Sustainable practises are what the future of our world holds since they are able to reuse the same material again and again. This can be said for woodworking as it's a craft that allows you to make something out of raw material. Be it furniture pieces, sculptures, floors or decorative pieces.
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| source: wikipedia.com |
Woodworking is good for your health as it not only contributes to healthy brain function, it also helps you relax as you are in contact with a natural material. Protecting yourself from sawdust is key here in order to reap the benefits of woodworking as a career but not without the proper use of the right tools. One of the most essential ones in this case are woodworking clamps.
Types of Woodworking Clamps
C
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| source: hammerroo.co.nz |
C-clamps are the best at applying pressure, especially to circular objects such as a bandsaw tyre. Thanks to their long threaded rod, c-clamps can be too much for most woodworking tasks but when you need strong clamps to hold wood down they are the best. That's also thanks to the iron body, crossbar in the screw handle and beefy threads.
F-Style
As their name suggests, f-style wood work clamps have the same shape as the letter “F”. These clamps have a long handle and metal jaws on a steel bar. This configuration makes f-style clamps the most affordable and quite versatile and it's all because of their simplicity. Clamping down on boards and panels is best done with f-style clamps.
Bar
Typically made of aluminium, bar clamps have a jaw depth as that of pipe clamps – more on that later. Bar clamps are therefore able to provide pressure on large panels that are glued up, as well as, carcase assemblies since they don't discolour the wood and are quite light.
Parallel
The jaws of parallel clamps allow you to apply a lot of pressure at a 90° angle no matter if it's a large object or an intricate piece. Available in many different sizes, parallel clamps are able to apply even pressure to the entire surface and keep your item parallel during assembly.
Strap
With a strap or band clamp, you can apply pressure on any object no matter its shape. You can glue any oddly shaped objects properly only with a strap clamp as it has the versatility to do so since you tighten up a literal strap around said object. The strap also prevents any form of marring from taking place thanks to the clamp's rubber jaws.
Corner
A right angle or corner woodworking clamp is used to glue together two pieces of wood that form a corner with a 90° angle to it. Also, when you need clamps to hold wood with accuracy on your side, corner clamps are the way to go no matter the type of project you're working on.
Hand Screw
These simple yet effective wood work clamps rely on a screw that you turn by hand for the pressure they can apply. Hand screw clamps are traditional clamps that can be used in a wide variety of projects from securing boards and panels to clamping down objects at a distance. Which is something you can't do with bar or f-style clamps.
Quick Lever
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| source: masscaproducts.ca |
One of the easiest clamps to use is a quick lever clamp which has a metal body and a simple design that prevents damaging the wooden piece you're working on. Quick lever clamps are great for securing workpieces to a workbench and can be used with guard rails.
Face
A face woodworking clamp is one with a large clamping pad on it that can keep any flat workpiece properly aligned. Like quick lever wood work clamps, face clamps are also easy to use and won't damage the workpiece while allowing you to adjust the pressure to a very fine extent.
Pipe
Pipe clamps are made for heavy-duty use such as holding kitchen table tops and for large panel glue-ups. That's thanks to the sliding head that can be locked and clamp fixtures found on one end of the clamp. They are not as good for smaller pieces but are quite versatile since they can have couplings that give them unlimited length.
Frame
When you want to make large-scale frames, frame clamps are the way to go. That's the only reason why you'd use frame clamps. They are available as plastic clamps and fully metal ones which are more durable and capable. The clamping is done with the use of a steel strap which runs through the reel body and the swinging edge elements go on each corner to secure the frame.
Spring
Made with a spring at its core, a spring clamp is a highly durable but also quite a limited solution. That's because you can't adjust the clamping force which is why you can't use a spring clamp with more delicate workpieces. For smaller objects like slats and mouldings, spring clamps are ideal.