Clamps

A variety of clamps come in handy when constructing a cabinet. Here are some of the common options available.

Spring Clamps

spring clamp

Spring clamps are light duty clamps which are generally used to hold small thickness pieces together to allow you to machine them. Spring clips come in many different sizes and are generally sized around 4" or less. Care should be taken, since the only thing holding the clamp in place is a single spring.

Screw Clamps

screw clamp

Screw clamps are used to hold larger thickness pieces together to allow you to machine them. The two jaws can be tightened independently from the other. This is done using a handscrew, hence the name "screw clamp". These clamps come in several sizes as well, with sizes between 4-10" being commonly found.

Bar Clamps

bar clamp

Bar clamps are so called because there is a metal bar holding two pads on them, one fixed, and one adjustable, to adapt to a variety of needs. These types of clamps offer longer reach than spring clamps or screw clamps with varying sizes, the largest commonly reaching 36". These types of clamps are tightened with a handscrew or for ease of use with one hand, a "trigger" allowing the user to easily tighten the clamp by pulling the "trigger" to achieve the desired clamping pressure.

Pipe Clamps

pipe clamp

Pipe clamps are similar to bar clamps in that they have one fixed pad, and one adjustable pad. The primary difference is that pipe clamps use ridgid pipe, usually black or galvanized plumbing pipe to customize the clamp for the size you need. Additional lengths can be added with connectors between lengths of pipe. Common pipe sizes are 2', 4', and 8'. These types of clamps may confuse the first-time user, as you will only buy the actual pipe pads. The orange-colored pads are what will be found in the box, and the pipe is bought separately.

See Also

• Building