In today's project we will create a tape clamp that will allow you to compress the parts various shapes when gluing, which is usually difficult to do using standard bars or pipe clamps. Want to make a picture frame? No problem, use the tape clamp!
You can independently and at minimal cost make a tape clamp for use on wooden frames, fittings, round objects, hexagons, octagons, n-gons and press objects of any size!
For the project you will need a hardwood board that is 1.9 cm thick and measures 10 x 25 cm. fibreboard 0.5 cm thick and 12.7 cm by 51 cm, hardwood pin 0.64 cm and 0.95 cm (eg oak, do not use poplar or pine), 16 hex bolt with height 0, 95 cm and 10 cm long (or rod) and full thread, T-nut on 16 0.95 cm high, #8 hex nut, three meters or stronger polyamide cord 1.9 cm wide, four sliding fasteners 1.9 wide cm, and wood glue. The tools you will need are a cutting machine with a table, a band saw and drilling machine.
Step 1: Creating the Corner Jaws
A band clamp consists of several jaws, a band that wraps around the jaws, and a tension mechanism that tightens the band around the jaws to clamp them onto the workpiece.
For a rectangular frame, you will need three jaws to hold the three corners, and a stationary jaw and tensioner for the fourth corner.
To make corner jaws, cut a 10 cm diameter circle from a 1.9 cm thick piece of hardwood. Drill a 0.3 cm diameter hole in the center. Cut 12 cm by 12 cm squares from 0.5 cm thick fibreboard (effectively , the thickness of the slab is slightly thinner), and also drill holes with a diameter of 0.3 cm through their centers. Using nails, center the fiberboards and glue the block of boards together. The edges of the fiberboard should be aligned as shown in the photo.
After the glue has dried, print and cut out the drill template 1, and stick it onto the square block using rubber cement. Drill holes with a diameter of 0.6 and 0.3 cm. Use strip plate to cut the resulting block into quarters, and cut off the corners of the jaw (2.54 by 2.54 cm square) on each piece. The incision will go through the 0.95 cm diameter holes as intended. Finally, deburr each piece.
Cut eight 2.85 cm long pieces from a 0.95 cm thick hardwood dowel. Use an oak dowel, pine or poplar is too soft. Glue the resulting pins to the half-holes with a diameter of 0.95 cm. The pins act as “pivot” jaws to accommodate the clamping joints, which are not located at an angle of 90 degrees.
Using 0.6cm thick hardwood dowel, cut eight 2.85cm long pieces and glue to the top/bottom holes in the fibreboard. These pins will hold the pressure tape. There should be enough space between these pins and the round edge of the hardwood piece to thread the tape through.
Sand sandpaper and clean the edges and faces of the four corner jaws you just made. Set them aside.
Step 2: Creating the Fixed Jaw and Tension Mechanism
Start with a 7.62 x 10 cm piece of 1.9 cm thick hardwood. Cut 1.2 cm on each side along the 10 cm long side. Cut each cut header in half - use tape or hand saw! You will need three pieces of 1.9 cm thick hardwood: one piece measuring 7.62 by 7.2 cm (depending on the gap between the saw teeth cutting machine), and two blanks measuring 1.2 by 3.7 cm.
Cut two pieces measuring 7.62 by 10 cm from 0.5 cm thick fiberboard.
Now glue together a block of blanks (fiberboard - hardwood board - fiberboard) as shown in the diagram and photo. I used small coins stacked on top of each other and taped together during the gluing process to create a groove for the clamp strip. After 15-20 minutes, remove the coin separator before the glue completely hardens.
After the glue has dried, attach template 2 to the top and side of the block; Drill holes in the top and inside the side as shown on the template.
By using band saw make a notch on the stationary jaw, and cut holes with a diameter of 0.95 cm, as indicated in step 1; Next, cut the block halfway along the line indicated on the template. Mark the two pieces as they fit together, because you need to line up the side holes! You have now created a fixed jaw and a movable tension slider.
Glue four 2.85 cm long pins (2 0.63 cm thick and two 0.95 cm thick) onto the stationary jaw as indicated in step 1. Sand the edges and pins.
