“You can never have enough clamps,” or so the saying goes. I would amend this by saying that one cannot have enough clamps, or enough types of clamps. When building something innovative like furniture with dramatic curves, clamping or the impossibility of clamping with any appreciable pressure can become a frustrating showstopper, or at the very least require an inordinate amount of time to resolve. Clamping is interesting. The physics involved when clamping two pieces of wood together that are slippery with glue, even when they are dead flat, can become complex in a hurry. Any anomaly in the wood is exacerbated by the pressure and at an unexpected moment,“Whoa Nellie” the micro-sliding can begin, even when all looks stable, and you have moved on to other things, and the work is ruined. Clamping curved pieces magnifies all of these factors many times. The force of the clamp or clamps create a complex physics in the malleable and flexible wood and unpredictable effects are often produced which must be solved in seconds to avoid disassembly, cleaning off ALL of the setting glue, and beginning again. Cauls, or shaped pieces of wood that offer a flat surface to the clamps and matches the furnitures curves work well enough, but even using cauls, the physics remain daunting, and the creation of as many immovable objects as possible to constrain the flexing, sliding wood is the only solution. One trick I have found that works well is the use of dead truck batteries. Instead of returning the core for a mere nine bucks, I keep the very heavy blocks with their strong straps and utilize them as “immovables”. By placing them strategically they can save a lot of heartache. For instance, I can use straight sticks or planks of wood to apply pressure where I need it while the glue sets with only the weight of the battery against the sticks working as a clamp. One battery is all thats needed for most glue joints to be tight, if they are adequately precise; use a second battery as needed. I just create the frame, lay the battery against it and tap the battery with a deadblow hammer until everything comes together. I am currently waiting for just such a setup to dry so I can move on with the curved sided dresser/sideboard I am working on currently. Without this method, this particular clamping would have been nearly impossible; nailing not being an option in this case. The batteries also work well to keep expensive wood, or plywood from warping with weather changes, for straightening wood that has already warped (takes time) and for adding more weight to tricky granite and tile applications.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 14:33:28 +0000
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