Pipe clamps aren’t the optimal clamp to use for glue-ups, but they are cheap. You can usually buy three or more pipe clamps for the price of one parallel jaw clamp. Plus, they’re very versatile — you’re only limited by the length of threaded black pipe you have on hand. Some of their downsides are the jaws don’t always stay parallel and the workpiece can buckle if you’re not careful to support both faces.
Pony’s double pipe design attempts to remedy these shortcomings by using two pipes instead of one. The clamps straddle the glued panel, keeping it flat. The pipes are spaced wide enough apart to accommodate stock up to 3″ thick.
The hardware for one double pipe clamp retails for $36, pretty much eliminating the advantage of being more inexpensive than a good parallel jaw clamp. So whether you’re better off with one of these double pipe clamps or a parallel jaw clamp will probably depend on your particular circumstances.
Double Pipe Clamp [Adjustable Clamp Company]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
9 Responses to Two Pipes Are Better Than One
Leave a Reply
TM on Flickr
![RICH-CON No. 2 [shows Logo on side of plane]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/7230831382_240f44f2f4_s.jpg)
Recent Comments
{ Undeniably imagine that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be at the internet the simplest factor to consider of. I say to you,... } – May 22, 11:55 PM
{ Wow the third design is cool. In fact all of them are cool
. Kinda helped me to generate some ideas. } – May 22, 11:40 PM{ What did you do about the glass surfaces on the limbs? Did you sand and refinish them as well, and if so, what did you... } – May 22, 9:48 PM
{ The DP350 is discontinued and some people are saying it has a lot of breakdowns. What have you experienced since 2010 when you did this... } – May 22, 12:04 PM
{ Fool me twice, shame on me! Do not buy into any battery fix from Ryobi or some tool review monger. Remove the dead batteries from... } – May 22, 10:52 AM
$36 plus the cost of pipes? I would definitely opt for parallel jaw clamps instead.
That’s really slick, but I already have about 20 of the older single pipe style. I’d buy those if I was just starting out. In what country are those clamps made?
Steve, those clamps are made right here in the ‘ole USA, Chicago to be exact…only about a mile away from my house!
Similar to the concept of the glue press that we have in the shop – I don’t know which preceded which in introduction to the market – but both have been around a long time. Glue presses have the advantage of opening up allowing the panel to be easily positioned. One style is the Plano – which I think is fairly new:
http://www.advmachinery.com/p-24-vertical-glue-press.aspx
Another solution for panel glue-up is the Frontline clamp – that I swa at a trade show – a while back – but don’t know that they evr got introducd here:
http://www.frontlineengineering.com.au/frontlineclamps.htm
Seems to me if two rods are used to avoid flex, there’s no need to be using heavy pipes. Could be using flat bar instead, saving a little weight and space.
Veritas also offers one alternative:
http://www.veritastools.com/Products/Page.aspx?p=136
these could be used to make a nice wide-capacity bench vise though.
Looks to me like I would just have to use twice as much wax paper to keep from staining my workpiece on BOTH sides.
I prefer bar clamps, however the Frontline clamp that Fred posted looks pretty awesome.