Cut two 12.7 cm long pieces from the 0.95 cm thick pin. The pins should move smoothly back and forth through the moving part. If necessary, sand the pins (use a drill press as shown in the photo). Glue the pin blanks to the fixed jaw blank. Use the sliding slider to align the pins during the gluing process.
Step 3: Install the Tension Bolt
Install a 16 x 0.95 cm T-nut into the center hole of the movable slider, which faces the fixed jaw. You will need to drill a shallow 1.1cm hole around the center hole to accommodate the T-nut. Insert a 16mm threaded rod through the T-nut (or a 10cm long, fully threaded hex bolt). When the bolt or rod is screwed in, it will act against the fixed jaw and push the movable slider out. Press a #8 hex nut into the center hole of the stationary jaw so that the rod/bolt rotates against it, protecting the wood at the bottom of the hole as shown in the photo. You can fit a hex bolt handle to tighten the clamp, or use a 19mm wrench for this purpose.
Step 4: Final finishing of all components
Coat the corner jaws, the fixed jaw and the movable slider with varnish or polyurethane so that the wood glue does not stick to them and can be easily cleaned off. Do not paint the pins or holes in the slider; they can stick together!
Step 5: Install the Tape
Take 3 meters (or more) of strong 1.9 cm wide polyamide cord (tape) and four 1.9 cm wide sliding fasteners. Pass the cord through the fastener, the left side of the fixed jaw, the second fastener, then through the left groove of the movable slider, the left side fixed jaw, first fastener and three corner jaws. Follow similar steps for the right side. See photo above.
To adjust the length of the tape there is The best way, i.e. cam levers, compression screws, spring-loaded fasteners, etc. The simplest and cheap way- these are still sliding fasteners. Improve the design yourself!
Step 6: Using the Tape Presser
Always adjust the length of the tape before applying glue to the workpiece and allow it time to dry. Wrap the clamping band around the workpiece and align the jaws at the corners. Pull the tape tight on the left side and adjust the sliding fasteners. You can use masking tape on the sponges to prevent the glue from sticking to them. Make sure no glue gets on the pivot/tension pins or mechanism. Turn the bolt using a 19mm socket wrench to tighten the jaws against the workpiece. Make sure your piece remains flat and square and let the glue dry.
For rectangles, use three jaws plus one fixed jaw. For six-sided workpieces, use 5 jaws plus one fixed jaw. For n-third parties – good idea For new brain project!
Thank you for your attention!
Processing workpieces on a carpentry workbench will be convenient to use various devices, fixing parts on the table surface. With your own hands you can actually make both the simplest stops and clamps, and universal systems, allowing you to secure workpieces of any configuration.
Simple wooden stops for a carpentry workbench - drawing, example
Homemade bench stops made of wood do not dull the tool and do not damage the ends of the parts. The devices are divided according to the type of rod and inserted into holes of the appropriate shape.
Rectangular wedges do not rotate and ensure absolute immobility of the workpiece. The stops themselves are easy to make, but hollowing out the square sockets will take a lot of time and effort. It is advisable to install these holes in tabletops made of solid boards at the manufacturing stage carpentry workbench.
In work surfaces made from sheet material, it is more correct to use stops with a cylindrical rod. Such devices are convenient for fastening curved parts, and holes for them can always be drilled into in the right place. Rigid fixation of rectangular workpieces is achieved by installing an additional bar with two rods.
How to make a stop with a round rod
Birch, cherry, maple or walnut are suitable for the bench stop rod. The top strip is made of the same hardwood or plywood. A low-profile stop can be made from high-density laminated board left over from the flooring installation.
Decide on the diameter of the rod. If you plan to purchase ready-made retainers later, select standard size 19 mm. If you are confident in further independent production of accessories for a carpentry workbench, use a diameter of 21 mm. Such outer size have half-inch water pipes, from which homemade clamping clamps are made. Approximately the same value corresponds to conditional pass three quarter pipes suitable for making round wood rods.
Take a piece of pipe with a diameter of 3/4 inch, a length of 60–80 mm and a thread of at least 20 mm. Sharpen the edges on one end and screw the nut onto the other.
Insert the device into inch pipe and run through it birch stick, hitting from above with a heavy hammer.
Trim the wood when the wood chips hit the nut. It may seem easier to take a longer tube, but it will be much more difficult to penetrate.
