clamping wood

sidwell · Post by **sidwell** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:19 pm

hi i am wondering if someone can help. i am in the middle of building a vivarium and it is 3ftx2ftx2ft (lxwxh).
my question is that i am joining it using biscuit joints but whilst the biscuit is setting in place how do i clamp the wood with it being long pieces in a box shape. i cant use a normal g clamp and not sure what type i should be using and need advice. thanks

skiking · Post by **skiking** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:53 pm

You probably need something like this

Hitch · Post by **Hitch** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:08 pm

Sash clamps, bar clamps of f clamps spring to mind.

Over 3ft, id be inclined to put at least 3. You dont need massive amounts of pressure, more just to hold it in position. I have some of the cheap aluminium box section ones, i found them okay for jobs like this

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:16 pm

Would the following work?

Use rachet straps - as you would use to secure roof-rack loads for example - and wrap around the whole box structure, using some squares of wood inside on the corners (or cut some battens to make temp cross-members?) to keep the whole thing square?

Just thinking the 'proper' clamps are probably quite pricey and this may be a one-off job?

sidwell · Post by **sidwell** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:16 pm

so sash clamps then? can i get these from bnq? any ideas of prices? thanks

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:20 pm

Sash Clamp 48"

sidwell · Post by **sidwell** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:34 pm

the rachet straps idea sounds good if it works for now untill i can buy the right clamps. but yeh im going to be making a lot more of these so would need the best thing for the job.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:54 pm

yep ratchet straps are great for this job about £18 a set of 4 from machine mart

whatever you choose you will need idealy 3 clamps starting at around 25 to 100mm in from the edge [dependant on how flat your wood is]

you will also need to go for 2'6" to 3ft capacity clamps for 2ft as you need to allow 2" for clamping blocks or battons

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:05 pm

In fact, thinking about it ....

If you have some strong lengths of rope and some ordinary clamps, you could tie the rope to one side of a clamp, wrap it around the whoile box, tie up the other end to the other side of the clamp and then close up the clamps to tighten up the whole lot

possible temporary measure while you are sourcing what you ultimately want to get?

Hoovie · Post by **Hoovie** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:06 pm

just to add, if you don't have any straps, get some anyway!! they are useful for so many things, always worth having some to grab!

Tryanything · Post by **Tryanything** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:17 pm

Go with the straps, but protect corners with thick cardboard or timber

Cheaper method if it's just for a one off job, tie a rope around the box as tight as you can, put two small blocks of wood between the rope and box, and slide the blocks out towards the corners which will tighten the rope, use more blocks on other sides to make the rope tighter if needed

Teabag · Post by **Teabag** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:49 pm

could always fix battern to a solid board at one end, another at the other end, a little wider the dimension you need and use folding wedges
cheapest option if you already have lots of wood to use.
they deliver lots of force and wont damage your work

gib_goblin · Post by **gib_goblin** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:59 pm

I'd suggest one of these, frame clamps come in several lengths, and arn't expensive. A 10ft one cost me £5.