| Project by stefang | posted 177 days ago | 698 views | 10 times favorited | 10 comments |  |
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I made these clamps awhile ago and thought some might be interested in how they are made. They were so inexpensive as to be near free. The smaller one was the prototype for the eight larger ones I made. They consist of the wooden jaws, two ‘t’ nuts, two lengths of threaded rod cut at the appropriate lengths, and the turned wooden handles. I can’t remember if I made the collars on the handle, or if I bought them, metal piping can be cut off and used. Be sure to file the edges smooth though as they can cut you if you don’t.
I think the pics are pretty self-explanatory when it comes to how they are constructed. The only thing not visible is the end of the rod at the back of the clamp which just sits in hole drilled half way through the top jaw and with a small washer inserted before the rod to prevent splitting.
For those of you who might not know: To use, you just snug up the front of the jaw on the piece being clamped and then tighten the rest of the way by spreading the jaws at the back This is done by turning the handle clockwise. There are some pretty neat ways to use these clamps. Feel free to let me know if I can answer any questions about them.
-- Mike, American in Norway
10 comments so far
DaleM
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413 posts in 281 days
posted 177 days ago
I’ve been wondering what I could do with all the threaded rod my brother gave me. Now I know. Thanks Mike. This is definitely on my to do list.
-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY
degoose
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2017 posts in 252 days
posted 177 days ago
You have a real knack for taking scrap and turning it into something very useful
-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au
stefang
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1655 posts in 232 days
posted 177 days ago
If you knew me better you would realize that I am much better at taking something real useful and turning it into scrap! which reminds me, did I ever tell you the story about my new lawnmower?
-- Mike, American in Norway
Loucarb
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960 posts in 343 days
posted 177 days ago
Well done. You can never have enough clamps.
Junji
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510 posts in 279 days
posted 176 days ago
This is what I needed! Thank you, I will make some soon.
-- Junji Sugita from Japan, http://tetra.blog12.fc2.com/
a1Jim
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17010 posts in 474 days
posted 176 days ago
Hey stefang
good job we all could use a few dozen of these.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
TopamaxSurvivor
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3050 posts in 573 days
posted 176 days ago
Nice clamps.
No, what did you do to your lawnmower?
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
stefang
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1655 posts in 232 days
posted 176 days ago
Thanks all. I started to make these out of wood with a thread box and tap, but it wasn’t worth all the work, so I went the threaded rod route.
Bob, The brand new lawnmower cost $600 (probably costs $300 in the States). I had it set a little high to miss a sawed off stump. Thought it was set too high. Adjusted it lower. You know the rest.
-- Mike, American in Norway
TopamaxSurvivor
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3050 posts in 573 days
posted 175 days ago
Mike, You didn’t bend your crank shaft or break it did you?
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
stefang
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1655 posts in 232 days
posted 175 days ago
No, but something happened and I tipped the mower over to look under while carefully avoiding the rule that I should never tip it that way, and the oil saturated everything. It works, but I think I have to clean the oil off the spark plug. I don’t get along very well with mechanical things except woodworking machinery.
-- Mike, American in Norway