While they are all flamable, and volatile, they are completely different materials in the health hazards, and must be treated differently.

Reply to
Keith Nuttle

Keith Nuttle wrote in news:o7e53e$988$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org:

I believe tetrachloroethylene and know methylene chloride are the key ingredients in plastic welding solvents. It's not just welding you need to keep them away from, but many plastics.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

Amen!

I have/had the same problem, thought the threads were galling in the clamp. Grease helped but not as much as I had hoped.

A few drops of oil with a swamp cooler oiler did the trick. The oilers long plastic tube reaches to the area where the ball of the screw enters into the "foot".

-BR

Reply to
Brewster

I guess some of us use our clamps more than others. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

But Leon... think of the great OSHA/science information you got from a comm ent on clamps! I was surprised though, that the engine left the track the second post after yours...

I knew about the compression withing the clamp head and its grinding feel a fter use. I was told back in the mid 70s (when the whole shop had somethin g like 10 Pony pipe clamps!)to put a drop or two of "3 in 1" just where the clamp screw rotates in the clamp face. it was explained to me that the he avy clamping pressure could/would gall the inside of the contact surfaces a nd make them have that grinding feeling when compressing. About every 4 or 5 glue ups we would hand the pipes on a boards and apply the oil. We used those clamps for everything. Remember a day with no Besseys, no cabinet c lamps like we know them today. I still have some 50 year old Pony clamps a nd even have two ancient bar clamps from the 1920s. The Pony clamps are use d on occasion, but the bar clamps are bent and are more of a curiosity.

Strangely, I hadn't thought of it, but your comment hit home. I rarely use clamps anymore. My squeeze clamps are in constant use for all manner of t hings, sometimes just an extra set of holding hands. But my Besseys, my ol d Irwins, my no name aluminum bar clamps, and my Stanley brand pipe clamps and Ponys haven't been touched in a really long time.

I do appreciate the comment on the wood Jorgensons. I have watched mine "r elax" more than once, and gave all but one or two away since I thought they were defective! I thought the dirty threads would make them stick more, b ut if you think about it, the dirt probably acted more as a lubricant, keep ing the friction quotient too low for them to work properly. That's a good tip!

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

LOL..... A well thought out post brings the possibility of many tangents.

I had no doubt that you would already know this.

I was told back in the mid 70s (when the whole shop

Reply to
Leon

On Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 1:01:23 PM UTC-6, Leon wrote: .

Yeah, right. Here is the way it appears to me:

Leon: I have some tips on how to use and maintain clamps.

1st response: My brother in law has a ton of clamps. 2nd response: Hah! My sister in law weighs a ton! 3rd response: She is lucky the nanny state police don't get on her about he r weight! 4th response: Screw safety devices. We may not be forced to use them yet, but the nanny state could make us one day. Down with retail tyranny and he avy handed politicians! I am going to cut off a finger before they can get to me to try to keep me from exercising my right to do it! 5th response: I like pie! 6th response: Me too!

Well... with 40 plus years of doing this stuff for days/weeks/years on end you are bound to learn something. Even then, note that I pointed out someo ne showed me how to take care of that problem. That could be one of those things (like my comment on my Jorgensons) that I just never figured out.

The learning curve can be cut well in half if you work with hundreds of dif ferent professionals all in the same field. It's the small stuff like the tips like the one you posted that are //so useful// yet go unnoticed.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Unnoticed being the key word. Or possibly the clamps are not being used enough to need any TLC, YET. ;~)

Reply to
Leon
[on clamp maintenance]

One of my favorite glue clamps is a piece of 2x6. A one foot section of steel, 2" by 6" cross section, weighs about 40 lbs. It's very low maintenance, and in conjunction with some polyethylene foam, clamps even irregular surfaces effectively.

Reply to
whit3rd

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

*snip*

Hint taken, I'll add this to my little rec.working archive soon!

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

Does this mean I am being published? yipeeee LOL

Reply to
Leon

OK! I reread that with some whiskey and WOW that was funny!!!

Reply to
Leon

Number 4 is my favorite.

I recall the quote going more like this.

That no good nasty sucker is about the out-smarting'est man that I have ever seen. I will never save up to buy any product of this in-vent-er/future government hot shot. We are loose'n our rights to make emotional buying choices about our saw's. So I am not stubbern enough not mention about cutting myself with my TS, hell I'm right here typing. I'll admit it, it was my fault, not the saws fault. So there is no reason to blame the saw cause it was not a SS.

Guys! since this accident was not really an accident, what could I have done differently to have prevented this.

Leon: SawStop.

Back to number 4

Finger looked like hamburger and hurt like hell.

  1. What kind of saw was it?
  2. Wasn't a SawStop.
  3. If you multiply pi times the measurement across the blade and do some other calculations you end up with a number.
  4. I like pie

That there was funny, huh! I don't care who you are.

Reply to
Leon

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.