Few people are normally born with additional arms, and even fewer hobbyists can resist the lure of additional toys. Thanks to these two straightforward truisms, woodworkers shall eternally be in search of more clamps. Before you embark on the hunt for the one of a kind clamp, though, you will want to be certain your tool chest has all the basic needs covered first. You’ll find three types of clamps made to help you through many woodworking tasks; the bar clamp, the C-clamp and the band clamp. Be sure to check out the different Air Compressors & Air Tools.

Bar clamps are perhaps the most familiar clamps linked with woodworking. They are comprised of an adjustable jaw, a pipe or bar of diverse distances, in addition to a second jaw which can slide along the bar. The second jaw may be fixed at a point along the bar, and the adjustable jaw could be adjusted with a hand screw.

These clamps are especially convenient for woodworking thanks to their ability to accommodate different sized projects. Pony brand steel bar clamps are well-made and inexpensive clamps for the amateur woodworker because they are simple to open and close and the multiple-disc clutch will lock the adjustable jaw safely at any location along the bar. Also, be sure not to miss the different Industrial Compressors.

C-clamps can also be quite useful for woodworking, yet they are actually more popular than bar clamps since C-clamps are routinely employed by plumbers and metallurgists also. These tools are made from a large piece of metal shaped like a “C”, and a flat metal pad fitted to the end of a hand screw. Since C-clamps are routinely made from cast iron, a woodworker needs to safeguard his stock by attaching pads between the metal jaws and the project surface. Should you happen to get some Irwin Quick-Grip C-clamps, these clamps already have large swivel pads that prevent marring while also improving the clamp’s stability.

Band clamps are the clamps which woodworkers reach for when the other clamps will not work. The essential type of band clamp is a particularly long piece of strong webbing which is connected to a “buckle” with a ratcheting cinch. The band may be wrapped around the outside of irregular shapes, passed through the buckle and tightened using the cinch. Jorgenson sells a well constructed band clamp which has a 15 foot band and ratcheting cinch. If you prefer a tool with corner clips for clamping picture frames, Merle has a clamp that includes pivoting jaws in addition to quick release corners.

Clamping and gluing are nearly always an expected phase in any woodworking project, so you may as well have some all-purpose clamps in your shed routinely. Happily, no one is limited to the three forms of clamps we’ve explored, but these three should form the hub of your rapidly increasing collection of woodworking clamps.