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The clamp thread!

wilser

wilser

May 4, 2004
4,789
53
Northern Virginia
www.ramirezbass.com
#1
sheesh! this looks like an OT topic!

I have been using F clamps of various kinds, mostly medium to heavy duty ones. They're ok for most of the work, but I'm looking for something that can exert more pressure. F clamps usually have a 'knob' type action that is difficult to tighten over a certain point. I guess it's by design given the bar pressure limit. Anywho, I have been looking at building a stationary press type deal using about 10 or more of these:

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It'll be used for laminating necks, gluing tops to bodies, headstock veneer, etc. I was also looking at C clamps which can put in more pressure, but they seem to be less flexible than these thingies and it's associated frame. What do YOU think?
 
#2
in looking for a better method to glue tops, I've looked at these

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http://www.grizzly.com/products/H5510

but am quickly coming to the conclusion that the best method for my scenarios (with the exception of gluing neck laminates) is to explore the world of vacuum bagging

all the best,

R
 
#4
sclamps.jpg


I'm greasin' up my hoozits!!! Don't make me clamp you!
 
#9
My buddy furniture maker has bought and assembled one of these kinds of presses. Invalid Link Removed Not sure if this particular make or not but the same idea.

I was amaized at the results, he has a bag 4,5x8,5 feet that you can fill with all kinds of shapes and sizes to glueup.

I have watched him do wavy panels http://members.shaw.ca/robertsmartin/room%20divider%20screen.htm

http://members.shaw.ca/robertsmartin/Contemporary%20Rosewood%20Bed.htm
Corner parts of this bed were done in it too.

This guy is my neighbour, friend and at times teacher.
He provides tonn of inspiration for my woodworking
 
#10
Greenman said:
You cold use those in a device like Robbie McDade uses. It looks like he has it mounted on the wall.

mcdadejig.jpg
Click to expand...

that would actually be dead simple to make (not cheap, but easy to make)....it would be ideal if you're laminating necks consistantly within a narrow range of widths...

notice how robbie uses spacers for narrower necks...very clever device...

I'm looking employing a similar technique for making a neck jig for doing more accurate fret finishing work...

it would involve a rigid metal bar...some screws with wooden cauls to adjust height...and a couple of nylon strap clamps (also connected to screws on the underside...

this way, I don't have to spend 2 hours to get a truss rod perfect before I begin leveling...I just loosen the TR, clamp it in...set it up...and go...(20-30 mins for a precision setup that won't move)
 
#12
grizzly sells hydraulic presses like that for cheap in the big catalog.


I use mainly C clamps and the old school vice clamps.
I am a pretty strong guy and have stripped the H*LL out of about 15 F clamps
I have a box of them next to my bench so when I stip them I toss them for recycling day.
f clamps suck. to get the pressure you need for tight top to body connections thats the only way.
when I do necks stringers I use 3x3 bubinga inside pony cabinet (pipe clamps) the bubinga distributes the pressure very well.
best O' luck but Id stick with the jorgensen old schools and some standard 8" deep (throat!) c lamps without the slide function. Ive stripped those too.

with all that stripping and deep throat clamps youd think its be more entertaining!;) :eek:
 
#13
PilbaraBass said:
that would actually be dead simple to make (not cheap, but easy to make)
Click to expand...

I agree about the simplicity but it really would not be that expensive would it? You can get a rolled steel L bracket 4x4x.5 for about $9USD per foot. Flats are about $7.50 USD... so either way a 4 foot jig would be about $70-80USD in metal... assuming you put steel on both sides and didn't clamp to the bench. Those are some hefty pieces of steel too... quarter inch would probably be just fine for a little over half the price.

If you look around you can get the bolts fairly cheap too. I found some various machine bolts up to 1" dia (about 2-3lbs apiece!) that I got 70lbs for $10 after a machine shop went out of business. I play around with metal working as a hobby... so it wasn't that weird of a buy... was it?!

Ox.
 
#15
Hey Wilser!

I'm looking at this thread, thinking it would be quite cool to make a press. It'd be very easy for a fabrication shop to make you up a square-tube-steel frame, free standing, to attach a ton of clamps to.

I've got ideas brewing in my head, but it really depends on WHAT you wanna clamp. Are you intending for this to clamp neck planks for laminated necks? Are you planning this for bodies and putting veneers under body tops? Are you intending for this to do everything?

It'd be very easy for me to weld up a simple frame for gluing necks like McDade's design, but if you're wanting to do whole bodies as well, it'd take a far larger design with more clamps involved. I dunno, gimme some feedback on what you're looking for, before I start designing stuff.

I can make up the blueprints for making this clamping stand, and you can take it to a fabrication shop around town and see what kinds of price quotes they give you. I'd gladly build one for you, but shipping it to you would cost more than the raw materials!
 
#16
EDIT: answer to Wilser's last post.

Depends of the quality you buy. The ones I have are crap. The lower attachment thingy slides down the pipe when you tighten at the top. Well, actually it rips into the metal of the pipe then slides down.

One of the Dan Erlewine DVD's shows a neat trick. He drills a hole inside the end of the handle on his F clamps. Then he glues in (with epoxy) a threaded insert into the handle. This is the type of threaded insert that has an allen key slot. So when he tightens the F-clamp on something he tightens the last few turns with an allen key instead of screwing up his hands.

Cool trick. :D I'll have to do that eventually with some of my clamps. I always end up having blisters all over my hands after I glue a top or fingerboard on.
 
#17
wilser said:
Hey guys,
are those pipe clamps much stronger than F clamps in terms of pressure?

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Click to expand...



A clamp is only as strong as the threaded rod is. You can have the beefiest chunkiest clamp ever, but if the threads fail, that's your limit.

But yes, those pipe clamps are very very strong. We use them in my shop all the time for flexing heavy steel tubes. Make sure that you get black pipe (gas lines) for those clamps, instead of standard water pipes.
 
#20
Rodent, who makes those deep pipe clamps?


Bryan, I would definetely be glad if you can help design something, as you seem to have experience with what makes a good strong frame.

I would basically like to glue up laminates and body/body wings, not really tops, as my current method is adequate. My method of making neck blanks is using 8/4 stock for the outside and 4/4 or so for the inner (sometimes thinner) laminates. I would like something like those clamping racks they use for gluing up doors and stuff, but with a single rack, you know. A pic says more. A single rack that's enough for 4' or so is what I want. Smaller than this of course. But what I'm looking for is STRENGTH for making those big blocks really face each other well.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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