speaking of clamps...

[went_postal]

Never see the "pros" using pipe clamps. Is there a reason behind that or is it just a "I have money so I am going to buy a clamp" thing?

Just curious.

[jwatson]

I've used them because they are affordable and frankly they work for me. I say if it works go with it. the pros also get PAID too i get paid in compliments certainly doesn't pay for clamps

[went_postal]

I've used them because they are affordable and frankly they work for me. I say if it works go with it. the pros also get PAID too i get paid in compliments certainly doesn't pay for clamps

I hear that! lol

Pipe clamps aren't exactly cheap anymore either. I was just curious... never see Marc using them.. or any of the peeps on DIYnet or HGTV.

[Lawrence Brown]

So as long as we're talking about pipe clamps, I'm curious as to why people seem to think they're a more "affordable" alternative. (I'm assuming as compared to parallels)

Every time I've priced them out, they seem to end up costing about as much as parallel clamps. Like, for about a 36" clamp, by the time I buy the clamp kit and then add the price of the pipe, it's about $30, and I can find the parallels for around $40. Of course I'm talking about just going to the hardware store and getting a precut/prethreaded length of pipe. Does the economy come from people having access to old lengths of pipe lying around or buying the pipe in bulk/surplus and cutting it themselves, or am I missing something?

[Autorotate]

I've always thought that to Mech. people always say there cheaper but like you said by the time you add everything up why not spend another $10 and get a nicer clamp. Even at auctions they seem to sell for more than I would pay for them.

[Chester]

I've used them because they are affordable and frankly they work for me. I say if it works go with it. the pros also get PAID too i get paid in compliments certainly doesn't pay for clamps

If you own any parallel jaw clamps, you will know why many prefer them. I got my first PJC's a couple of years ago. There are so many things about working with them that I like. They will sit flat on their backs ... they will stand on their own ... the bar does not deflect ... the jaws stay square ... I can not over-tighten them ... I have room to leave the bar some distance (space) away from the wood (allows for glue cleanup while clamped). I am keeping my old pipe clamps ... cuz ... we can never have too many clamps!

[jwatson]

after buying a ten foot section of pipe and the clamps i get 2 for 40 about 20 each, plus i dont have to buy the pipe right away so i can pay 26 for the clamps one month then go back for the pipe the next. for a hobbyist with time on thier hands its is really cheaper.

break down

13 bucks for the 10 ft section pipe makes two 5 ft sections

14 x 2 fixtures

14 + 7 = 21 25 with tax maybe. still a savings even if its not much of one. for me every penny counts.

[Chester]

after buying a ten foot section of pipe and the clamps i get 2 for 40 about 20 each, plus i dont have to buy the pipe right away so i can pay 26 for the clamps one month then go back for the pipe the next. for a hobbyist with time on thier hands its is really cheaper.

break down

13 bucks for the 10 ft section pipe makes two 5 ft sections

14 x 2 fixtures

14 + 7 = 21 25 with tax maybe. still a savings even if its not much of one. for me every penny counts.

Jwatson -

When I was a lot younger ... and acquiring the affordable pipe clamps, I thought that I would buy the galvanized pipe rather than the black pipe. I thought that it would be cleaner.

Cleaner or not, it seems that the galvanized pipe is not as strong. All of my galv. clamp pipe has slight bends. None of my black-pipe has any bending.

[jwatson]

in my local home depot the 10 foot section of black steel pipe is only 12.92. I wouldn't get the galvanized either. you can get cheaper on the clamp fixtures if you go the harbor freight route. they are only 6.99 instead of 13.50 or so for the jorgies. Im not saying that parallels are not good clamps i'm just saying when you are like me and do this strictly for a hobby every penny counts.

I whole heartily agree with you on you can never have too many clamps!

just like with the hand planes i have technically speaking the LN and veritas are better planes and well worth the money that is spent on them i just don't want to spend that kind of money so i got into buying used antiques. got to know what i needed and what to look for and saved money.

ps i was in the middle of typing when you first replied chester so if anything i said didnt reflect what you had posted that is why.

[Chester]

Jw -

I think that one of the biggest problems (back at the beginning when I had few tools and the ones I had were crappy) with the pipe clamps that I had ... was not with the clamps but with me.

I still did not totally understand how wood worked. If I had a joint that did not come together because of poor jointing (flashback ... what was "jointing"???), I would just put my pipe clamp on it and tighten it more. I think that I can even remember putting a length of pipe on the tightening lever to ... tighten it more. I didn't even know that you could squeeze all the glue out of a joint. Of course, that also is how you can bend pipe.

I was the problem, not the clamps!

