Think of clamps as having an extra set of hands. Because clamps provide a firm grip on a workpiece, your own hands are free to complete the next step of a project. The type of clamp you use will depend on your workholding needs, so having a variety of clamps in your workshop ensures you will always have the right one within reach.
Ideal for casework and large glue-ups, parallel jaw clamps feature two jaws that remain parallel to each other on a long metal bar to maintain the squareness of the object being clamped. The large jaws on this type of clamp apply consistent pressure over the entire face of the jaw, making the jaws less likely to crush wood fibers.
Bar clamps are available in many jaw and throat sizes, bar lengths and handle styles to provide a range of clamping capacities. Since the bar remains reliably straight under clamping force, you can clamp work against it to prevent misalignment. The moveable jaw on the fast-acting type may have a tilting plate for gripping angled or tapered workpieces. Bar clamps with a trigger style handle are easy to adjust with just one hand.
These types of clamps are not limited by the length of their bars since they grasp the work a short distance from the joint. While suitable for a wide variety of general clamping duties, they excel at holding end-to-face, end-to-edge or mitered frames together, such as for pocket-screw assembly, biscuit joinery, and edge gluing banding on cabinet frames.
As their name suggest, corner and edge clamps are specifically designed for applications that require corners and edges to be clamped into position during assembly, such as for box or drawer construction, or when applying edge banding to the side of a surface. The clamp holds the corners or edging in place while you test fit an assembly or while the glue sets.
Convenient and versatile, toggle clamps expedite production and jig and fixture work. A plate is fixed to a work surface while a lever locks workpieces in place, such as those that need to be routed, drilled or sawed. They vary in size, reach and clamping force.
Other clamps range from basic surgical tubing to sophisticated vacuum systems that give unobstructed access to work. If you need to clamp something together, no matter how awkward the shape, chances are we have a solution for you. If not, please let us know.
