# Clamps for gluing cutting boards



## old novice (Apr 27, 2021)

Stepping up and moving on from pine. I am making some cutting boards and I noticed that everyone uses parallel clamps when gluing the cutting boards together. I was wondering if I need to purchase these clamps or can I get away with my trigger clamps? My trigger clamps are Irwin brand with a 300 lb rating. If i need to purchase parallel clamps, by all means I will to acheive the best glue ups. Are all parallel clamps equal? I know that not all trigger clamps are. As expensive as these are, can I get away with discount store ones or should I stick with name brand?


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I use pipe clamps, have for years and probably 90 cutting boards. They work great.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

difalkner said:


> I use pipe clamps, have for years and probably 90 cutting boards. They work great.


X2.......

Don't get caught in "Monkey see, monkey do"... Many woodworkers start out buying everything and have the best yard sales...


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## Kudzu (Dec 23, 2008)

I have a diverse collection of clamps and not a single high dollar parallel clamp in the bunch. I can buy two, three or more of other style clamps for the price of a one of the high dollar ones. If that is what you want and like by all means buy them. I just don't get it.

If you shop, you can find bargains on clamps. I am not looking much now as I have more than I use. Watch EBay, Craigslist, FB Market place. Stores like Big Lots and any Surplus stores you can stumble on clamps. I even bought some a Church silent auction fund raiser. 

I simply never passed up a good deal on good quality clamps and over a few years I have built up a good selection.

But, your money, not mine to tell you what to do.

I have clamps scattered around the shop but this is bulk of them. One of my goals for my new shop is a bigger wall space to store ALL my clamps in one place.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Good name brand clamps are like tools, they will bring buyers when your selling. 

Bessey clamps have there place..


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

x3 with @difalkner and @Rebelwork. My pipe clamps are 40 years old. I learned to clamp the pipe clamps alternating under/over.

Sometimes I also add clamping them between thick sticks after the pipe clamps. The sticks run opposite the grain as clamping cauls to keep them flat, and are not necessary most times.

Edit: 
In a previous version of this post, I had not noticed that Rebelwork's pipe clamps _are_ alternating under/over. He does them the same and I didn't see the lower ones.


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## Dave McCann (Jun 21, 2020)

Tool Agnostic said:


> Unlike the photo Rebelwork posted, I learned to clamp the pipe clamps alternating under/over.


Looks like Rebelwork has 4 clamps on the top side and at least 3 clamps on the bottom side. Can you post a photo showing how you alternate yours differently?


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I place them under and over, as well. And I recently added to my clamp collection, so most of the clamps below are the newer ones -


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

They don't always have to ge alternated. Beam and pipe clamps exert so much pressure you have to. Not all clamps have to be alternated. Just depends if it's needed...
















And eventually will turn into this..


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Dave McCann said:


> Looks like Rebelwork has 4 clamps on the top side and at least 3 clamps on the bottom side. Can you post a photo showing how you alternate yours differently?


I don't have a photo of any of mine, but there are many examples below your post. I edited my post above. I did not see the "under" pipe clamps in @Rebelwork's photo. My apologies.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

It's all good. It's basic clamping knowledge..


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## old novice (Apr 27, 2021)

Thank you everyone for putting me at ease. I dont have money to throw away, but I understand the value of a good quality tool. (Nothing like having to drive 90 miles to the nearest home improvement store to replace a cheap tool that failed in the middle of a renovation project). Im happy to see that others are using pipe clamps, as that is what I was planning on using as well as my trigger clamps. A shout out to Kudzu for mentioning yard sales and other seller venues. I'll have to start looking at those as I totally forgot about that being a great way to find tools at a decent price. I just want to repeat that I wanted the right tool for the job. I am grateful for all of you for putting my mind at ease that I didn't need an expensive tool for my project!


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

If I'm going to buy anymore clamps they'll be Universal clamps from Debuque Iowa.. Last time I bought them was from Harry Epstein >> Dubuque Clamp They're about the lowest price among the sellers I've found. I have 2 42"ers.. I think they're 42..Might be longer..
They're great clamps for ease of use..Nice and easy to turn, very smooth and they don't twist like some aluminum clamps. The aluminum rails are probably 3-4 times as thick as say, harbor freight and MUCH easier to adjust.. So far they've remained parallel as any I've used..