After running the stick, remove the burrs with sandpaper. Wooden rods made in this way may have minor imperfections that do not affect the overall shape of the cylinder. At the beginning of setting up a home workshop, when there are no special machines yet, you will not find more simple way making a round stick with your own hands.
Draw the top parts of the stops on the workpieces in the required quantity and mark the centers for drilling holes.
Using a feather drill, make indentations half the thickness of the material. Start drilling at low speeds, pressing lightly on the drill. At the moment of contact, marks will appear on the surface, which will show where the tool should be deflected for perpendicular drilling.
Saw the workpieces, sand the ends and countersink the holes for the screws.
Apply wood glue to the stud and into the recess.
Connect the parts, press them with your hands and wipe off excess glue. Insert the rod into the hole in the table top and tighten the screw.
After ten minutes, carefully remove the stop, pushing from below and without moving the parts. Leave the device until the glue dries completely.
Drill holes for bench stops where you consider necessary. Most often they are needed on the left side of the table for planing workpieces and next to the vice for sharing. The distance between the centers of the holes should be the same everywhere and correspond to the size of the long stops. Before drilling, attach an unnecessary board to the bottom so that there are no chips when the drill comes out.
How to make a stop for cutting boards
The stop located on the side of the tabletop is convenient for cross-cutting boards. When it is not needed, its rotating part is lowered and is out of the way. Use the tool in conjunction with a long bench stop, holding the board firmly with one hand while using the hacksaw with the other.
Cut the wooden stop pieces from leftover hardwood. Make two countersink holes in the fixed part and one in the turning strip, exactly matching the diameter of the screw being used.
Mark on the end of the table the location of the moving part in line with the bench stop.
Secure the turntable first, adding a block if necessary to increase the thickness of the tabletop. Next, install a stationary part perpendicular to it.
Universal bench clamps
Movable fasteners allow you to fix various workpieces and removable work panels on the carpentry workbench. The clamps move in metal guides with a T-groove (T-slots) embedded flush with the table surface, which can be aluminum or steel.
How to make guides with your own hands
An analogue of factory rails with a T-slot can be easily made from metal pipe rectangular or square section. A profile with a height of no more than half the thickness of the tabletop is suitable. Immediately select the bolts and mark the cutout on one side of the pipe in proportion to the diameter of the bolt.
Cut the groove with a grinder, trim the edges with a file and round the edges with sandpaper.
Select suitable profile trims for making sliders if the hex head is smaller than the groove and rotates in it.
Drill holes for the bolts and cut the brackets, calculating their height to be 1-2 mm less than the internal passage of the profile.
How to embed guides into a tabletop
Use manual frezer for making a recess in the countertop. If the profile being cut is wider than the cutter, make the groove in two approaches.
Draw a marking on the surface and install a flat panel parallel to it. To prevent chipping when the cutter comes out, attach a wooden strip close to the end.
Adjust the routing depth stop and select the groove in several passes.
Rearrange the panel, cut out the remaining material and sand the recess with abrasive paper.
Secure the guides with screws, making recesses in the metal for the caps.
How to make a simple clamp bar
Customizable clamping systems provide a variety of options for securing parts to your woodwork. The most simple design– a clamping bar fixed by bolts sliding in T-shaped tracks.
Saw strips of plywood, adding 20 mm to the width of the parts indicated on the drawing, in order to later trim the glued workpiece and get perfectly straight ends. For the middle part, plywood scraps of the same thickness will do.
Glue the parts together, drill holes with a countersink 25 mm from the edges and tighten the screws on both sides. After the glue has dried, saw the workpiece to final size using a circular saw.
Cut plywood washers with a diameter slightly larger than the width of the clamping strip.
Carefully drill holes for the bolts in them.
Place the tool on the surface of a woodworking bench, put on washers and tighten with wing nuts.
The clamping bar is excellent for holding large workpieces and also as a side stop along which to guide the tool, for example when routing a longitudinal groove.
How to make clamps from plywood
Simple and convenient clamps in the form of brackets are fixed on the workbench in the same T-slots, are easy to move and allow you to fix a variety of parts in any position.
The device consists of a plywood part with a groove, a bolt with a slider, washers, a wing nut and a metal sleeve.
