Replies

1. 
   hotdogman | Dec 11, 2023 10:24am | #1

   Go to a box store and buy galvanized gas pipe which will have threaded ends. You will need a threaded end to attach the end piece of most pipe clamps.

1. 
   Sagarrod | Jan 09, 2024 09:04am | #13

   Many thanks for the information

2. 
   john_c2 | Dec 11, 2023 11:41am | #2

   Iron pipe comes in several different wall thicknesses in a 3/4" size. The most common are schedule 40 and schedule 80. The wall thicknesses are easily found online. Measure yours and see how it compares.

   The biggest fault with longer pipe clamps is how much the pipe flexes. You definitely want thicker, not thinner.

   3/4" pipe always has the same outside diameter. The extra wall thickness cuts down on the inside opening, it doesn't increase the outside diameter.

1. 
   hotdogman | Dec 13, 2023 05:31pm | #7

   John schedule 40 and 80 are measurements for PVC pipe....?
   ?

1. 
   Nick93 | Dec 13, 2023 06:24pm | #8

   Also hdpe, stainless steel, etc.

   The schedule more sets inner and outer diameter than material but this is getting incredibly far from woodworking lmao.

   https://usaindustries.com/piping-isolation-testing-products/pipe-schedule-chart/?amp=1

2. 
   john_c2 | Dec 13, 2023 07:41pm | #9

   They are also for iron pipe.

3. 
   joeleonetti | Dec 11, 2023 07:09pm | #3

   I don't have anything near me to measure. What I did when I went through this was to take my pipe clamp the local big box store and see if it would indeed screw in. It did. As such, I didn't think much more than that.

4. 
   TexasBurt | Dec 12, 2023 07:36pm | #4

   Just a tip. Never let the pipe clamps come in contact with the glue joints. The iron reacts with the glue and stains the wood.

1. 
   Nick93 | Dec 12, 2023 08:23pm | #5

   *unless you're aiming for that look

2. 
   jeffs | Dec 13, 2023 02:38pm | #6

   this is why some folks use galvanized versus black pipe. Galvanized does not leave the same stain marks.

1. 
   jharveyb | Dec 13, 2023 08:20pm | #10

   The Pony pipe clamps recommended using black pipe rather than galvanized. I have used both. The galvanized is less likely to leave stains, but the surface is softer than the black pipe, and consequently it is a bit harder to get the sliding foot to release. Not really a problem, more just an aggravation. I used whatever I could scrounge.
   By the way, if both ends of your pipe are threaded, and you buy a coupling, you can join two lengths of pipe together and have a longer clamp. I've done that when straightening out deck boards I was screwing down. I don't usually have to do that in the shop, as I have two pipe clamps with 10' lengths of pipe (one of which I'm using to clamp the middle section of the frame of an 8' tall door I've just dry clamped today.)
   Mostly for anything up to about 3' wide, I use I-bar clamps or F-clamps. The pipe clamps come out for wider jobs...

5. 
   TexasBurt | Dec 14, 2023 07:58am | #11

   Forty-five years ago or so when I was first getting interested in woodworking I had little money for tools. The band saw, drill press, table saw, etc. were all $69.95 or less from the big box store. And clamps? Clamps were expensive! So I opted for a few pipe clamps. If I edge joined boards together I used pipe clamps. If the boards had a gap between them that was fine....just crank down on the pipe clamp 'till the gap went away! I still have the pipe clamps but don't remember the last time I used them. Over the years I learned woodworking and invested in better equipment including a vast assortment of quality clamps. You can't have too many clamps. The truth is that you don't need all that pipe clamp power if you do quality work to start with. Glue joints shouldn't be too tight or the glue gets squeezed out. Maybe some day I will need my pipe clamps for something but have no idea what that might be.

6. 
   jc_clark | Dec 14, 2023 09:37am | #12

   I've been using pipe clamps for almost 50 yrs now.
   Always served me well.

7. 
   jc_clark | Jan 09, 2024 03:53pm | #14

   Why do people think you have to crank down a pipe clamp
   real hard to use it? You don't.
   You can apply light pressure like any other clamp.
   Sounds like they are being misused a lot.