How many clamps to you own? What types?

[Michael Kellough]

Anyone else notice how small the pump is for the Omni clamp? It's that small grey box next to the toolbox.

 

[hdv]

Yeah, I have those Bessey WS3 clamps too. And, just like the others, I don't use them anymore. I like the Woodpeckers corner clamps better. They are a lot more flexible (without being flexible).

 

[rst]

I probably have at least 50 various Bessey clamps of various kinds, probably 20 of ancient Jorgensons, a couple pipe clamps and two 10' pipes, and probably 50 spring clamps of the three common types.  I use spring clamps a lot and every time in I'm the Depot I buy two more as the only $1.00 @.  Recently I've bought some of the Jorgenson quick clamps, the U shaped ones, not the stick type.  I think I have 16 Festool quick clamps as I used to use them in three different locations. 

 

[luvmytoolz]

What clamps do you have that you bought but never use?

A pair of these, bought them about 20 years ago and have yet to use them. Loved the idea but they've just never worked out.

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Correction to my last"none" reply. I, too, have this kind of Bessey clamp that has never been used in a real job.  :-\

Until you get rid of it and then a burning need for them suddenly turns up!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

How do those vacuum clamp heads squeeze the joint? I guess I'm wondering how you pull the parts together with the center post since I don't see a way to tighten them. Really cool for solid surface; not that I've ever worked with any haha

The big black barrels on the right hand side are effectively just nuts. The eye-bolt on the other side is threaded into them. The ridges are rubber o-rings for traction. This particular set has an electric vacuum pump inside the case that holds the whole thing.
The solid surface department has two more of them that run by the venturi vacuum principle. They are lighter and simpler, but require constant air pressure. The electric ones are more expensive, but they are also more portable. They can be used in the field.

 

[RussellS]

I also bought those corner clamps. Seemed like a good idea. Might have used them 8 times.

As for spring clamps, I repurposed the small ones in the house as much better bag clips.

Yeah, but I got several big 6 inch orange Pony spring clamps.  I'd need a potato chip bag as big as a parachute to use it on.  I use clothes pins as bag clips now.

 

[ChuckM]

Spring clamps have many uses in the shop. Yes, they may not be good for clamping two boards face to face because the boards can shift under wet glue. However, a sprinkle of salt or sand particles will solve the problem. Or start with a few F-style clamps then use the spring clamps.

Examples of uses of spring clamps:

Clamp a round stock to a flat surface
Clamp a straight edge or rule to a surface
Clamp a stop block to a sled or drill press fence.

Spring clamps, both plastic and metal, of various sizes, are an important part of my workholding arsenal. They offer light weight, speed and one-hand operation that no other clamps can match. I have about 30 to 40 of them, and all of them could be called into action in some particular job.

 

[ChuckM]

Yeah, but I got several big 6 inch orange Pony spring clamps.  I'd need a potato chip bag as big as a parachute to use it on.  I use clothes pins as bag clips now.

Office binder clips or bull dog clips make good bag clips, too.

 

[Packard]

One less than I need for any given project.

I used to keep two 80 pound bags of sand for laminating sheets.  One of the bags started to leak.  But very handy for gluing large pieces together.  A couple of brads to keep the boards from sliding and the glue; then the sand bags. 

I don’t remember what I paid for them, but pretty cheap. 

When I still had my cats (old age took them from me) I used to buy cat litter in large bags from BJ’s Club.  Probably 50 pound bags.  I always kept two bags in the house. (I never transitioned to clumping litter, so the bags were always around.)

The cat litter bags worked almost as well.  But the sand bags were heavier and probably worked better.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Too many clamps of a great variety to count.

Lately I’ve been trying to get away without clamping by using grippy mesh and lead ingots. I have about twenty one pound ingots and with the grippy mesh the task often only requires a few to be stable enough.

Sometimes working on the end of a long stick the other end is cantilevered off over space and instead of rigging up a support I can just stack a few ingots on the inboard side and get on with the work.

 

[sancho57]

I have a selection of bessie clamps and festool clamps. But since ive retired those are a bit pricey for e. So what Ive been buying and work pretty darned good are these Harbor Freight clamps. Inexpensive and havent had a issue with them. I understand the stigma of buying Harbor Freight tools. But some of their tools for a home owner whose not a pro and isnt using them daily to make living from they do a pretty good job.
Here the type of clamps they sell that I really like and plan on buying more They make these in 24" and 36" long
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...vy-duty-ratchet-bar-clamp-spreader-95027.html

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Mark from the Woodwhisperer said essentially the same thing. Though he did say that there is the potential for them to slip, because of the smoother bar. He had one of his test group fail like that and it was replaced immediately, no problem.

 

[lwoirhaye]

I have about 100 (I think) little c clamps I found at an estate sale, about 47 Harbor Freight 6" bar clamps, a bunch of pipe clamps and additional fittings with no pipes, around 100 spring clamps, 3 sash clamps, 11 parallel jaw clamps, a few odd clamps, a dozen or so larger c clamps, and 17 luthier cam clamps.