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

allpurpose said:


> If I'm going to buy anymore clamps they'll be Universal clamps from Debuque Iowa.. Last time I bought them was from Harry Epstein >> Dubuque Clamp They're about the lowest price among the sellers I've found. I have 2 42"ers.. I think they're 42..Might be longer..
> They're great clamps for ease of use..Nice and easy to turn, very smooth and they don't twist like some aluminum clamps. The aluminum rails are probably 3-4 times as thick as say, harbor freight and MUCH easier to adjust.. So far they've remained parallel as any I've used..


I guess somebody has to like them I sure dont. A light to medium clamp...

Now the cam clamps on the website, that's a different story


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

old novice said:


> Thank you everyone for putting me at ease. [...] A shout out to Kudzu for mentioning yard sales and other seller venues. I'll have to start looking at those as I totally forgot about that being a great way to find tools at a decent price. I just want to repeat that I wanted the right tool for the job. I am grateful for all of you for putting my mind at ease that I didn't need an expensive tool for my project!


Here are some other great sources for used tools that have worked for me:

The Best: 
The local woodworking club, a great source for used tools. Members tend to be reasonable about prices and honest about problems and issues. After all, they don't want a bad reputation in the club.

Also: 

Swap Meets. You gotta know what your looking at, how much it should really cost, and how to negotiate a fair price. Sellers like to fish for overeager customers sometimes.

Craigslist, Offer-Up, Facebook local sales:
I don't belong to Facebook, but I here that OfferUp and Facebook have supplanted Craigslist for occasional bargains. I haven't seen anything worthwhile on Craigslist for a while.

Rarely any good, but another option:
The bulletin boards at lumberyards and woodworking stores.


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## seminole77 (Mar 23, 2021)

old novice said:


> Stepping up and moving on from pine. I am making some cutting boards and I noticed that everyone uses parallel clamps when gluing the cutting boards together. I was wondering if I need to purchase these clamps or can I get away with my trigger clamps? My trigger clamps are Irwin brand with a 300 lb rating. If i need to purchase parallel clamps, by all means I will to acheive the best glue ups. Are all parallel clamps equal? I know that not all trigger clamps are. As expensive as these are, can I get away with discount store ones or should I stick with name brand?


I think you will enjoy the pipe clamps ability to minimize or eliminate twist. You can use trigger clamps and perpendicular cauls to keep the boards flat but you'll need a bucket load of em.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Rebelwork said:


> I guess somebody has to like them I sure dont. A light to medium clamp...
> 
> Now the cam clamps on the website, that's a different story


To each their own I suppose. I love em..Light weight and very easy to tighten.. I do want to get (or make) some cam clamps when time (and/or money) permits..


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

allpurpose said:


> To each their own I suppose. I love em..Light weight and very easy to tighten.. I do want to get (or make) some cam clamps when time (and/or money) permits..


My problem is even though it's a hobby now, it will always be how I made my living. Hard for me to get past that. So I cant see the value on them except to be different..
The cam clamps are good for laminate and pattern work.

I cut out enough parts to make as 100 cam clamps but lost interest and only made a few. Threw all the parts away..


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## fareastern (Sep 19, 2014)

You can always make your own for a specific job by screwing a block to a thick plywood offcut and adding blocks opposite to allow wedges to apply a force.Takes a few minutes and saves money or a trip to the hardware store.


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Don't forget this essential clamp, every wood worker needs at least one.



















A mere $4,500 for this gently used one. I guess the idea is you can glue up 6 table tops at once?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

My buddy has one. It's for making doors and he is a custom door maker. However, he doesn't use it much, if all all anymore. He epoxies all the laminations on a 5 ft X 10 ft cast iron table. It makes a huge mess, but it scrapes off after it hardens.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

We had a couple of large ones at at Jakobe. We used them for 8/4 tops for restaurants. Load that day, pull in the morning. Pretty much a full time job loading and unloading. Hydraulic....

