I’m new to this website and have enjoyed it very much. Over the last several months I have been investing in my small shop. I want to begin making table tops for a dining room, coffee tables, etc. Woodcraft, on its website has what they call a 4-way clamp. It applies pressure from both sides and from top and bottom. It attaches to whatever lenght of 2×2 you want. Cost for one unit is $25.00. I figure I would need 4 or 5 units when doing a dininr room table. My humble, newbie question is this. What’s going to work better, 4-way pressure clamps or some decent 3/4″ pipe clamps with different lengths of pipe? Thank you in advance.
Steve J.
Replies
Hi Steve,
I have seen the 4-way clamps but I have never used them so I am not able to comment on them.
It’s not difficult to keep a solid top flat - Here are a few simple tips using 3/4"pipe clamps that have worked well for me.
After the boards are thicknessed and grain matched draw a large triangle on the top to reference re-assembly.
Start at one edge of the laid-out top and mark the first board with an “X” and the next board with an “O”. Do this all the way across the top alternating the boards with X’s and O’s. When jointing the edges of the boards place the “X’s” against the fence and “O’s” away from the fence. This will compensate for any inaccuracy in squareness of the fence and aid in keeping the top flat.
Make several pairs of straight edged clamping cauls from 2x4’s. Make them as long as the width of your widest top. Joint one edge and cover the jointed edge with plastic shipping tape (glue resist).
The clamping cauls are used in pairs (one on top and one directly underneath) and clamped to the top across its width. Place one pair at each end and then at about every 24”- 36”. A short top for an end table would only have two pairs – one pair at each end. A 72” dining table would have 3 -4 pairs.
Place several #20 biscuits along the length of the joint to aid in leveling.
It’s much easier to keep control of the top in smaller glue –ups. Glue no more than 3 boards up at a time - then glue the sub assemblies together.
Alternate the bar clamps as you glue-up, placing one on top and the next on the bottom.
….Darrell
steve
i am not a full time pro but ive had alot of experiance with differant types of clamps. i try to stay within a simple rule: always go with the best tools if possible. i sugest k body clamps. try to buy the minimum amount at first then gradually add more clamps. you can mix them in with cheaper pipe clamps in the beginning and you will still benifit from their quality
nink
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