# How do I clamp 2 pieces that are 10 ft long?



## ldavies (Apr 17, 2009)

I am trying to glue a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of ply wood to a 4 foot by 2 foot piece of plywood to get a 4 foot by 10 foot piece of plywood. My problem is that my longest clamps only go to 8 feet. Does anyone have any suggestions? The only thing I can think of right now is to tie two band clamps together and wrap them round the whole thing but that does not seem like a great solution i.e. not much pressure.

Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## ChunkyC (Jun 28, 2009)

If you have some place long enough, you can use wedges in lieu of clamps.










Here's the idea. But you'd have to scale it up massively.


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## drewnahant (Dec 10, 2009)

take some scrap boards and make up some hook extensions, just take a 16" board, glue and screw a 2" block to one end, and another block to the other end on the opposite side, to get a one foot extension. I know you need 2 feet, but I would put one of these at each end of each clamp so it sits straight, rather than one end being flat, and the other raised on the extension. if your plywood isn't going to be a finish surface, you can simply screw on a few blocks near the seam and clamp them together.


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## beckerswoodworks (Dec 26, 2009)

If you've got pipe clamps you can use them in pairs with the ends grabbing each other and spanning the whole length.
another method is to clamp a board across the sheet parrellel to the glue joint on the larger piece using some small clamps and then hook your clamps over that. If you do this you'll also need some cauls to keep it flat.


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## ldavies (Apr 17, 2009)

@drewnahant. I forgot to mention that my 8' clamp is a pony type pipe clamp. I am having a hard time envisioning your suggestion drewnahant.

@ChunkyC. It might be too massive to scale it up I think.


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## drewnahant (Dec 10, 2009)

look at this bench hook, same idea, but longer and narrower
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/3000
though if you have enough bar clamps, hooking them together is probably going to be easier, I have some of the extension setups because I have limited clamps and use them regularly, so they are very handy for me


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

You can use rope like you would a tourniquet.

I would run a groove along the two edges and add a spline for strength.


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## JasonWagner (Sep 10, 2009)

I agree with the pipe clamp idea. Put the two clamps together like you would when you hook your pointer fingers together and pull. Or Don's idea is good too, just pulling on a slight angle.

Or use pocket screws if visibility isn't an issue.

How much pressure do you really need anyway? It's not like that joint is going to be very strong, usually people over torque their clamps.


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## davidroberts (Nov 8, 2008)

We got you covered Lloyd. Here is a cheap easy fix that Bob Simmons came up with. This will work perfect for your project. Genius. Check it out.

http://lumberjocks.com/daddymunster/blog/21318


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## ChunkyC (Jun 28, 2009)

Here's the stuff!


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Maybe I'm hearing you wrong but are you actually trying to butt join two sheets of plywood? If you want a 4' x 10' sheet of continuous plywood you scarf it. You don't need any clamps at all. you can use staples through 1/4 plywood strips and remove them after the scarf sets up. Check out this blog entry:

http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/19783


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Paul hit the nail on the head. I can't imagine a butt joint in plywood having any strength to speak of.


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## davidroberts (Nov 8, 2008)

Hold it - I forgot to mention pocket hole screws.


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## KnotWright (Nov 6, 2008)

If you are using "Pony" clamps, whether its on 1/2" or 3/4" pipe, just head down to the HD or other plumbing supply house and pick up a few more sections of pipe and some couplings, extend your current Pony clamps into what ever length you need.

My standard pony clamps are 3' and 5' pipes, but if I need and 8' or 10' clamps I just screw on the coupling and pair up the pipes for the length I need for the job.


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## ldavies (Apr 17, 2009)

@shipwright. I think your suggestion makes most sense for a strong joint. Any idea how I might cut plywood at that kin of an angle? My table saw doesn't go much past 50 degrees and I can't stack it on it's end. Can you plane plywood at that angle I wonder? I have a hard time thinking I will be able to keep the angle of about 11 degrees consistent across the 4' width of the plywood.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

It is pretty easy to keep the angle constant. The layers make bands across it..

You clamp them down with the faces together. Mark off the overlap on both. (The bottom one will be sticking out the overlap distance.









Longer tutorial from Duckworks Magazine:

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/07/columns/nichols/index3.htm


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## Pete_Jud (Feb 15, 2008)

Up to 5×10 ft plywood can be gotten for a price, a near by mill buys it by the truck load, but I don't know from where.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

I power plane it. As shown in the blog link I gave above and as shown in David's photo above. If you're using epoxy, power-planing should be good enough. If you're using a glue that doesn't gap fill as well, then sanding will be required. I've made 24' sheets of plywood as thin as 3/8 " that bend in a fair curve right through the scarf.
It takes a little practice but I think it's all there in the blog. If you have any more questions about it PM me.


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## jmichaeldesign (Oct 12, 2010)

You could just build it up using 1/4" or 3/8" ply. If you have a fairly flat floor I've had good luck doing this by simply spreading plenty of wood glue and putting short brads in on a 12" grid.


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## Jahness (Nov 1, 2010)

The simplest solution for me is Pinch Dogs. They're not that expensive and they really work well if you use them correctly. If you do, go with the 2"


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## Hondo109 (Feb 16, 2011)

I just did this exact thing, only i had to add a foot, as opposed to 2. 3/4" maple plywood and pocket holes spaced every 6 inches…and glue of course. Once sanded down, i had to point out the extra piece to my wife as she couldn't even see it (matched end grains). Once it was painted I couldn't even see the joint. If the pocket holes are an issue because they're exposed, wood filler bruther. Bob's yer Uncle


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## DLCW (Feb 18, 2011)

When needing to clamp something longer then the available clamps, I hook two together to form a longer one. Works great.


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## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

You can make pipe clamps as long as you need them or as short as you need them. I used Don's method above and some of the others listed here. Just pick the one that would work best for you.
- JJ


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## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)

*DLCW*

THAT is darn clever.


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## scrappy2 (Mar 7, 2010)

I've done the coupling method with pipe clamps, works great to extend to just about any length. Also lets you keep smaller length clamps, and not have to deal with storing longer ones.
good luck.


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