Wooden Cam Clamps

Paul Douglass

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S E Washington State
This is my first attempt at making a wooden cam clamp. It was a rush job and not a thing of beauty. I used oak, thinking that would be a good wood for this, but the oak I had (pieces of flooring) crack pretty easy. I got it together and it is functional, but I know I can do better. I have a few questions.

What is a better wood to use?

The hardest part for me was making the rectangle hole for the post to go through. I drilled holes and then used chisels to clean the hole out. This is pretty difficult going 3" deep. You can see I glued on a couple of blocks to get a better fit for the "clamp head" that slides on the post. I wondering if it would work to cut the piece in half, cut the slot on the table saw or router then glue it back together. What I am concerned about is the thin "clamp jaw" the cam pushes to make it clamp, would it be strong after being cut in half and glued back together? What do you think?

Like I said, not a thing of beauty...

IMG_2242.jpg
 
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If all the clamping pressure will be taken up by close fit between the post & the rectangular hole that's good. Otherwise, if the load is transferred to the dowels, I think they may be a bit small???
 
Cutting the piece in half to make your rectangular hole (mortise) sounds like a good idea. If the two halves are properly glued back together, the clamp jaw will be just as strong (or stronger). :thumb:
 
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