Woodworker's Journal 2004-28-6, страница 25
rrt ■ here's an old saying that a woodworker's wealth can be measured by the number of clamps he or she owns. With today's bewildering variety of clamps and holding devices, it's easy to forget that early woodworkers managed quite well without any of them. Instead, they relied on their wits and a repertoire of clever, low-tech clamping methods to hold parts in place while the glue was drying. Since those days, technological advances have added even more of these "alternative" clamping methods to the resourceful woodworker's tool kit. Most are cheap, if not free, and readily available. More important, alternative clamps are often the best or quickest way to handle awkward or unusual clamping situations. "Go" Bars A "go bar" is a piece of springy wood that can be bowed between the workpiece and a ceiling joist of the shop to apply clamping pressure in the middle of a large piece of work where a regular deep-throat clamp will not reach. For example, piano manufacturers use go bars to apply pressure in the middle of large wooden soundboards. Typically, go bars are made from strong, dense, springy woods such as ash, oak, osage orange or hickory. 'Iliey must be thin enough to flex and to supply enough spring pressure, and they must be long enough to reach from the workpiece to the ceiling with a few inches to spare. The ends are usually sharpened to a blunt point in order to concentrate pressure and prevent skidding. To use a go bar, first apply glue to your workpiece and position it under a suitable ceiling joist. Place a scrap of wood on the work to protect it, then spring the go bar between the joist and the work. You can increase the pressure by adding more scraps between the go bar and the workpiece. Sometimes the simplest and best way to clamp something is with a iittie creativity and one of these ingenious "alternative" clamping methods. The hardwood "go bar" shown here is applying spring pressure to this large panei assembly. I Hose Clamps • Round automotive hose clamps can be of great value in the shop, especially for repairing broken spindles, round • tenons and other round or turned work. I've also used them to make collet chucks for the lathe and to attach conduits and fixtures to support columns in the shop. Hose clamps are available in sizes from 1/4" to 4" and larger, and I try to keep a supply of various sizes in stock. When using them for repair work, I usually place a piece of waxed paper between the clamp and the work to prevent the metal from discoloring the work and to keep the clamp free of glue. Joiner's Dogs or Pinch Dogs Joiner's dogs are probably the quickest and simplest way to join two boards. Made of iron or steel, joiner's dogs have two pointed legs that are tapered on the inside, so when you drive them into the end grain of two adjacent boards, they pull the boards together. You can use them on other types of joints as well. The biggest disadvantage of joiner's dogs is that they leave holes in the work. If you are using them to join panels, the best way to eliminate the holes is to make the panels longer than necessary and trim them to size after the glue dries. If you are clamping groundwork for veneer, the veneer skin will cover the holes. Nails and Screws Nails and screws are usually used to hold things together permanently, but they can also serve as temporary clamps until the glue dries. Headless brads, finishing nails and carpet tacks may all be used to hold parts together temporarily. Cut nails can be used as impromptu wedge clamps due to the wedge-shaped design of the nails. Screws have the dual advantages of allowing you to precisely control the location and amount of pressure and of being easy to remove once the glue has dried. Wooden Pegs Wooden pegs, both straight and tapered, may also serve as clamps and clamping accessories. The draw-bored mortise and tenon joint is one prime example. To make tliis joint, you first cut the mortise and tenon. Then, with the tenon removed, drill a peg 441 have nothing against regular clamps — I use them all the time. But I've learned to think out of the fiff\ when it comes to A clamping the many odd and different kinds of joints and assemblies that an active woo darker is likelv to JW Woodworker's journal December 2004 51 |
