# Parallel Clamps vs Bar Clamps



## Tom622

Hey guys,

Just a quick question. Is there a big difference between parallel and bar clamps for general purpose glue ups? If so which do you prefer and why?

Thanks,

Tom


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## ShaneA

Square pressure, larger faces, more clamping force, they can "stand up" on their own. I prefer parallel clamps, but they are certainly more expensive and a bit more fussy to use from time to time. Weigh a bit more too.


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## HokieKen

What Shane said^^ When you need them, parallel clamps are the cat's pajamas. But, when you don't necessarily need the parallel faces and all that force, bar clamps are a little easier to manage sometimes. If I were restricted to only one type, it would be parallels for sure. But I'm glad I have both and I use both regularly.


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## pottz

as said one big difference is the cost,id love to have a wall full of em but ive always made do with pipe clamps.in 40 years wood working ive never had a problem getting the job done.so if cost is an issue the cheaper version will work just fine.


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## JayT

What those guys ^^ said.

Parallel clamps are superior for all the reasons Shane mentioned and, like Kenny, if I could only have one, it would be parallel clamps. I use them the most and to start glueups and support with the less expesive bar clamps.


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## Andybb

+1
Parallel = Festool 
Bar Clamps = Dewalt

Both will get the job done 99% of the time.


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## WoodenDreams

I use primarily my 24",36" & 48" aluminum U-bar clamps when gluing up panels & chests, I switched from pipe clamps to aluminum U-clamps because it's easier to use a lighter weight clamp. I also use F-clamps, and Irwin hand clamps. I have about (45) 24" thru 48" U-bar clamps, (6) 4' pipe clamps, about (50) 6" thru 36" F-clamps, about (40) 6" thru 36" Irwin hand clamps, plus another (30) specialty clamps. I still run out of clamps on some of my glue-up projects. You never have enough clamps. What you're clamping will determine the size & type of the clamp needed. Six of my aluminum U-bars clamps are parallel style, and I used them maybe twice in the last year.


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## therealSteveN

Clamping pressure in a nutshell. Parallel clamps go out to around 1000 pounds, for most are slightly harder to work with, and for all are more money.

Other bar clamps, and pipe clamps about half the pressure, but they still exert plenty of pressure to make for good solid glue ups. prices are all over the place, but always less than Parallel's.

All have some pros and cons. I think for most it actually just comes down to $$$$$$$ Unless your Granddaddy…. Sir Clamps a Lot died and left you his stash then they are all good.

And it's just a generalization when they say you can NEVER have enough clamps. I know a few guys who have passed that never mark, all I can say for certain is they are poor now. One guy will have glued up panels all over the place to where getting through his shop is difficult, and still has walls dripping with clamp money, go figure, he took it seriously.

My take on that discussion is before you get the glue bottle out, round up as many clamps as that glue up needs. If you have enough clamps left to continue, do so, if not stop and glue up. MOST glue ups only require an hour tops in a clamp, and they will be good as long as you don't abuse them before 24 hours. It's really hard to run out of clamps if you work with that thought in mind, and you start with half as many again, as the most complicated glue up that you can imagine. Heck if you have serious or complicated glue ups, doing dry fitting and tuning up parts will take an hour for the next glue up. If not you can move ahead in cutting, sanding or shaping parts for another project while you wait.

Make a few cutting boards, a nice beginners project, and fun for old timers too. It will give you an idea of using clamps, and the time they will be in use. Grow from that, and add clamps only when you see a real need.


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## pintodeluxe

I have both, and it's interesting to think about what projects I prefer one over the other. 
For panel glueups I reach for the bar clamps. I alternate them top and bottom. The glue pops off the bar easier, and I just get better results using pipe clamps for large panels.

For case glueups and general clamping, I prefer parallel clamps. The biggest ones are not always the best. My favorite are actually the Bessey Revo Jr's. I reach for those in the 24" length all the time.


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## 000

Old school here.


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## AlaskaGuy

What's the matter with all you. You know all you need is some "ALDER"


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## Jared_S

I think a clarification of terms is in order..

Typical Bar clamps are heavy steel clamps that top out around 7000lbs of force. Aluminum Bar clamps are a whole other animal.

I would also argue that pipe clamps have significantly more clamping pressure than parallel clamps by virtue of the screw driver sized handle vs the lever on a pipe clamps.

If you're making large laminated benches or exterior doors Bar clamps are far superior to parallel clamps. So the idea of what is better depends on the application.


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## DrDirt

> I think a clarification of terms is in order..
> 
> Typical Bar clamps are heavy steel clamps that top out around 7000lbs of force. Aluminum Bar clamps are a whole other animal.
> 
> - Jared_S


Thank you for beating me to that Jared - I have some of the Pony/Jorgenson I-beam Bar Clamps… and they are a real beast. the 7200 series.
there is a 3700 series, as the F style have 1000 pounds force which is great to press veneeer between platens, or to bend laminations to a form For those style, I got clamps from Menards, that are 10 bucks each for that application for 12 inch clamps
Menards MASTERFORCE-600 pounds of force









Jorgenson 3700s








Jorgenson 7200s - great for large panel glue ups… ZERO flex in that bar


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## WoodenDreams

What your clamping will determine the size and clamp needed. Sounds like a few of the LJ's like to squeeze out all of the glue from their glue-ups, with too much clamping pressure, leaving no glue in the joints. Parallel clamps do have a larger footprint, but are normally heavier to use. The aluminum U-bar clamps are lighter and easier to use because of the weight. I have not experienced them to bend while clamping. All of my aluminum U-bar clamps have a plastic cover on them to prevent glue from sticking to the clamps. So, for this reason I use the U-bar clamps more often.


