13 Ways Master Woodworkers Use Wood Clamps

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Sandwich Sheet Metal Sawing

Ever gouged up your hand while plowing through sheet metal with a pair of snips? Or been dissatisfied with an uneven, crinkled edge? Next time, try this sacrificial plywood sandwich technique. You will say goodbye to wavy edges and undeleted expletives and cut a dead-straight line every time.

Here’s how: Clamp the metal between pieces of 1/2-in. or 3/4-in. scrap plywood and clamp on a straightedge to guide a circular saw. Now just saw through the sandwich using a carbide blade. This tip is for cutting thin sheet metal only, not thicker plate steel.

P.S. This sandwich technique also produces great results when you are drilling holes through sheet metal.

7/13

Notched-Jaw Hand-Screw Vise

Hand screws are ideal wood clamps for holding cylindrical workpieces if you saw notches in the opposing jaws with your handsaw (one small notch for thin pipe or dowels and a second, larger one for big stuff). Now pieces won’t slip or revolve as you carve, sand or saw. And don’t worry; your notched hand screw will still work fine for regular clamping jobs.

8/13

Stretchy Pipe Clamps

Moaning again that your pipe clamps are not long enough to assemble your new “monsterpiece”? Pipe down and quit whining! A few extra 2- and 4-foot pipe segments plus a handful of pipe couplings are all you need for the extra-long or extra-wide job. Screw couplings and extra pipes to those too-short pipes to create the needed lengths. If the clamps are under the wood, add spacers slightly higher than the couplings perpendicular to the pipes. Once you are finished, unscrew and store the extra pipes with couplings and you will be ready for the next jumbo project that comes down the pipeline.