As I grow older, I have more trouble twisting small, slick clamp handles, so I wrap them with shelf liner made with rubber mesh. The material is soft yet tough, and it makes the handles larger and easier to grip. It’s widely available in home-improvement stores. I cut it with scissors into 1-in. by 30-in. strips, apply hot glue to one end, and wrap it around the handle from one end to the other, overlapping the strips to create two full layers. I tack down the end of the strip with more hot glue and then smooth the end while the glue is still soft. To protect my hand from the hot glue, I wear an old leather glove.

—Gary Damron, Capitan, N.M.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Bessey Band Clamp

A long, strap-style clamp is hard to beat for assembling strong mitered frames, and this one has a number of user-friendly features.

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Trusty-Cook Dead-Blow Hammers

Made in Indiana, and recently added to the Lee Valley catalog, they are made of nonmarring polyurethane, hot-cast around lead shot and a steel handle. This gives them a very solid feel and excellent impact. They come in a wide variety of sizes, but I like the 21-oz. ($26) and 26-oz. ($29) best for woodworking use.

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WoodRiver 3" Edgeband Spring Clamp

These spring clamps have large 2" jaws that are perfect for deeper capacity clamping, as well an an elastic, that provides lateral clamping pressure on edge banding, where deeper clamps can't reach.

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