JEM Watercraft

OK, As I gather up tools I need for my first project, what kind and how many clamps do I need?

Spring clamps, small C clamps (2-3"), etc work.

How many? LOTS!

Harbor Freight is your clamp friend.

Depending on what you are clamping and how much pressure you need to apply, you can use home made clamps also...
I buy a 8' section of 4" pvc pipe. I run it lenghtways down the table saw on one side. Then I use a power miter saw to cut 1 1/2" sections from the pipe. You can make a LOT of cheap clamps for very little money. The other good thing is they don't stick to epoxy that well and if they get to nasty you can just scrap them off or toss them. Even with the waste caused by the saw blade you get a least 48 clamps per 8' section of pipe!

If going the PVC clamp route, make sure they give you the clamping force you want before hand. You dont want to have everything coated with epoxy and then find out that the clamps dont apply enough force . The force can be tweaked by cutting a bigger gap in the PVC pipe. or putting a shim between the PVC and the stuff you are clamping. The shim can be a popsicle stick, cardboard, what ever gives you the right force, wrap whatever you are using as a shim in clear packing tape to prevent the shim from bonding to your boat.
They can also be hard to use with out another pair of hands, unlike c-clamps or spring clamps which you can usually use with one hand while holding your work with the other..

Harbor Freight is my friend.

Pawn shops, garage sales, Dollar stores or flea markets are all good places to find cheap clamps.

DM

Hy Yak,

i've got 64 of these and it still not enough. Super Cheap is my friend

For smaller clamps, plastic clothes pins work very well and are inexpensive.

Words you'll never hear from a wood worker, "I just have too many clamps."

They always come in handy. I wish I'd had at least another dozen when I was building my canoe recently. 2 dozen would have been better. When you're gluing up a 16 foot gunwale on each side of the canoe, and they should be clamped every 4-6"....do the math. I had to do it in sections.

Right after this picture was taken ... I went and got more. Used some excuse that the wife believed. "O" Yes .. when she cleaned out the workshop ... I told her she threw out a box of them and they would have to be replaced. Work's everytime.



Now I can do both sides at one time.

Chuck.

Your wife cleans out your shed?

hairymick wrote:Your wife cleans out your shed?

She was trying to make me think she was being helpful because I was fussing about all of her stuff in there. She got busy bagging stuff and I did the trips to the dump. Two days later we had it looking nice and you could actually walk around in there.

Then out of the house came her stuff (One item at a time) and we ended up with more junk in there then we took out.
I think of it as a workshop , she thinks of it as a storage barn and guess who wins , it's not me.

Chuck.