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New member with a question about C-clamps

S.Recker

Aluminum
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Location
Dyersville, Iowa
Hello all, I've been lurking here for a few months and finally registered.

About two months ago I moved from maintenance dept to our toolroom. I have found that I do not have enough c-clamps for setting up different jobs.

I would like to know if there is any difference between brands of clamps, these will see a fair amount of use as far as I can tell, so I would like to only buy a few good ones and be done with it.

Thanks

Scott
 
Welcome aboard!!

Buy the best C clamps you can afford. Poor quality C clamps are like poor quality anything. You will be disappointed.

I would look for Wilton or Armstrong. Look for heavy duty screws.

I would also add that a selection of Kant Twist clamps are very valuable. Sometimes they clamp what can't be clamped with a C style clamp.

Best advise that I can give is to put you name prominatly on you clamps and lock them up. They will grow legs. :rolleyes:

Take Care

ARB
 
Get them from garage sales.

The cheapest old US forged c-clamp is likely to be better than most import crap.

Just be sure it doesn't have V-threads, still has its "foot" on the screw, isn't bent, and is a one-piece forged body. You can spot all that in a few seconds.

Some import crap isn't bad. I have a set from Big Lots, they get used and abused, work fine.

But I have had one that I got at a sale crack in two with relatively little force. Didn't look closely, it was a 10" opening one, and those are harder to find.

Sure enough, looked at the pieces, and it said "china".
 
I seem to be cheaper than Mr. Tiers. I have straightened frames and screws of good forged clamps and have turned and installed my own feet when I could get a good deal on a wounded clamp. All these repairs seem to have worked.

Stu
 
It is not possible to own too many clamps, no matter what sort.
You know, my Dad has been telling me this for years! The older I get the more I believe it.

The US forged stuff as has been mentioned will take a lot of abuse before they give up.

My biggest beefs (beeves?) with the offshore stuff are:

- Acme or square threads are relatively smaller in diameter compared to USA brands
- The female thread is often not tapped "square" with the foot on the fixed frame, and relies heavily on the ball-foot on the screw. This drives me nuts.

One caution, don't throw them around or drop them like I've seen some half-brained idiots do as that will bend the screw no matter how high quality the manufacture.

-Matt

Adding: It is always good to have a few (2+) "deep throat" versions for that setup which has too much stuff in the way for a standard throat clamp.
 
Thanks everyone,

I have a few already, just stuff I "inhereited". I do use the Kant-twist style more often, not sure why I just like em better for some reason, probably because the c-clamps I do have are in pretty bad shape.

I think MSC has a set of Armstrong clamps on sale right now I may get.

Scott
 
Kant twist! the little tiny 1" units are amazingly strong. The large 12" is ultra strong (6000 lbs). I also have a few varieties of standard forged clamps (American) and a few bar type clamps (Record Marples). Never too many, some jobs require more than you have so you over stress what clamps you have. Also have some nice deep throat clamps by Jorgenson which come in handy. JR
 
A friend made and gave me a neat little hydraulic load cell years ago. I used it to test everything it would fit in.

To the best of my memory. A quick-grip woodworking clamp is good for maybe 200 lbs. Light-duty woodworking screw clamp around 300. Jorgensen I-bar woodworking clamp over 500.

A 6" Kant-Twist does around 2500 lbs. The old U.S. forged steel light-duty C-clamps, at least the smallest ones the load cell would fit in, gaged 1000 to 2000 lbs. These were all actual measurements with the max hand/crank force that "felt reasonable".

The heavy duty Armstrong's were far beyond the load cell range, the catalog spec for my largest square-head Armstrong is 40,000 lbs. (Old Boeing Surplus buys, handy for "straightening", I've never used them for clamping.)

I love Kant-Twists, the idea is ... the pad doesn't rotate with the screw, the pad position doesn't depend on the screw being straight ... it's easy to clamp finicky parts without them slipping as you tighten down. The baby 1" ones are great for model work, the 3" to 6" are a workhorse for welding and assembly. Found some 12"'s at Surplus but have yet to use them.

Aside, I dont' remember the exact readings, but do recall that for a given "feel" on the handle, a good quality 6" milling vise gaged out over twice the clamping force as a junker 6" with a bad thrust bearing.

Bob
 
Scott,
There is probably a source somewhere closer to you, but there is a place called Airparts here in Kansas City that has a bunch of different sized surplus C-clamps and other stuff that came from aircraft manufacturer auctions.

Here's their web page:
http://www.airpartsinc.com/

A lot of them are not in that great of condition, but a lot are fine (probably 50/50). They are pretty nice folks and do a lot of mail order business, so if you can't find something close it might be worth giving them a call. They would be able to tell you how much they cost and whether they could sift through and pick out some good ones to send to you.
 
I have and use some of the el cheapo offshore clamps, and they're ok, not good, but ok. These were bought about 4-5 years ago. The stuff that's out now is far worse, and I wouldn't buy it. I get a good laugh out of it, though. I can say to a friend when in a tool store, hey! have a look at this s--t! Look at the chromed threads with the chrome peeling off, and the slop- you could ride a small bike through there. The swivel on the rod usually is headed in the general direction of the foot, but if any pressure is applied, it wants to take off on a vacation. I lent a couple of these to a friend, and they came back with the swivel missing the foot entirely. I might as well have thrown them away instead of loaning them out.

I have one Jorgensen clamp, but I wish I had more. For many applications, nothing beats it. I use it mostly to hold smaller pieces for drilling, since you can lay a piece flat on the table, then clamp to it. It gives you a larger thing to hold onto, and lets you 'float' the workpiece under the drill bit while keeping it flat to the table. Takes a bit of getting used to the two handles.
 
Two additions to the advice so far (forged clamps like Armstrong and Kant Twist). Since your application is for toolroom setups, you may want some of the parallel tooling clamps sold by B&S, Starrett, etc. They'll sometimes reach in places the others won't and can accomodate slight taper. Second, since your company will be buying these, I'm assuming they'll be buying new. Even on the monthly sales from most suppliers, they're pretty pricey. I've probably got a hundred forged US made C clamps, mostly bought used. However, I've also been happy with some forged import clamps from Enco at about a third the price. If your budget is extremely tight, you might buy a few of the good ones and fill in with the others.
 








 
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