# Shopsmith clamps



## Gene01

Thanks for the review, Rich. They are said to be the very best of the 4 way type on the market.


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## richgreer

FYI - Because I was curious about what these clamps cost now, I went to the Shopsmith website and with the 2 larger sizes I see the notation "quantities are low". With the smallest one I see the notation "may be backordered or made after ordered". I translate this to mean that these clamps may be hard to buy new.

Here is the website -http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/mvclamp_doublebar.htm


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## shipwright

I got four of the larger ones with my Mark V 510 in Green Valley and I agree. They are excellent clamps and very well made.


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## BigTiny

To keep glue squeeze out from sticking, give the parts a good coat of paste wax and buff them up nicely. A couple of coats may be needed for best protection.

I've seen an all wood version of these i n an old cabinet shop back east many years ago. They looked older than time and were well worn from use, and I never visited the shop (it belonged to my best friend's dad and wasat the side of their home) that there wasn't something in a set of them. Wasn't into wood back then, so the only reason I took notice was the fact that I had never seen anything like them before.

Where these are metal, his were wood, even the threaded rod. His had an end lever similar to those you find on a bench vice, a sliding dowel with round knobs on each end. Instead of having notches on top to fit the pieces in for adjusting, his had holes drilled through the long rails (cauls?) that were fixed in place with dowels. They were obviously shop-made and looked to be rosewood or something similar in colour.

I wouldn't mind trying to make a set some time, just for the challenge.


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## wiswood2

Rich, About 10 years ago I went to an auction and there were 4 of them that went up for bid, every asked what are they, I said I dont know but I will bid 4.00 , I got them . Then I said they are clamps for glueing up panels. I got the last laugh on them. They are very nice clamps.Thanks for posting.Chuck


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## richgreer

For the record, I bought mine used also, but mine were in like new condition. I don't recall what I paid, but it was a lot more than $4.00 and a lot less than the price for new ones.

I wish that Shopsmith would sell their hardware only.


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## Dusty56

I was / am also going to recommend waxing them : )
It works very well , even on metal clamps. Found out after staining the heck out of my Bessey's.
Thanks for the review.


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## docholladay

Rich,

Do the wooden cauls (wooden part of the clamp) have a slight convex shape to them on the edges that contact the project. I would think that a slight convex shape would help in appying an even pressure across the project to keep the boards aligned similar to the way a typical clamping caul works.

Doc


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## richgreer

Yes, the cauls have a slight convex shape to them. I have also made my own custom cauls when I needed some extra long ones and, with a hand plane, I put a slight convex shape on them.


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## SST

I'm glad for your review. While I have a ton of Shopsmith stuff (duh) I haven't come across these when I've gone Shopsmith hunting. I wouldn't have known what they were for if I had. I will definitely keep me eyes open for them in the future. Based on what you've said here, I want some. -SST


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## dragondncr

I have a set of these and they work great. I bought some hardware from woodcraft and made my own. They worked, but not as easy as the shopsmith ones.

Rich, you said you slide the boards in from the side. I remove the top part of the clamp and glue up my boards, then slide that part back in. Too me, alot easier than sliding the boards in.


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## richgreer

dragon - - I've done it both ways and, to me, they take about the same amount of effort. My point is that this is not like setting a pipe clamp down on the panel and tightening it.

As an FYI - - If I am doing a longer panel, I still only use 3 shopsmith clamps in the middle and both ends and I fill in between these clamps with more conventional pipe clamps or something similar. I like to have a clamp every 6-8".


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## AlBCuttnWud

Woodcraft has these clamps on sale for $19.99 currently. I agree that these are fantastic clamps and only wish I had used them years ago…


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## Dcase

I have a set of these clamps from shopsmith that were my dads. I have only used them once so far but was very happy with how they worked. I know my dad liked them to.


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## WayneC

These the same clamps? Impossible to tell from the photos.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/2420788392.html


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## richgreer

I don't think they are the same. Shopsmith used to sell a complex clamping system with many components that would allow you to set up clamps in a wide variety of configurations. I think that's what this is.


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