Woodworking clamps

Okay, I finally got a camera, I finally got the time, and now I can finally post my first instructable. This may be a little difficult for newest of woodworkers, but for those that passed high-school shop class with a B average this shouldn't be to hard. This is a great project for anyone who wants to upgrade their shop on a budget, or just wants to enlarge their clamp collection without making another trip to Home Depot.
All of the hardware is standard size and can be scaled up for larger clamps, so make an entire set! I'll post the measurements for the larger clamps at the end of this instructable.

Step 1 A note from the maker

I know that I might have more specialized equipment than some people out there, but don't let that discourage you! There is always more than one way to solve any problem out there and just because I say that you need something does not automatically make it true. There is a lot of room for improvement here.  I went through 3 prototypes before I finally got this far and it is by no means perfect. Feel free to experiment and make it your own, and above all else don't be afraid to fail.

Comments

[CapnChkn]

I would think if you live in a place called KisS, it would be anything but desolate...

[vincent7520]

Thanks for he maths !…

Now all I have to do is translate them into metric !!!…

Joking apart, you instructable is of great value to me as I find these clamps not only very useful and versatile in woodworking and also very good with wood projects : it won't mark the material unless you're Hulk in its maddest fit of superhuman force !…

Unfortunately they are rare to find (except maybe in England ?…) and outrageously expensive here (as most of the tools in France : which is a rip off, 3 to 5 times the price you pay in the US).
So I expect to make my own and you lesson comes in very handy.

thank you again.

[jdege]

In step 13, you're screwing the all-thread into the handles.

Into what hole? There is no hole, in the instructions or the pictures, in the handles at the end of step 12.

Did you drill a hole into the handles, down the axis, through the end, between these steps?

[sabr686]

Awesome ible, my friend. And the red bench vise is very cool. If you're going to let that go, please let me know first! Oh I bet it could tell a lot of stories..
Well done.

[jtobako]

Step 9 needs details-like how to drill a 90 degree hole in a round object and how to start a tap when the hole isn't flat. Without that step, you can't make these :( Or some alternatives that might be available (maybe a nut buried inside a piece of dowel?).

[Roninofthewest]

Thanks, I'll look into that. I did look into just burying a nut inside the jaws, but to keep them from spinning you need to have square nuts (which are just about impossible to find these days). Then cut the hole really tight to match. It was just a lot simpler to just drill a hole then slide in the barrel nut. I have seen people epoxy hex nuts in place or on a dowel rod like you were saying, this just worked best for me.

[BRAINLESLY]

EPOXY MUCH ????

[snoyes]

Any particular reason to chamfer the jaws? Make them lighter? Just for looks? Doesn't seem like it would affect performance any to leave them rectangular.

[Roninofthewest]

Yes thats mainly for looks. It may help you get the ends in tight corners but I really haven't had a problem with that. Besides, every other clamp I've seen has had this feature. Why mess with 1000+ years of perfection?

[jtobako]

Mostly cuts down on splinters ; )

[Roninofthewest]

Thanks everyone. I'm not going to say that their perfect by any means. Maybe I should post some of my failed attempts latter on. The first set I made used wing nuts to tighten them up. It painful to use them though. Next I used T-nuts, also a flop. These ones I posted were actually inspired by some 100+ wood clamps I've seen here and there. They have a similar design but you can't just pull wooden threads off the shelf at the local hardware store. The barrel nuts do the same work but are easier to install, and I think you can order them from somewhere but I'm not sure. It was just as easy to make them here as it was to fill out an order form.

[rimar2000]

Very useful tools!

[valhallas_end]

Very nice. I have an old set of these clamps in my tool closet that have survived 30+ years of hard use. Sure would be nice to have a few more around. Nicely detailed work here.