how many of what type of clamp is enough

[Larwyn]

The Vise Grip clamps are my favorites for both woodworking and welding. But now that Vise Grip is no longer American made, I'm not sure the quality will be the same. Could be worse, could even be better, but better is not too likely.

[afreegreek]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

[afreegreek]

my favorite clamps are #1- masking tape.. #2- heavy clear packaging tape... #3 monofilament tape.. #4 that 4 inch wide cling wrap stuff

[S. Heisley]

You can get by with less clamps if you can clamp a board down on top of what you want to clamp. That way, you only need half a dozen where you might have needed a dozen; or, 3 were you would have needed 6. So far, I've gotten by with about 22, give or take (a couple cheap ones broke); plus, I borrowed two pipe clamps. Here's an example, using boards with clamps:



(The waxed paper prevents sticking things together that aren't supposed to stick. Buy about 3 rolls of that!) Curves take the most clamps, for obvious reasons. Also, I saved my 1 gallon milk jugs (screw top) and refilled them with water. The jugs aren't enough by themselves but can be used as fill-ins for added weight in middle areas. If you're building a curved roof TTT or Teardrop, ratchet straps could be useful, too.

[Grid Runner Adventures]

ah ya they have rachet strap clamps at harborfreight with corner peices too. or i could just use my racheting tiedowns.

[Larwyn]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

Now that's amazing! So what type of sticky tape would you use to hold the plywood down on the curved ribs as in the picture I posted above? I know there are a few hundred dollars worth of clamps shown in that picture (what a waste!) so I would really like to know how that job, among many others are accomplished with a bit of sticky tape. Such as; what kind of tape would you use to hold a 20 foot length of 3"x3"x1/4" angle iron 10 feet off the ground to the side of four 6" I beams? It only needs to hold long enough to get the angle tack welded in place.

I suppose "use your noggin" means driving nails with your head?

[afreegreek]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

Now that's amazing! So what type of sticky tape would you use to hold the plywood down on the curved ribs as in the picture I posted above? I know there are a few hundred dollars worth of clamps shown in that picture (what a waste!) so I would really like to know how that job, among many others are accomplished with a bit of sticky tape. Such as; what kind of tape would you use to hold a 20 foot length of 3"x3"x1/4" angle iron 10 feet off the ground to the side of four 6" I beams? It only needs to hold long enough to get the angle tack welded in place.

I suppose "use your noggin" means driving nails with your head?

what does iron have to do with wood?? and to answer your question, I'd use monofilament tape and maybe a bit of seine twine. and yes I could do it with no clamps

[afreegreek]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

Such as; what kind of tape would you use to hold a 20 foot length of 3"x3"x1/4" angle iron 10 feet off the ground to the side of four 6" I beams? It only needs to hold long enough to get the angle tack welded in place.

I suppose "use your noggin" means driving nails with your head?

why not just tack weld a few pieces on the i beams for the angle iron to rest on??

[Kevin A]

[afreegreek]

how many clamps do you need to apply solid wood edges to plywood panels??









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[afreegreek]

BTW, people were building things a lot more sophisticated than a TD trailer long before you could pop down to HF and buy a few clamps... one should think about that a little bit before running to the store to solve every problem they come across...

[bve]

how many clamps do you need to apply solid wood edges to plywood panels??

Interesting, so how much tension is on the tape? It doesn't look like much just a snug wrap. I've seen it used to hold laminate and other thin pieces in place but never something as thick as that. What kind of glue is being used and what is it's set up time?

[StPatron]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

What type tape would you suggest I use when skinning my hatch?

[afreegreek]

PROBLEM.. attach by welding, a piece of angle iron to run of 6 vertical I beams at a height of 10 feet.


climb up ladder and mark first beam at 10 feet.

tack small piece of metal horizontally below mark

take small sample of angle iron and use as a spacer and attach a vertical piece of metal to the horizontal one to prevent the angle iron from slipping off the horizontal one.

wrap chalk line around piece of metal and walk the line to the last beam

climb up and mark at 10 feet

snap line and weld second piece of metal

continue along line of beams repeating the process at each mark

take the angle iron and place one end on the piece of metal welded to the first beam.

climb up the ladder with the other end and place it on the piece of metal on the last beam

weld angle iron and knock off the piece of metal

continue down the line.

drink beer you boss just handed you

[afreegreek]

clamps are to hold two pieces in place. if the fit is good masking tape will work and if you use your noggin you can build without any clamps.

What type tape would you suggest I use when skinning my hatch?

monofilament tape, the stuff with the strings in it.. that stuff is super strong and you can pull a lot of force with it.. you just have to get it to stick to the wood. clear 3" packing tape sticks well to wood, place it where you'r going to lay the mono tape. you need lots of surface contact area.. like a foot of length or more if you're going to pull really hard.. I use the roll to pull with or if I want to really honk on it I cut it and roll a bit of the end on a piece of 1" dowel to serve as a handle.

you could go all the way from one end to the other over the curve like a band clamp and from the panel the the frame along the edges. if you need battens just go from one side to the other over the battens.