Car-Jack Bar Clamps
H
ERE’S A WAY TO MAKElow-tech wooden bar clamps for gluing
up panels, tabletops, and the like. The inexpensive clamps, which
utilize salvaged scissors-style auto jacks for the main component, adjust
to any thickness of stock and automatically align the stock being
glued. Also, the parts are bolted instead of glued together, so you can
easily replace any damaged component.
To build the clamps, select 1-in. or thicker dense hardwood, and
make the various parts as shown in the sketch above. To use the
clamps, first bolt the moveable end blocks into the appropriate hole
that correlates to the size panel you’re gluing up. Then place the work
on the lower tier of clamps and apply glue to the edges. Next, slide on
the upper parts of the clamps and hand-tighten the nuts to align the
boards being glued up. Last of all, insert and tighten the car jacks to
put edge pressure on the glued lumber.
—KOJIKATSURAGI,Kumamoto, Japan
CHAPTER NINEAuto jackMovable
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