Heavy Duty Clamps for Glueing tabletop?

[sitefive]

Want to have a go at making few tables, did one today with just regular long quick-grip type clamps and they were bloody useless as they didnt had enough power.
what exactly are they called? I have seen few videos where the clamps are just put on table and the wood blanks are put up on them and than just screwed together making super tight squeeze.

Have found something similar called ''sash clamp'' ? on amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-VC64 ... ash+clamps
but from the reviews they seem total rubbish.

Anyone can suggest some good ones ( or give me keywords how to search for them? ) which can do at least 120cm?

 

[sitefive]

Alright seems like that's their name - sash clamps,
but anyone maybe can suggest some good quality ones which doesn't costs an arm&leg ?

 

[John15]

The problem I find with the aluminium clamps is that they can rack and jam before fully clamped up. But they are cheap, so you pays your money and takes your choice.

John

 

[PeteG]

I bought a set of five Axminster ones a couple of years back sitefive, you save about a tenner on a set. They've been very good and I've had no problems at all.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-clamps-sash-clamp

I did fancy the parallel jaw type, but they're a bit pricey http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-clamps-hd-parallel-jaw-clamp

 

[Harbo]

The original Record ones take some beating but only available SH.
The newer Irwin/Record ones are not too bad.

Rod

 

[marcros]

pipe clamps may also be worth looking at. More popular in the USA than here, but the black or galvanised pipe for them is available here. They should be more robust than the aluminium ones.

I have some aluminium ones from Rutlands, and they have been ok for me.

The other things that I would say are worth a look are pinch dogs. http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/pin ... nts-clamp/

 

[sitefive]

so seems like the way to go is to avoid the aluminium ones at all costs, and go for heavy steel ones, or t-bar ones?
Had a look how much a new Record clamps cost and they are ~50quid/each, OUUUCH!!
was hoping to get something in budget of 15-20/each

had never heard of such pinch dogs , however looks genial =D>
btw where can you get them? not that I want to buy them as they look total pain to use compared to sash clamps.

 

[toast]

i bought some cheap ali sash clamps from screwfix, as mentioned they can jam so its best to watch the clamp and make sure its not pivoted.
paul sellers uses them alot and wedges wood down inside them to make them stronger although i havnt done that yet
aslong as your not trying to force wide bowed lengths together they should be fine,
i think they are good for the price and i thought id be better off with four 4ft ali clamps rather than one or two steel ones for the same price.

 

[n0legs]

so seems like the way to go is to avoid the aluminium ones at all costs, and go for heavy steel ones, or t-bar ones?

I wouldn't say that at all. Like others here I have some of them and I've given them hell for what they are.
They'll never be in the same league as the full fat versions, but for the money they're very good. In a professional workshop they may have a limited lifespan, but for us hobbyists (assuming you are just a hobbyist) they're more than adequate.
One thing I love about the ali ones is they are nice and light to pass over a wide panel or frame when gluing up.

On the other side of the coin I have four of the orange steel Silverline 2 foot sash clamps and this member is pleased to report that they are bang on. I got the four for £36 from a local timber yard/diy store.
Good thick steel bars, decent castings and a very easy clamping action with a well cut thread.

 

[Ed Bray]

I bought a load of the Paul Sellers style ones from the site below. Reasonable prices, prompt delivery and if you take care with the clamps they work fine.

http://www.supremeplumb.com/cgi-bin/DMd ... Clamps.txt

 

[jonnio]

Hiya, i use these t bar clamps by faithfull. They sit on the bench as you say.
http://www.faithfulltools.com/p/FAISCT36
I've joined hundreds of table tops with them. They have loads of pressure if you need it. Good luck.

 

[sitefive]

I bought a load of the Paul Sellers style ones from the site below. Reasonable prices, prompt delivery and if you take care with the clamps they work fine.

http://www.supremeplumb.com/cgi-bin/DMd ... Clamps.txt

which ones do you have exactly?
the regular, expert or tbar?
btw nice prices on that site, cheapest I have seen so far!

 

[MusicMan]

For a large and heavy desk top (about 2.2 m x 0.7 m x 70 mm thick, in wany-edge yew) I used York panel clamps: http://www.axminster.co.uk/york-panel-clamp

This were inexpensive and very successful. You have to make the stretchers, but with one each side the thrust is balanced and you can pull a good force.

Sorry I didn't get a pic during the cramping but here is the finished slab.

Keith

 

[n0legs]

Sorry I didn't get a pic during the cramping but here is the finished slab.

Keith

Very nice =D>

 

[JSW]

For a large and heavy desk top (about 2.2 m x 0.7 m x 70 mm thick, in wany-edge yew) I used York panel clamps: http://www.axminster.co.uk/york-panel-clamp

This were inexpensive and very successful. You have to make the stretchers, but with one each side the thrust is balanced and you can pull a good force.

Sorry I didn't get a pic during the cramping but here is the finished slab.

Keith

Those look absolutely amazing, wasn't aware of them previously, but 3 or 4 of them should be enough for most table tops, cheers for that!

How many did you use on that slab of Yew may I ask?

John.

 

[MusicMan]

John,

Eight, so about 300 mm spacing. No additional cramps. I made up a set of pine stretchers to handle a variety of widths (I did the five segments one by one, not all at once, for better control), but of course the width is in principle unlimited and the price doesn't shoot up very much with length. I'll photo the stretchers when I get back in the workshop on Friday.

The finished desk (designed to fit in a room corner, as a dedicated video editor workstation, with accessories for coffee drinking) is shown in the Project Showcase section of this site, if anyone is interested. The huge slabs of yew came from Westonbirt Arboretum. They sell kiln-dried timber from their arboretum management fellings every second Sunday each month, and they are great value. The slabs were fairly rough with some warpage, so I sawed them lengthways and reversed alternate planks to compensate. The design of the upper shelf also clamps it flat. This meant that the grain went every which way, but as it was chosen for its fantastic knotty figure, it would have done anyway. The finish did have to be with a belt sander. And I didn't have a respirator at the time, which was a big mistake, as I needed a course of steroids to clear the chest congestion; yew is virulent stuff!

Keith

 

[JSW]

Cheers Keith, much appreciated. Final question, what diameter are the 'pegs', they look about 20mm?

Edited to add: I have to make some of these bad boys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZMGJRVKsw

 

[Ed Bray]

I bought a load of the Paul Sellers style ones from the site below. Reasonable prices, prompt delivery and if you take care with the clamps they work fine.

http://www.supremeplumb.com/cgi-bin/DMd ... Clamps.txt

which ones do you have exactly?
the regular, expert or tbar?
btw nice prices on that site, cheapest I have seen so far!

I bought 16 of the Expert 633633 ones.

In my opinion they are more than sufficient if you have prepared your joints correctly, they may not be Heavy Duty, but they are certainly strong enough to pull joints together if the gap is not too much.

 

[Beau]

Not a fan of metal bar sash clamps as the fall over easily and need careful protection from the glue on the boards they are clamping. Been using clamp heads like these http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-record- ... eads/19451 and the Paramo equivelent for 20+ years. A nice quality piece of 25x50/60 hardwood a coat of wax and a few holes and you have a great sash clamp that does not easily mark your work. With the heads it's so easy to make up a special long, short or deep clamp for that odd job.

 

[PAC1]

Old record ones are best. The new ones are just not the same quality the steel bar is just a bit flimsy. There are regular offers if you buy 4 or more.
I just bought two of these to try http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-tr ... pipe-clamp so far very happy with them. you can buy 6m lengths of pipe from plumbers merchants so they can be as big as you want.