Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - The $6M clamp HF's cheapie

We can rebuild it, We have the technology, We can make it better than it was before, better, stronger.....

Here is a simple fix for those junky plastic orange and black ratchet clamps from Harbor Freight. The biggest problem with them is the nibs inside the plastic housing give out and no longer hold the trigger in place. By drilling through the housing and replacing them with a bolt or screw the clamp can be made to work again, and work better. It is still a light duty clamp, but that is often all that is needed.
The small 4 inch clamps also often benefit from this treatment. If the head breaks off they can be resurrected as a small jack for leveling cracks or gluing braces. One nice thing about this style of clamp is that the head can be reversed and it can be used as a light duty spreader.

Author:	Clay S. [ Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:09 pm ]
Post subject:	The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
We can rebuild it, We have the technology, We can make it better than it was before, better, stronger..... Here is a simple fix for those junky plastic orange and black ratchet clamps from Harbor Freight. The biggest problem with them is the nibs inside the plastic housing give out and no longer hold the trigger in place. By drilling through the housing and replacing them with a bolt or screw the clamp can be made to work again, and work better. It is still a light duty clamp, but that is often all that is needed. The small 4 inch clamps also often benefit from this treatment. If the head breaks off they can be resurrected as a small jack for leveling cracks or gluing braces. One nice thing about this style of clamp is that the head can be reversed and it can be used as a light duty spreader.

Author:	Marcus [ Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
You are like a day late. I just threw away a bunch of these...

Author:	Clay S. [ Thu Jun 27, 2019 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
Marcus, are you sure you aren't a day early?

Author:	Clay S. [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:35 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
Marcus, If you still have a few of them this thread might still come in handy - the "unbroken" ones don't always stay that way.

Author:	banjopicks [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:44 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
Clay S. wrote: We can rebuild it, We have the technology, We can make it better than it was before, better, stronger..... Here is a simple fix for those junky plastic orange and black ratchet clamps from Harbor Freight. The biggest problem with them is the nibs inside the plastic housing give out and no longer hold the trigger in place. By drilling through the housing and replacing them with a bolt or screw the clamp can be made to work again, and work better. It is still a light duty clamp, but that is often all that is needed. The small 4 inch clamps also often benefit from this treatment. If the head breaks off they can be resurrected as a small jack for leveling cracks or gluing braces. One nice thing about this style of clamp is that the head can be reversed and it can be used as a light duty spreader. The bars would have made great cam clamps. I'm making some now with wooden bars but i would have used those if I had them.

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The $6M clamp HF's cheapie http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=52098	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Bryan Bear [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
When the tips break of of mine, I put another clamping end in its place, then I can squeeze or spread from either end The truth is that I started out with several of these type of clamps but now only have a couple frankenclamps that still function at all. I rarely use them but sometimes they com in handy. Your method for fixing them is great but we should all probably avoid buying them.

Author:	Marcus [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:10 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
Clay S. wrote: Marcus, are you sure you aren't a day early? lol, you got me!

Author:	Clay S. [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
Irwin makes a decent quality ratchet clamp for 10 times the price of what I paid ($2 on sale) for these (larger 12 inch). Irwin also makes the smaller ones, but again for significantly more money. I have one Irwin clamp someone gifted me. It is a much higher quality clamp. Where a light duty one handed clamp is nice to use they work o.k.. It is that one extra squeeze we apply that breaks them. I'm guessing they can apply about as much force as a cam clamp, but we try to apply as much force as an F body clamp can apply. I bought a dozen and would buy another dozen if I could find them for $2 apiece.

Author:	Bryan Bear [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
"It is that one extra squeeze we apply that breaks them. I'm guessing they can apply about as much force as a cam clamp, but we try to apply as much force as an F body clamp can apply." This certainly applies to me. I tend to clam everything pretty hard. I have a bunch of the HF Fbody clamps which can be had cheaply when on sale. I guess I don't really find myself wishing I had a one handed clamp. Now that I said that, I'll need one tomorrow I think I'm just bitter about these clamps because every time one has broken on me it was in the middle of a glue up and I had to scramble to find another way to complete the task.

Author:	doncaparker [ Fri Jun 28, 2019 1:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The $6M clamp HF's cheapie
The Jorgensen EZ Hold plastic ratchet clamps work really well without modification. If you can find them at a good price, I recommend them.

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