I'm in need of some clamps. I was looking at pipe clamps and have a few questions. I will be gluing up a small cabinet and need atleast six clamps. Working in the 36 to 48" range is 3/4 pipe clamp necessary are will a 1/2 work ok? Also HD had some I frame Jergenson clamps 36" that are competitive with buying pipe and ends for pipe clamp. Are the I frame clamps sturdy enough to glue up a cabinet with I have never used them before? I have read that the Bessy clamps are best but at $37 and needing six they will have to wait.
HF has 1/2" pipe clamps on sale for $2 for the next couple of weeks. They had two left when I was there yesterday. They are now in my garage. Can never have enough clamps.
Jorgenson has a couple of lines of clamps. The Cabinet Master look pretty good. The others, IMO, are OK, but not as nice as a Bessey F style clamp. They should do the job though, just not as smooth as the better clamps. Some of the models have rubber pads, others don't. Coastal Tools
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The 36" clamp is $11.95 and the pads are $2.25. OTOH, they carry the Bessey Tradesman at $14.50 and it has the rubber pads.
They just don't seem to have the fit and finish of a Bessey. Ed
which go on sale 3 or 4 times a year (but not right now).
36" is their largest steel bar clamp, or go 48" in aluminum. Lifetime warranty, I haven't needed it yet.
1/2" pipe is heavy-duty enough because you don't need that much force if the joint is prepared properly.
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you have a Harbor Fright store close to you?
$18 for clamps ($2.99 a pop) $27 for 3 10' lengths of 1/2" pipe at your local pipe supply Saw them in half and have six 5' pipe clamps for under $50.
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I see two advantages of pipe clamps over something like the Bessey K-bodies. First is price. For the price of one 50" Bessey K-body you can probably get
4 3/4 inch pipe clamps and pipe.
Second, with pipe clamps you can alter the length to fit the situation. You just buy different lengths of pipe and switch them out as needed. I had a project a few months ago that needed a couple of 8 foot clamps. All I had to do was buy a couple of cheap pieces of 8' black pipe, take the pipe clamps off of the short pipes, screw them on the long pipes, and walla. That also works in reverse. I had another project that needed a lot of short clamps. I put 2' pieces of pipe on my pipe clamps and used them. But I still didn't have enough short clamps and wound up having to use some long
40" and 50" Bessey k-body clamps. For that particular project, the length of the K's was a PITA, and there was no sane way to make them shorter. To go along with that I must say this. My pipe clamps are for 1/2 inch pipe. When used on the 8' sections of pipe, they REALLY bent. I had to take some steps to try and counteract the bend (wedges), but they did get the job done. A 3/4 inch pipe would have been MUCH better.
So to finally answer your question directly, if you can possibly afford it, get good quality clamps such as the Bessey K-body clamps. The parallel clamping action of the jaws is a good thing. If you have/want to use pipe clamps, get the 3/4". The versatility and price will be good. Or do both.
The new clamps that Rockler sells are nice. I plan on adding some to my collection. Look at:
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go to Rockler.com and type in pipe clamps in the search box. The sure foot clamps raise the clamps off the workbench and they also have a nice hanging attachment built in.
No disrespect intended to those who say 1/2 inch clamps bend under use, but I've not had that experience.
The clamping force necessary to edge glue boards together isn't anywhere near the amount exerted by 1/2" clamps, so in that application 3/4" clamps are overkill.
I suppose it's possible to bend 1/2 inch clamps by yoinking hard enough on them to try to straighten badly out-of-square casework carcasses, but before I loaded up on 3/4 inch clamps I think I'd spend the time adjusting my machinery and my technique so that the joints I'm gluing up are square to begin with.
Fwiw, I've got a rack full of cheaper'n'dirt HF 1/2" clamps that have done everything I've asked of them. Yeah, they can be frustrating at times but you can't beat em for bang-for-the-buck.
Part of it's a space issue, too. Since my workbench/outfeed table/ table saw is also my "assembly table", anything I clamp up has to be moved. Which means it needs to be picked up. By _me._ Know how much
8 pieces of 3/4" pipe, each 4' long, _weighs?_ Add to that the weight of the project, and it's a lot of damn weight to be picking up and carefully avoiding hitting things with. Just something to consider.
Clamps bend whether they be Bessie or elcheapo HFs they bend. That is part of the clamping power of clamps that they bend and create tension in the clamp. The amount of bend depends on the type and length of the clamp. Take a bar/pipe clamp and tighten it just enough to barely hold, draw a line along the bar/pipe, tighten the clamp and watch the deflection from the line. If a clamp bends too much to use it is either too tight or the wrong clamp for the job
Okay, fair enough. This is the internet and I didn't spell it out. I should have specified "I haven't had 1/2" pipe clamps bend enough to cause whatever is being clamped to be thrown out of square or buckle from uneven pressure."
3/4" is overkill. And heavy as hell. Did I mention they weigh a ton, too? :)
Best, Michael "wimpy" Baglio Who's thinking maybe those spanish luthiers have the right idea by clamping everything with stick-twisted ropes. ;>
Michael Baglio wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I'll agree that there is a right clamp for most jobs, and using the wrong one is 'sub-optimal'. I'll also agree that there are a lot of really cool processes and tools that luthiers use, which would be applicable to the furniture and jewelry boxes, which make up most of what I attempt these days.
There is certainly nothing wrong from learning a lesson from 'the other folks' whenever we can.
Patriarch, who's thinking there are times when 3/4" may be heavy, but perhaps still not enough for some projects.
I have been cleaning up my workshop/garage lately. last night I counted up my clamps.
I have >50 spring type clamps of various sizes, but only about 30 clamps of other type. Amazing how one accumulates such things over time. i would never have guessed I had more than 80 clamps.
I have some of each. Got the 1/2" when I was young and broke. I still find uses for them from time to time. Unless the above description fits (young and broke) you can use a 3/4 for anything you'd use a 1/2 for but not necessarily the reverse. I picked up a few 3/4 sets from Rockler a while back that have the bracket on the back that keeps the jaws level. I also have a few bar clamps of various types. Have you been thinking about Besseys? Pipe clamps have the advantage that in an unexpected situation you can use very long pipes, you can use couplers, you get the idea. A few are always nice to have around. Other things being equal, I'd go with the 3/4.
rhg
Robert Rush> I'm in need of some clamps. I was looking at pipe clamps and have a few
Just saw it in the rack today: it was FWW, and looked like a very complete review covering pipe, bar and other cabinet-type clamps, (even the new blue ones that the blue Borg is selling--Kobalt?). BTW, I saw those for the first time today also and they look real sturdy, but I didn't get the mag yet so don't know what the reviewer thought.
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