Showing posts with label clamps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clamps. Show all posts

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Clamps are my weakness....

What can I say I am addicted to buying quality clamps. Many of us already know the options or lack thereof when buying clamps. Sadly manufactures like Wetzler, Hartford, Hargrave, Cincinnati Tool Company, and most recently Jorgensen have all closed their doors. So where does that leave us? There is Ebay which lets be real can be a little crazy when it comes to prices. But if you want to buy "new" than the only options you have these days are Bessey and Piher.  I am not saying you are not going to find a bargain on vintage clamps but it's getting harder. 

This leads me to my recent Ebay purchase that lead me to New York. I was lucky to purchase 13 Hartford clamps for a great price. While speaking with the seller he kindly and smartly mentioned he had more clamps he was going to sell.  Since I was planning to drive 3 hours each way why not buy everything I can. 

Well below you find the recent load of clamps. Lets just say I am pretty darn happy and excited. Now  I don't buy clamps just randomly. There are a certain sizes I use the most. The most common clamps I use range in the 12-30 inch clamping capacity. 

This post isn't me bragging but rather buy what you can when you see it. Its getting tough out there. 

Happy hunting. 












Saturday, May 27, 2017

When all other clamps fail...

I am in the middle of restoring an amazing English drop leaf candle stand made from great old English Oak.  I have become quite fond of English Oak or Oak in general and look forward to working with it more in my work. 

The table came into the shoppe because a leg needed to reattached, another leg was loose, and a few fragments of the post started to crack and fail.  While gluing the parts back to their locations, I quickly noticed that from the broad selection/style of clamps I own nothing was going to work. 

This is where the infamous upholstery springs came to the rescue again. The clamps get cut with wire cutters and the tips get ground or filed to blunt tip. I love these clamps because they give me the desired pressure where it is needed.  These clamps are easy to make and I highly recommend having many on hand. I often use them for so many clamping situations.