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## AlaskaGuy

I think all this hooey about ton of pressure is overrated. A good rub joint will break the wood before the joint and there is no clamp presser at all . I'll go with my parallel clamps most times. Most of us are not building huge glue lams you know.






I've done this and it works.


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## WoodenDreams

I agree with AlaskaGuy on the not needing much pressure on glue ups.


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## DrDirt

> What your clamping will determine the size and clamp needed. Sounds like a few of the *LJ s like to squeeze out all of the glue from their glue-ups, with too much clamping pressure, leaving no glue in the joints*.
> - WoodenDreams


Alaskaguy is right, that you can do a rub joint that is stronger than the wood (assuming the joinery is good).. though you end up with a thicker glueline.

The heavy bar clamps allows you to use a smaller number of clamps, exerting the same pressure at the glueline. e.g. 3 "higher pressure clamps" versus 5 medium pressure clamps, is the same pressure at the joint.
As an example vacuum bagging is only 14 psi. But if you are laminating at 12×12 panel… that is over 2000 pounds of pressure on that square foot… but only 14 psi. (14 psi x 144 sq in =2016 pounds force)... lest you think veneer is glue starved??

This is particularly important when gluing a large panel, like a tabletop, as bar deflection is a bigger issue. The pressure needed to starve a joint is larger than what the wood can withstand at the clamping point. So if you are not crushing dents right into the workpiece through the caul. Starvation is an old wives tale from a practical matter.









Most "starvation stories" are in Mortice and Tennon joints, where someone has a tennon they have to pound in with a mallet, effectively 'Scraping all the glue off the surface, to the bottom of the mortice' while driving that piston into the cylinder - which is totally different than and not from "Squeezeing the glue out of a joint" with a clam


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## Jared_S

> As an example vacuum bagging is only 14 psi. But if you are laminating at 12×12 panel… that is over 2000 pounds of pressure on that square foot… but only 14 psi. (14 psi x 144 sq in =2016 pounds force)... lest you think veneer is glue starved??
> 
> This is particularly important when gluing a large panel, like a tabletop, as bar deflection is a bigger issue. The pressure needed to starve a joint is larger than what the wood can withstand at the clamping point. So if you are not crushing dents right into the workpiece through the caul. Starvation is an old wives tale from a practical matter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - DrDirt


This…

And directly from the titebond literature..
http://titebond.com/product/glues/2ef3e95d-48d2-43bc-8e1b-217a38930fa2

REQUIRED CLAMPING PRESSURE:
Enough to bring joints tightly together (generally, 100-150 psi for softwoods, 125-175 psi for medium woods and 175-250 psi for hardwoods)

Using their own numbers a 6' edge glueup at 1.375" thick would be 14000lbs required pressure for hardwoods on the low end.. and that's just the optimum pressure.


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## lumbering_on

The best to go with are actually 4-way clamps, but they are expensive. Easy to setup and your clamping pressure will automatically be applied parallel to the gluing surface as well as perpendicular. This means you never have to worry about having to use cauls.

Personally, I use the pipe clamps as you can vary the length by just changing out the pipes, and when use with cauls, they produce a great result. The are also much cheaper than parallel clamps. True, some people find the older pipe clamps a bit hard to setup, but the newer pipe clamps are easy as they have feet on them. You can also make a clamping rack which makes things go very quickly.

In the end, any clamps will work, it's really just a matter of preference, which includes your budget.


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## MSquared

AlaskaGuy; one day I'll catch on to why you seem to throw a reference to "Alder" in there to some of the posts.


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## pottz

> The best to go with are actually 4-way clamps, but they are expensive. Easy to setup and your clamping pressure will automatically be applied parallel to the gluing surface as well as perpendicular. This means you never have to worry about having to use cauls.
> 
> Personally, I use the pipe clamps as you can vary the length by just changing out the pipes, and when use with cauls, they produce a great result. The are also much cheaper than parallel clamps. True, some people find the older pipe clamps a bit hard to setup, but the newer pipe clamps are easy as they have feet on them. You can also make a clamping rack which makes things go very quickly.
> 
> In the end, any clamps will work, it s really just a matter of preference, which includes your budget.
> 
> - lumbering_on


ditto,no need to spend 50 bucks for a clamp,anything that puts pressure between two objects is a clamp,enough said!


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## pottz

> AlaskaGuy; one day I ll catch on to why you seem to throw a reference to "Alder" in there to some of the posts.
> 
> - MSquared


oh don't get him started-lol.


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## AlaskaGuy

> AlaskaGuy; one day I ll catch on to why you seem to throw a reference to "Alder" in there to some of the posts.
> 
> - MSquared


39 post in 74 days. No wonder you asked. Stick around and read the new post everyday and it will be come apparent to you. I think you'll find there are a couple others who use "Alder" more than I do. Rome wasn't built in 39 days. Just hang in there and you'll find out.


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## RichT

> AlaskaGuy; one day I ll catch on to why you seem to throw a reference to "Alder" in there to some of the posts.
> 
> - MSquared
> 
> 39 post in 74 days. No wonder you asked. Stick around and read the new post everyday and it will be come apparent to you. I think you ll find there are a couple others who use "Alder" more than I do. Rome wasn t built in 39 days. Just hang in there and you ll find out.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


So young and naive. Adler clamps are also known as Chuck Norris clamps. I once glued up a 24" panel, and after applying the alder clamps, it was only 15".


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## AlaskaGuy

So young and naive. Adler clamps are also known as Chuck Norris clamps. I once glued up a 24" panel, and after applying the alder clamps, it was only 15".

- Rich
[/QUOTE]

Yep, got to watch what you are doing when you use those Norris clamps.


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