New favorite clamps

Bob Gibson

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Merrimack, New Hampshire
Pipe clamps..... I know they aren't new.:rolleyes: Been around since the beginning of time but i've never owned any. Seemed so old fashioned. Always used bar clamps. Thought it was a pain in the neck to have to look around for the threaded pipe.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were driving down a country road and saw this old gentleman sitting beside a table of junk with a for sale sign. Something caught my eye so I did a quick u-turn. He had 6 or 7 1" pipe clamps about 6 feet long. I asked the price and he said a buck a piece. I bought them all :D

Used them on 2 glue ups so far and they seem to have much more clamping force that any bar clamp I have used. Just have to make sure I don't clamp too tight an squeeze out all the glue.
Now I'm looking for pipe and clamp deals :)
 
I'm glad I'm not alone on this. Before I got laid off I was ready to pull the trigger on some bessy k body clamps. Then I got a job in a cabinet shop again that had these clamps and after using them I much prefer pipe clamps. To me the bessys are to finicky to use.
 
You can get a lot of clamping pressure with the old standbys, and if you need to change the length, just get some new pipe....
 
That was a heck of a find!!! I have both 3/4" and 1/2" pipe clamps. To set up different lengths, I have various pieces of pipe and several couplers. I use them occasionally when the job suits them but nine times out of ten I reach for my Besseys.
 
Funny, I just saw a clamp comparison in one of my old Wood magazines. Bar clamps were rated at the highest in clamping force. Was planning to add some to my collection as well.
 
I have some of the older k-body's and a bunch of pipe clamps and bar clamps I got used off CL.

I'd avoid the 1/2 pipe clamps, not really worth it imho. The 3/4" pipe I really like for glue ups, they seem to have a good bit more force than parallel clamps I have. I still love the k-bodys for assembly work though.


Harbor freight occasionally runs a special on pipe clamps for around $6. I have some from there too, they're ok. Little sloppy but not to bad. For pipe you need to buy 10-20' sticks and find someone that will thread it for you. Box stores charge a fortune for pre-cut and threaded short sections.
 
I've always used pipe clamps, I have 16 of my own & 32 or 33 that belonged to my Dad. & miles of 3/4" galvanized pipe. I have 4 clamps with black pipe which are the last ones used I hate black pipe I always have to worry about the pipe staining something. Being the galvanized pipe is many years old I have no problems with slipping.
 
My favorite too

I have a wall full of clamps and always go for the pipe clamps first. About a dozen or so are the 1/2" variety which I use for panels in kitchen cabinet doors. Most of the panels are small and that size works great for them. Like some others mentioned I have some Besseys and use them when assembling cabinet doors, but they are so heavy and not that easy for me to use. It's nice to have the variety to choose from, though.
 
I know, I know, I'm late to the party, but I thought I would add my two cents. I collected a lot of old pony pipe clamps in the past, all 3/4 inch. I also have several Harbor Freight pipe clamps. Good deals if they work.

My point here is that I go to Home Depot and by a 10 foot pc of black pipe. They will cut it down and thread it for free. I end up with all sorts of combinations, three foot, four foot, five foot and six foot.

Also, I buy the copper pipe foam rubber covers, that helps minimize the amount of staining from the black pipe.
 
The first clamps that I usually turn to are my Bessey K-bodies, but I would never get rid of my pipe clamps. When I really need pressure on a construction site, it's the pipe clamps every time.
 
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I know, I know, I'm late to the party, but I thought I would add my two cents. I collected a lot of old pony pipe clamps in the past, all 3/4 inch. I also have several Harbor Freight pipe clamps. Good deals if they work.

My point here is that I go to Home Depot and by a 10 foot pc of black pipe. They will cut it down and thread it for free. I end up with all sorts of combinations, three foot, four foot, five foot and six foot.

Also, I buy the copper pipe foam rubber covers, that helps minimize the amount of staining from the black pipe.


Good tip on the foam pipe covers :thumb:
 
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