Types Of Wood Clamps

No woodworker has ever complained about having too many clamps. Though more is definitely better, the real trick is having the right ones on hand, and knowing how to use them properly. And while some clamps are highly versatile, no single clamp can do it all. Depending on variables such as desired clamping pressure, joint angle, and workpiece size, you’ll want to pick a clamp that best gets the job accomplished. Here are the most popular types of clamps and the situations where they work best. Later on, we’ll share five handy tips for getting the most from your clamps.

Trigger-activated bar clamp
A trigger-activated bar clamp is the answer to those situations where you wish you had three hands to position and clamp workpieces.
A trigger-activated bar clamp is the answer to those situations where you wish you had three hands to position and clamp workpieces.

This amazing go-to clamp can be tightened with one hand, freeing up your other hand to hold the workpiece(s) in place. Bar length ranges from 6″ to 50″. No shop should be without at least a few of these in the 12″ length.

Parallel-jaw clamp
Parallel-jaw clamps features jaws fixed at 90° to the clamp bar to help ensure square and flat glue-ups.
Parallel-jaw clamps features jaws fixed at 90° to the clamp bar to help ensure square and flat glue-ups.

Another must-have clamp that comes in many lengths to work well with large glue-ups. Their jaws remain fixed at 90° to the bar and parallel to each other to help ensure square assemblies. With strong user grip strength, the clamps can provide as much as 1,000 pounds of pressure.

Pipe clamp
Pipe clamps are a low-cost option for clamping large assemblies.
Pipe clamps are a low-cost option for clamping large assemblies.

Like the parallel-jaw clamp, this workhorse helps you tackle large glue-ups such as doors and tabletops. You buy the jaws and pair them with ¾” black pipe of any length. (Some jaws work with ½” pipe; just know that smaller-diameter pipe will bend easier, especially over long lengths.) You can join two pipes with a coupler to make especially long clamps.

C-Clamp or carriage clamp
C-clamps work great for laminating narrow stock.
C-clamps work great for laminating narrow stock.

These work especially well on narrower workpieces where you need to apply lots of pressure at many points, such as when gluing curved laminations around a template or to a project. Boat builders rely on them for attaching thin laminations, such as gunwhales, to curved hulls on canoes and other vessels.

Corner clamp
Corner clamps practically guarantee perfectly square corners.
Corner clamps practically guarantee perfectly square corners.

Look to these when clamping together mitered pieces such as the sides of a picture frame. The jaws, set at 90°, ensure square corners. Versions like the one shown make easy work of clamping drawer corners, shelving joints, and other applications where two parts meet at 90°.

Strap clamp
With a strap clamp you can simultaneously clamp up all the joints of a mitered frame.
With a strap clamp you can simultaneously clamp up all the joints of a mitered frame.

Here’s another great clamp for mitered pieces such as the sides of a picture frame. While it provides less pressure than a corner clamp, it can be used on odd-shaped pieces (even round) in addition to projects with 90° joints. For frames with more than four sides, simply use it without the plastic corners shown in the photo.

Wood screw clamp
The jaws of woodscrew clamps can be angled in relationship to each other to finesse the application of pressure on out-of-parallel surfaces.
The jaws of woodscrew clamps can be angled in relationship to each other to finesse the application of pressure on out-of-parallel surfaces.

These have been around for centuries and still find use today because of their unique advantages. Namely, you can twist their two threaded screws independently to angle the jaws for less-than-parallel surfaces, or to apply extra pressure at the jaw tips. Another plus: The wood jaws won’t mar hardwood surfaces.

Spring clamp
Apply a spring clamp with one squeeze of its handles.

For quick and easy operation you can’t beat these clamps. They go on as fast as clothespins wherever light pressure suffices.

We are one of the saddle clamp manufacturer, welcome to your come and purchase!