The mighty pipe clamp – FineWoodworking

Woodworking shouldn’t be a cheap endeavor. As such, something to scale back prices whereas nonetheless sustaining high quality is a welcome addition to any workshop. The mighty pipe clamp is commonly underrated and dismissed, but it’s a value-efficient device, particularly when contemplating its versatility. The fundamental motive many woodworkers dismiss pipe clamps is their tendency to bow when put below pressure. I feel that in case your joinery wants that a lot drive to be introduced collectively, then possibly there’s one other downside. But that’s a subject for one more weblog submit.

For mild to medium obligation, pipe clamps are supertastic.  

Recently, I wanted to clamp two items of 5×5 Baltic birch collectively, which means I wanted a clamp that had a 10-ft. capability. No downside; a chunk of 10-ft. pipe, plus a connector and a second quick piece of pipe to make up for the house the clamp heads take, and I’m in enterprise. A couple of months prior I needed to glue some strong-wooden edging onto an oblong, veneered tabletop. The quick dimension was 42 in., the lengthy was 99 in.–once more no downside for the pipe clamp.

So we’ve established that pipe clamps are an amazing answer when clamping very giant issues, however they’ll achieve this rather more. Below are a number of suggestions, methods, and the reason why you need to have a number of pipe clamps in your arsenal. 

Buy 10-ft. lengths of pipe and have them lower and threaded on the retailer. In my space, a 10-ft. piece of galvanized pipe is about $20. My native ironmongery shop will lower and thread the ends totally free. This makes quick clamps very cheap. 

Homasote is a superb clamping pad, drill a 1 1/8-in. gap and fix it with some sizzling soften glue and you’ve got an amazing non-marring clamp. Homasote is a constructing product, usually offered within the drywall part, used to scale back noise in a home. Its squishy, fibrous nature makes for a clamping pad of the precise density.

I just like the outdated-model ends which have a lever. They work nice and I discover them simple to regulate. I don’t assume they’re made any extra, however I haven’t had hassle discovering them on eBay and native classifieds. I’ve purchased a number of of this newer model, they usually work nice however are a bit more durable to regulate. When procuring used, I maintain the value between $5 and $10 per set. I feel that may be a nice deal for the older variations. Combine that with $5 price of pipe and you’ve got your self a fairly darn good clamp.

I contemplate pipe clamps as only one of some various kinds of clamps wanted in a wooden store. Buy a number of and take a look at them out. If you’re already a fan of the mighty pipe clamp, hopefully I used to be in a position to share a tip or two you hadn’t heard earlier than. Thank you for studying.