For the manufacture of wooden elements You will need a template; it can be easily drawn on paper following our instructions.
The procedure for making a template
Trace the template onto the plywood and use an awl to mark the center of the drill.
Make a hole with a 22mm diameter drill bit.
Prepare the remaining pieces and attach them together using wood glue and screws. Sand the ends, paying attention Special attention the upper semicircle and the lower rounded parts.
Take a half-inch tube and measure a length on it the length of the plywood staple. Drill a hole in the center for the bolt and cut the bushing to size. File off the metal burrs and sand the surfaces.
Assemble the clamp by placing washers under the nut.
The clamp in the photo below is simpler and is made in a similar way. When using this design, you have to place a pad of approximately the same thickness under the second arm of the lever, otherwise there will be a misalignment of the bolt, leading to deformation of the guide rail.
Increase the capabilities of your clamping system by making profile pipe another T-shaped track. By placing the guide between the rails embedded in the table, you can fasten parts anywhere on the carpentry workbench.
This additional strip is fixed at the edges with short bolts, and inside the profile there are small plywood inserts with holes.
The considered devices for a carpentry workbench are easy to manufacture and are suitable for securing most workpieces. Further work in carpentry will require new stops or clamps, which ingenuity will help you come up with, and experience that comes gradually will allow you to do them.
In the process of woodworking, in most cases it is impossible to do without a carpentry clamp. Whether it is necessary to glue wooden blanks, secure a sheet, board, or slab during cutting - you will definitely need a clamp. On sale similar products yes, but according to reviews experienced craftsmen, they are characterized by two significant shortcomings– limitations in size and low strength, since soft metals (alloys) are mainly used for their production in order to reduce costs.
Those who have to work with wood quite often prefer homemade carpentry clamps. How to make such a device with your own hands, what to pay attention to and take into account - this is discussed in the article.
There are many modifications of carpentry clamps - corner, G-shaped, edge, universal. Some are used for permanent job with different workpieces (in area, thickness), others are manufactured for a specific technological operation (for one-time use).
The author considers it advisable to dwell only on those that are most often used by “home craftsmen”. If the principle of their functioning becomes clear, then you will be able to make any type of carpentry clamp with your own hands, to suit your own needs. If, of course, you turn on your imagination and think carefully.
The author deliberately does not indicate linear dimensions clamps. One of their advantages self-made lies in the possibility of arbitrarily choosing the shape and dimensions of carpentry clamps. There is no standard for such devices. And it’s hardly advisable to “chew” basic things for a person who is used to (and knows how to) do everything with his own hands. The main thing is to give an idea, to “prompt an idea”, and everything else is at your own discretion.
Option #1
The simplest modification of the clamp. It is done quite quickly, but the use of such a carpentry clamp is somewhat limited. Although in most cases, when working with small-sized samples, it is quite sufficient.
The basis of the device is the frame of a hacksaw for metal. The fastening elements of the blade are replaced by long threaded rods, at one end of which there is an iron “penny” (as an option – a nut), at the other – either a removable handle or a head for an open-end wrench.
Since the frame can be adjusted in length, such a clamp will allow you to fix workpieces of various thicknesses. It is mainly used when gluing parts (), since the body of the device itself cannot be fixed to any surface. The only thing that needs to be taken into account is that if the frame is folding (the old modification of the “hacksaw”), then you will have to apply a “tire” at the bend (for example, wrap it with adhesive tape). This clamp is not entirely convenient to use, but in the absence of something more suitable, it is a good solution to the problem.
Option No. 2
Also quite simple model clamps. It is done with your own hands relatively quickly. The design of the device is clear from the figure. All you need is a metal angle and a couple of long screws or threaded rods.
If you make several of these clamps, you can use them to perform various carpentry jobs. For example, gluing long workpieces. To do this, it is enough to set the clamps at a certain interval, and lay metal strips or slats made of hardwood between the stops and the sample being processed. Another option is to mount the assembly on a workbench. The same applies to cutting blanks.
Before sawing, they are fixed on the tabletop, and their immobility will be guaranteed. This design can be modified by welding metal plates to the corners. This significantly increases the clamping area.
