Clamps - 40"+ sized clamps

Didn't take me longer than the second project with Besseys to move the pipe clamps down the rack toward the floor. No fussy cauls, no stand-up troubles, no rotation on the far end, and no fussing and shimming to keep the clamping force in line with the screw centered.

Easy habit to break. The pipe clamps are now stored in a secondary location out of the workshop, called upon to work 50" and over only.

Plain 'ol personal preference makes perfect sense to me.

Thanks!

I have 8 Kbodies, 8 Pipe clamps and a bazillon F clamps.

I reach for the K-bodies first, but I don't need nor want all Kbodies in the collection. Kbodies have the nice property that the apply nice 90 -degree pressure, unlike an F-clamp which can cause a joint to slide.

Once you have an assembly locked in place with 2 K-bodies, you can supplement with other types of clamps.

In addition to price, pipe clamps have more length flexibility. I have 4 at

I think an assortment of type is really the best.

-Steve

Aluminum bar clamps work quite well...

Coltrane wrote:

My vote is for the K body Bessey's. I love using them with the blocks to be able to clamp something (like cabinet doors) on 4 sides and keep everything flat. Sometimes I had problems gluing up doors with the pipe clamps, and would end up with a slightly warped door. Plus, if anyone needs ideas on what to get you for Christmas, father's day, birthday, etc. K body clamps are a sure winner and you'll accumulate plenty pretty quickly! --dave (who has about 30 K bodies and the smaller uniclamps now...)

John,

I believe that David Marks uses pipe clamps in his glue ups and it certainly doesn't look like his work suffers any by using them. In case you don't know, he is the host of Wood Works on the DYI channel.

If you have enough money to buy about 6-8 (or more) Bessey K bodies, I'd do that (Although I don't know how big your table will be). If you have patience, you can get them on sale for $20-25 each for the 24" ones (shipped).

If you get tired of woodworking, you can ebay the Besseys easily and recoup your money if you bought them on sale.

I started with pipe clamps, and got about 50 of them before I started buying Besseys. The only time I use a pipe clamp is for extremely long jobs or if I have to put an extreme amount of pressure on that (I can crank down a pipe clamp harder).. Both cases are very rare. The pipe clamps are so infrequently used, that I moved them out of the shop and into the "junk" area of the basement.

Strange, I don't seem to have the same problems you describe! My Pony clamps stand up just fine. Rotation?? Shimming?? Greg

You've never bumped the sliding end of a long pipe clamp while clamping casework and had it rotate?

NOW I understand why you like them so much!

Sure I have, but I just reach over and put it back in place. Nothing to get worked up about. It does not happen enough for me to spend 2-3 times the price on clamps and toss them all and buy Bessy's. The lighter weight of a Pony bar clamp helps even out things a bit over the heavier Bessy's. Sometimes when clamping up stuff one of my Bessy clamps will fall over too. S*it happens. Greg

On a 5 or 6 foot clamp while you're holding the other end on a large case? That's what I'm talking about. Of course I can spin the end of a

Was making some 1/2" thick panels yesterday with the Besseys when I realized that I was not reaching for supports to lift the centerline of the glueup to the center of the tightening screw to avoid pinching and bowing. What a nice feeling, though I still clamp alternate sides more or less out of habit from years of pipe clamps.

Having purchased one of the Norm-style glue rollers a couple projects ago, I noticed I now have glue all over the bars. Any easy remedies out there for removing Titebond? The bottle is going back to the shelf to stay, I fear.

"George" wrote in news:Cp6nh.642$ snipped-for-privacy@newsreading01.news.tds.net:

White vinegar?

Patriarch

Heard that about PVA (yellow glue), think I'll try it

A wire brush on a motor. Either a drill or a right angle sander.

Lew

Well all, I went out and took the inexpensive (cheap) way and bought pipe clamps. I bought Pony clamps and will be picking up the pipes tomorrow. It seemed that being able to change size is a big benefit. Since I am starting I hope pipes will do fine. Also, the Ponys have a clamp with a 2 1/2 inch reach. Just for the hell of it I bought pair of

thanks for all the input. I learned a lot.

cheers

coltrane