Bar Clamp Pad Options?

I have many clamps that have cork.. works great. I used carpet tape to attach.

That is one of the exact reasons that I went with the parallel K-body style clamps. The plastic covers do not come off. Be careful with the Jet style, their plastic heads are a bit hard.

Thanks, but replacing all of my clamps is not an option.

My projects *cost* me money, not *make* me money.

Can you use epoxy to secure your present pads?

Sonny

;~(

Yeah... there is that. Any pad that will deform when "squshed" will likely break the bond loose too.

Yeah... There is that too ;-)

Thinking back.....I do recall someone using rare earth magnets to attach a wooden pad to their bar clamps. It some how stuck on the side or back so that the magnet would not be crushed. Something to think about.

I saw that on another site, somewhere. The poster took a drill and drilled the correct size to match his magnets and put a hole into the clamp faces just deep enough to hold his neodymium magnets in place with epoxy. Made a wood pad out of softwood, and simply pressed the magnet into the face side. The pads were about 3/8" to 1/2" thick and he used tiny magnets. Accordi ng to him it worked great. Don't see why it wouldn't.

You might try this for less fuss. Find it somewhere where you can return i t if it doesn't work. A lot of hardware stores carry the Household Goop. I have used it on other things and it can really hold well if the surfaces are pretty clean:

Since all my clamps have vinyl faces, I have looked for a solution myself. The vinyl gets old, stretched out, then lost. As it is, I look like a rea l pro out there with my clamp pads kept in place with duct tape.

Robert

ed the correct size to match his magnets and put a hole into the clamp face s just deep enough to hold his neodymium magnets in place with epoxy. Made a wood pad out of softwood, and simply pressed the magnet into the face sid e. The pads were about 3/8" to 1/2" thick and he used tiny magnets. Accor ding to him it worked great. Don't see why it wouldn't.

it if it doesn't work. A lot of hardware stores carry the Household Goop. I have used it on other things and it can really hold well if the surface s are pretty clean:

. The vinyl gets old, stretched out, then lost. As it is, I look like a r eal pro out there with my clamp pads kept in place with duct tape.

I have used Dow 732 Silicone Sealant as an adhesive for years. Might be worth a shot. Thanks for the idea.

Roughing up the mating surfaces (cork, rubber or?? and metal/plastic), perhaps even drilling a TINY hole in the clamp face and then using silicone sealant to join them? Even if the "squishing" breaks the main bond, unless you pull at them the silicone that's migrated into the holes drilled should keep them attached.

At one point I used some magnetic rubber strip material on the back of smallish plywood squares to hold a protective (plywood) face in place. Didn't work all that well but perhaps it would have if I'd drilled a space for the clamp face to sit.

Amen to that.

Then, there is no ROI to figure into the picture. ;-)

Well, SWMBO is a pretty good cook and fun to have around. The kids enjoy the beds, kitchen islands and cribbage boards I've made them. My son is getting into WW so we talk about stuff that we learned, tools, etc.

I said that I don't make money, I didn't say that I don't get paid. ;-)

Oh, I was coming at it from the opposite direction. If there is no income from a tool it doesn't matter what a tool costs, the ROI is the same. So don't worry about cost. ;-) Seriously, it changes the equation from one of "need" to one of "want".

That said, the kid has long been out of the house. It, and everything else, is paid for. I make good money. I think we're good for retirement (anything can happen) and toys are fun. SWMBO gives me the faux-stinkeye from time to time but it's good. I'm actually on a business trip to Californica this week. She texted me yesterday to ask if I'd made it to the hotel yet. "Nope, only as far as Woodcraft". She answered "Put the credit cards down!" To which I answered, "no problem, I was going to use the debit card anyway.". I fooled her, though. I used cash. ;-)

I just saw these in the latest Rockler catalog. I'm not sure I like the idea of a "round peg in square hole", so to speak, but they look like they would stay on.

If I were you, I'd try the epoxy/cork option. Cut the cork oversized, then trim with a razor after cure. You can do the same with plumbers' rubber. It comes in sheets and cuts to size.

If you have a HF near by, might be worth a look.

I did exactly the same thing with my pipe clamps. Main problem was the magnetic strips weren't that strong. Have no idea where I got the magnetic strips. Rare earth magnets should work better.

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

I've used leather pads, cut from old gloves, attached with contact cement for many years on all my clamps. Never had a problem.