Essentially, for household use This modification of the carpentry clamp is one of the best. Experienced craftsmen always have at hand ready set from several devices with different dimensions. Depending on the specifics of the work, you may need a clamping device made from a corner of either 25 or 45.
The versatility of this modification lies in the fact that it is made of metal and, therefore, is characterized by sufficient strength. Unlike wooden clamps, here you can adjust the clamping force over a wide range, and work not only with wood, but also with other materials - glass, plastics, iron. This is what you often have to do in everyday life.
This design can be slightly modified. For example, when processing logs on a mini-sawmill (dissolving into boards, sawing), they must also be fixed. In this case, an improved modification of such a carpentry clamp is suitable. It is enough to take strip iron as its basis, and weld the same corners at the ends.
Varieties and modifications
Here are a few more types of carpentry clamps. All these clamps are easy to assemble with your own hands.
The question is: how advisable is it to use it as source material wood? There are arguments both for and against. But if a tree is chosen for the base of a carpentry clamp, then it must meet certain criteria.
- Species – only hard (pear, oak, walnut and similar). Otherwise, there is no need to talk about any pressing force. And the durability of the clamps made from “soft” wood raises some doubts.
- Humidity is minimal. Only after the material has been thoroughly dried can it be used for the manufacture of clamping fixture parts.
Good luck, reader, in making your own clamp. Don't be afraid to fantasize, and everything will work out for you!
With the help of such a vice it is very convenient and reliable to clamp small parts. And in order for our clamp to automatically open when unscrewing the nut, we can put a spring inside on the bolt, between the hinge flaps. It does not need to be very powerful in order to special labor it made it possible to clamp the necessary parts.
To work you need:
- small door hinge;
- bolt;
- wing nut;
- screwdriver;
- pliers.
Clamping with your own hands is quite simple. We take a door hinge, which should have 3 holes on each side. We connect both its edges and drill out one hole for a bolt, if you don’t have a small one that can fit the existing holes.
We insert the bolt into the hole prepared for it and tighten it on the other side with a wing nut. To ensure maximum clamping of objects, you can use a screwdriver and pliers.
The most basic clamp made from scrap materials is ready.
Now we can test it, for this we will take two materials that we need to glue together. We apply glue to their surfaces and apply them to each other. Then we open our clamp, insert the materials to be glued there and clamp it using a wing nut and bolt. Tighten with pliers and a screwdriver. Now we wait for the glue to harden.
Over the hundreds of years that people have been processing wood and making various products from it, it seems that the craftsmen have tried all possible tools and devices. Meanwhile, the creation of all kinds of devices continues to this day. It is likely that all this was already invented by someone in past years, but each master tries to make devices that are suitable for him.
Wooden picture or photo frames are compressed when gluing, probably hundreds in various ways. I myself can offhand offer at least a dozen options; here is one of the devices for this work from White Myers, Workbench website.
Tape ties are most often used for compression when gluing square or rectangular products. Such as chairs, stools, boxes and small tables. The use of this mechanism is convenient because you can compress the entire product at once by applying glue and assembling the legs, drawers and legs of the chair. But when gluing wooden frames, the tape tie in in the usual form doesn't fit. The fact is that during compression it is impossible to maintain angles exactly 90*, due to uneven contraction.
In order to use a tape tie when assembling the frames, you need to make four corner blocks. The blocks have an outer rounded edge, which helps to compress the product evenly and sawn internal corner, exactly under 90*. It is imperative to drill a hole at the starting point of the corner to prevent the frame from sticking to the blocks. More options for frame clamps in the article.
Small parts clamp
Every craftsman who works with wood uses for processing parts grinding discs And grinding drums. Sometimes you have to process a large number of small wooden parts. It can be difficult to hold them in your hand, and there is a risk of catching the drum with your hands.
To make a clamp you will need two wooden bars 150-200 mm long. and cross section 30/15 mm. . The bars can be made by sawing a round piece with a diameter of 30 mm into two parts. . Holes are drilled in the center of the bars for a clamping bolt with a wing and several washers.
During operation, the required gap between the platforms is immediately established, and compression is carried out using a wooden wedge in the tail section. The process is quick and simple: insert the part, push in the wedge and work. We take out the wedge, change the part and again clamp it with the wedge.