Looking for clamps?

[cordes56]

I found these on Ebay and wondered if anyone has purchased them from this seller. They also have 4" clamps. See link, just looking for feedback. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0099977896

[doug hodder]

That's a good common size. I've got like 35-40 of them. I pick them up for 1$ at Home Depot and also have some "pony" ones. There is a big difference between the HD and the Pony ones. I'm sure these would be fine for short term use, assuming that the 2" is indeed the jaw opening and not the overall length of the clamp. I would imagine that at 10$ for 60 of them, they may have a very short life span, (only .17 ea) I could be wrong however. Doug

[Gaston]

one question I'd ask is "are these the overall size 2" mini clamps, or do these clamps have 2" openings.
I have some 2"overall size clamps and they aren"t good for much but potato chip bag clamps

[cordes56]

Doug thanks for the feedback...I emailed the seller to send a complete measurement ie: 2" jaw, 6" length to see what they are. Once I find out I'll post the sizes.

[cordes56]

The clamps are only 2" overall length.....

[doug hodder]

Well, if you have (like Gaston said) about 60 bags of half eaten chips, you're set! check out Harbor Freight or Home Depot. When I go in HD and am getting a bunch of stuff, I usually pick up a few. No such thing as too many clamps, and a buck a piece isn't bad. Regardless, you are probably going to want to have a number of them around and a few here and there seems to spread out the $$ damage. I haven't had much luck with the plastic ones. They tend to lose their feet. Sorry it wasn't the deal you thought. Doug

[satch]

I've bought 6"Pony clamps and Bessy. They can be quite expensive when you need ALOT of them. If you have a Harbor Freight near you, wait til they have a sale and you can pick up some bar clamps for dirt cheap. Quality may not as good, but worth the price. I think out of 15 or so I bought, only one didn't hold well

[Wimperdink]

Cheap, Quick, and Dirty clamps..... They actually work wonderfully. Obviously not for every situation, but work great for most anything a hand held clamp will work for. makem 3/4" wide and you get 16 clamps out of 1' of pvc pipe. make a few test pieces... the wider you make them, the stronger the spring strength.

[Duane King]

I've never seen clamps made from PVC pipe. Very clever. I'll have to use that tip someday. . .

[Arne]

funny thing about the boat. When I was really young, we built 3 boats out of 4x8 sheets of masonite on the flat bottom. the sides were about 10-12 inches high, with a square cut out of the top piece to sit in. The engine was right there so we used the tiller to steer and throttle. The engine mount was cut in from the back about 10 inches, so there was a little pontoon on each side at the back to help with flotation....

I was thinking about building one and doing it right, with good ply and fiberglass (the Masonite would leak around the edges)..... put a little seat in them, some real controls, etc.

They would go around 25-30 mph with a 10 h.p. engine. The boats weighed about 45-50 pounds, I'd guess...... just a little homemade box, but lots of fun. Today, it would probably scare the hell out of me.

[Dark Horse]

Arne,

That brings back a few memories, We used to do the same basic thing, used plywood, as the only masonite we knew of was pegboard. An old motorcycle engine, 250CCs IIRC with the chain run to the propshaft.
Leaked like a sieve if we ever stopped long enough to do any fishing. it was fun though.

[cuyeda]

Harbor Freight 2" Spring Clamps: .99 cents each. On sale now. I could not find the skew number in the catalog web search. I bought an extra 12 today. If found the ad in the printed flyers.