Help with making clamps

rich.h · 29 May 2013

I recall seeing some nice designs for handmade clamps in one of Robert Wearing books. The basics being a pair of faces with threaded bar between you simply screw to tighten.

Being on a very tight budget these appeal to me compared to the price of even small grip clamps, and I don't forsee any times where having to unscrew a clamp like this instead of having a quick release is going to ruin my life. With this in mind I'm wondering if it will be possible to adapt the design to a much larger clamp such as say a 600mm F clamp?

Has anyone made something similar before rather than buying off the shelf? From my own inspection of shop sale F clamps it seems to just need the two faces made, a length of straight bar to slide, and a smaller screw to tighten at the desired length or have I missed something obvious?

Eric The Viking · 30 May 2013

What length do you expect to need? I only ask because...

... they've rather fallen out of fashion, but you can still buy cramp heads - just the jaws and a screwthread that fit onto any bit of squared timber of suitable width. I used them for years, before I bought proper sash cramps.

It isn't true that you can use just any piece of wood, but nearly so. It needs to be strong and reasonably straight-grained. I have a six-foot length of beech that I still use occasionally. Pine would do, as long as it's thick enough.

If you do go down that route, get the sort with an angled slot and a hole for a drill guide, rather than just a slot or just a hole. I think they were originally "Paramo" (haven't seen that actual brand for years!). These are the jobbies! They tighten down square (if the beam is square to start with). There's no pilot hole, but you can't have everything, I guess.

Hope that helps.

E.

PS: Compare those to the cost of Bessey... I'm sure they are truly wonderful, but I still chuckle, sometimes out loud, whenever I hear them being recommended.

Flynnwood · 30 May 2013

Something like this perhaps ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1lunV4fcEw

AndyT · 30 May 2013

Robert Wearing's designs for small cheap clamps from scraps of wood and threaded rod are excellent and I have made several. But they have one of the threaded rods in compression, which would not work if it was 600mm long.

When I was starting out and could not afford big clamps, I used an even simpler system. I bought some lengths of 6mm and 8mm threaded rod; drilled holes through matched pairs of the stoutest offcuts I could find and used pairs of rods - one on either side - to pull the wooden bars into the work. It was a bit awkward to use but I was successful in making some boxes and bookcases using them.