[PurpLev]

I got my 3/4" rockler pipe clamps (4'-8') at an estate sale for $5 each. don't think I could have found parallels at that price. I think the reason pipe clamps are less expensive is that indeed people do have pipe scrap laying around, or they are easier to come by.

[klousiajp@gmail.com]

So as long as we're talking about pipe clamps, I'm curious as to why people seem to think they're a more "affordable" alternative. (I'm assuming as compared to parallels)

Every time I've priced them out, they seem to end up costing about as much as parallel clamps. Like, for about a 36" clamp, by the time I buy the clamp kit and then add the price of the pipe, it's about $30, and I can find the parallels for around $40. Of course I'm talking about just going to the hardware store and getting a precut/prethreaded length of pipe. Does the economy come from people having access to old lengths of pipe lying around or buying the pipe in bulk/surplus and cutting it themselves, or am I missing something?

The key for me is that once you have a few of those kits, you can just buy a couple of connectors and make yourself that 60" clamp that you need for this specific glue-up. I have a couple of clamp kits and a bunch of pipe laying around, when I need the 48", I just use the $.48 connectors to make them. A bit more work to "build" the clamp, but certainly cheaper than the big parallel.

[minorhero]

David Marks from Woodworks uses pipe clamps (at least during the early years, haven't gotten to the later years yet). I use pipe clamps because I'm too cheap to buy other clamps. I do have a few f-style clamps lying around as well.

[nateswoodworks]

I use my pipe clampe a lot and like them, but also do have 4 F Style clamps and they the first to get used. As for gavanized pipes, they are the kind I will use. This way I never have to protect my wood from the black marks. As for them flexing, I never use enough pressure to make that a problem. Just my 2 cents.

Nate

[PaulMarcel]

J.P. has the benefit I think of for pipe clamps (and a cool avatar!): that you can have stock pipe lying around and reconfigure your clamps for a specific project. If you need 60" clamps and have 48" parallels, you're stuck.

I don't have pipe clamps though often though to get some for exactly that mentioned reason. Now one guy I know who likes them says he gets the pipe from Rockler because they have zinc-plated pipe so it won't leave black marks on your work. YMMV as I haven't tried them.

[dvoigt]

I have all sorts of clamps, Parallel ones, F-style, the one handed ratcheting style, little c-clamps, and the spring clamps... if I don't get them on sale, I get them from Harbor Freight. HF is a great source for clamps.

[samhell]

You know what the problem with clamps is? Even when you have half a wall full, you are always one or two short when you go to clamp something up! Why is that?

[samhell]

I have all sorts of clamps, Parallel ones, F-style, the one handed ratcheting style, little c-clamps, and the spring clamps... if I don't get them on sale, I get them from Harbor Freight. HF is a great source for clamps.

I like the Harbor Freight bar spreader/clamps but you can't use too much pressure or they break inside. I've snapped the guts out of two or three of them... I like the blue ones from Rockler. They go on sale for cheap sometimes. You can crank those suckers down as much as you want.

[muddlermike]

You know what the problem with clamps is? Even when you have half a wall full, you are always one or two short when you go to clamp something up! Why is that?

That's because you need a full wall of clamps to do anything. It's just part of woodworking...

I got a few of the woodline parallels that I've been happy with so far, although I haven't used them much since I got them (just because I haven't been doing much woodworking lately). They're cheap, a little fragile in that if you drop them the plastic can crack, but ultimately, they stay relitively parallel when clamping up, apply an adequate amount of pressure as long as your joinery is good, and essentially do the job they were designed for. I also like that their lengths are like the typical + 3" - 15 inches, 27 inches, and so on. I like that little bit extra without having to go to the next size clamp. They are not Jets, but they also cost almost half the jet price so it was a quick way to a wall-o-clamp for me. Definately an alturnitive to pipes if you're looking.

http://www.woodline.com/c-270-parallel-clamps.aspx

[Jim Rimmer]

J.P. has the benefit I think of for pipe clamps (and a cool avatar!): that you can have stock pipe lying around and reconfigure your clamps for a specific project. If you need 60" clamps and have 48" parallels, you're stuck.

I don't have pipe clamps though often though to get some for exactly that mentioned reason. Now one guy I know who likes them says he gets the pipe from Rockler because they have zinc-plated pipe so it won't leave black marks on your work. YMMV as I haven't tried them.

I picked this up somewhere - I put wax paper between the wood and whatever clamp I use. No glue on the clamp and no black marks on the wood.

[cosmocyb]

I like pipe clamps because you can glue up and clamp some big cabinets. 3/4" pipe stays nice and rigid over 4' in length. Oh by the way, you can get some great deals on some F-style clamps at Boston Industrial, along with some ratcheting type clamps. http://www.bostonindustrial.com/

This was a frustrating site at first, but look under industrial tools.