We bought a special brush on chemical for glue. We had a large glue box


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## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

old novice said:


> Stepping up and moving on from pine. I am making some cutting boards and I noticed that everyone uses parallel clamps when gluing the cutting boards together. I was wondering if I need to purchase these clamps or can I get away with my trigger clamps? My trigger clamps are Irwin brand with a 300 lb rating. If i need to purchase parallel clamps, by all means I will to acheive the best glue ups. Are all parallel clamps equal? I know that not all trigger clamps are. As expensive as these are, can I get away with discount store ones or should I stick with name brand?


Parallel clamps are pricey. Although nice I have never had the need for them. Make yourself a couple sets of cauls. I am sure there are many ways to make them, I always use hardwood. The lengths can vary depending on what you tend to glue up. I make mine about 1-1/2" wide by 2-1/2" tall. After making sure they are dead flat, with a hand plane , I make a few passes on the outside of each side of the face. This will insure slightly greater clamping pressure towards the center. You do not need to take much off. The idea is when clamped even pressure is applied across the entire face. I mark with arrows the face and butchers wax the heck out of it to prevent accidental glue up. When gluing surfaces you want flat, such as panels or a cutting board, place a caul above and below the panel and apply moderate clamping pressure, not to much. Do this several times across the panel. For a 2' cutting board you would want 2-3 sets of cauls. With pipe, or bar clamps clamp the cutting board every few inches as you normally would. Tighten cauls, tighten clamps, let dry. You should come out with a dead flat panel every time.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

B Coll said:


> [...] After making sure they are dead flat, with a hand plane , I make a few passes on the outside of each side of the face. [...]


I am curious, following along, and trying to understand your statement above. 

Do you mean that looking down from the top where the clamp presses, the caul is flat on the bottom, but has a slight "parenthesis" shape like this -> ( ) 
... or ... 
Do you mean that the bottom of the caul that presses against the panel is more like a slight boat bottom?

Would posting a photo of your caul design help?


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## BigCountry79 (Jun 2, 2021)

Tool Agnostic said:


> I am curious, following along, and trying to understand your statement above.
> 
> Do you mean that looking down from the top where the clamp presses, the caul is flat on the bottom, but has a slight "parenthesis" shape like this -> ( )
> ... or ...
> ...


Some folks like adding a slight curve to their cauls so the caul straightens out as pressure is applied.

It's like parenthesis that are facing the wrong way. So when the cauls face each other untensioned they look like
)(

And when you apply pressure they look like this:
||


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## BigCountry79 (Jun 2, 2021)

BigCountry79 said:


> Some folks like adding a slight curve to their cauls so the caul straightens out as pressure is applied.
> 
> It's like parenthesis that are facing the wrong way. So when the cauls face each other untensioned they look like
> )(
> ...


And I think this is a good idea in theory, but it is hard to get the right camber, thickness of the caul, and clamping pressure to make the pressure truly even. When I've tried, the pressure was never even along the length...

YMMV, and others probably have this technique mastered


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Only way this can happen is if the clamp isn't fully pressed against the bottom. If I raise to keep glue from sticking it can bow...


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

BigCountry79 said:


> Some folks like adding a slight curve to their cauls so the caul straightens out as pressure is applied.
> 
> It's like parenthesis that are facing the wrong way. So when the cauls face each other untensioned they look like
> )(
> ...


Thanks. That would be my "boat bottom" analogy. That's what I have seen before, and we'll see if matches what @B Coll meant. Mine are straight, improvised from whatever lumber is around at the time. I don't have space to keep dedicated, special clamping cauls available for when needed.


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## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

Tool Agnostic said:


> I am curious, following along, and trying to understand your statement above.
> 
> Do you mean that looking down from the top where the clamp presses, the caul is flat on the bottom, but has a slight "parenthesis" shape like this -> ( )
> ... or ...
> ...


If the II is the workpiece, the cauls (exaggerated) should look like this )II(. Only a very slight amount. The center of the caul should contact the wood first. Once the clamps are applied to the outside, even pressure would be exerted across the surface. I use these for every panel size, including table tops. Usually creates perfect alignment. Every now and then you might need the slight tap of a mallet, but that is all.


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