Official Luthiers Forum!

hello everyone, I hope you're enjoying your Saturday. making a cutting board this morning for a relative, I broke two of my harbor freight clamps. It looks like its time to invest in something a little better quality. Im looking for suggestion on brand, sizes, and general quantity. I'm half way through my first guitar, and I don't remember using anything over a 12 or 18" bar clamp. I don't want to go overboard, but I also don't want to cut myelf short.


Thanks,


jimmy

You need many, varied clamps. For your cutting board, you probably need four or six pipe or bar clamps of at least 20" capacity. The thing about pipe clamps is this: You can buy a set number of the clamping heads. Then you can buy many varied lengths of threaded pipes, and switch the heads out as needed for a given project. You didn't state the dimensions of your cutting board.

For guitar work, you need other kinds, many of which you can make easily--cam clamps, spool clamps, etc.

This is not the answer you wanted, but it's an honest answer. As for myself, I just keep adding to my collection of clamps. I don't think you can own too many of them. C-clamps are something that I can't make, so I buy two more every couple of years. I have been doing this for many years. I buy them in various sizes. I will buy more. I probably have all the pipe and bar clamps I need. I should make new cam clamps one of these days, because my decades-old ones are getting beat up and are losing their clamping pressure. I have a sizeable cardboard box full of home made spool clamps. Those are useful for lots of work. I have long bolts on mine, for gluing top or back plates to sides, etc. When I don't need that much clamping width, I either swap out shorter bolts or just tighten the wing nuts down to narrow the jaws.

Then, of course, spring clamps in several sizes are indispensable. I'm talking every size from the humble wooden clothes pin to those big, honkin' rascals that you need both hands to squeeze open.

Again, not the answer you wanted, but an honest answer.

For laminated glue-ups, you can''t beat 24" aluminum bar clamps. The aluminum doesn't react to water based glues like steel bar clamps, and the jaws stay parallel.

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

The best clamps out there for laminating and gluing up panels are the Bessey K body clamps. IMO
For guitar building though, a variety is a plus. I have a lot of clamps but most often I find the squeese
type with soft pads are the ones I reach for. they're easily used with one hand and most clamping
operations don't require much pressure, which is where these clamps do best

Ken.

So I was out at the local Lowes picking up some paint. I stopped buy to look at the clamps. What does everyone think snout the ratchet clamps that you squeeze to apply pressure, Vs the bar clamps that you slide, the twist the handle to apply pressure. Is one better than the other for guitar building?

Ratchet clamps have many uses, but guitar making isn't one of them. Bar clamps have pretty limited application to guitar making as well. Good to have some around anyway. Quickgrips are OK for some things, but IME they're not as good as they used to be.

IMO a decent minimal starting set would be a bunch of (6 or so +) cam clamps, about the same number of regular 6" iron C clamps, plus one deep C clamp for the bridge.

So I guess your answer to what is my "go to clamp" is cam clamps. I have the kind with the moose on them. It took me a while to finally pony up the cash for them, but in retrospect I should have started with them.

I have lots of clamps, I use cam clamps nearly every day in a multitude of different ways both for camping and when I need to hold something. I like the 6 inch deep and then the 8 inch deep clamps, I have some of the bigger clamps but they do not apply enough clamping pressure, but are handy when you need the reach. After the cam clamps I use a lot a bunch of c-clamps. I also have a bunch of clamps for gluing kerfed linings on.

But my number 1 clamp is a cam clamp.

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Cam clamps are by far my most used. I have three 4", four 6", and three 8", but used to get by with two of each. Prices seem to have gone up quite a bit since I bought them, though. This looks like the best source http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/TL/item/MS-MMOOSE.XX

I also have a couple of tiny quick grip bar clamps that I use pretty frequently when I need something lightweight (i.e. won't flex the piece of wood it's dangling from), and not a lot of pressure.

I use all sorts of clamps, but the most used are the Jorgenson style bar clamps ("F" clamps). They come in different lengths, apply moderate amounts of pressure, and aren't too heavy.

I was walking through Fleet Farm 7 or 8 years ago and they had a bin of Jorgensen style bar clamps at a very low price. I now have a ton of them and they are my most used clamp. Not just guitars but clamping jigs on benches, gluing up laminates etc.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

As always you guys are great! I actually made 10 cam clamps today. I will pick up some bar clamps, and it looks like I will be ok. The one thing that rings clear in all your posts is that I don't need to crush what I'm gluing. Thanks again for the advice

I respectfully beg to differ. Sure the Bessey K body clamps are good, but IMO (and in the opinion of probably 95% of woodworkers who have used both) , the best clamps for gluing up panels are the Jet parallel clamps.

One of the few regrets I have in life is not taking a quantity of these Jet clamps with me when I shipped all my goods by container from the US back to the UK. Jet do not sell these clamps over here, more's the pity.