Thread: Pipe or Sash clamps

I had the same trouble with a couple of pipe clamps slipping on the pipe. I took the clamp apart by carefully punching out the pin and then filing the notches on the lever until they had a sharp angle. I used a triangular file. Seemed to fix them. Also when setting them up for a job I give the top of the lever a tap with the hammer and this helps them bite into the pipe. Hope this helps.
Supa-Cheap Auto sell the clutch type for $12-95. I have bought 4 and am about to give them a work out on a bookcase.

Whats the rough cost per metre for the 3/4" plumbing pipe?

Can't say I've seen the pipe clamp sets at Supercheap Auto before... I'll look a little harder next visit

For those interested, cost of freight for 4 bessey K body clamps quoted as follows:

*Surface Mail 8-10 Weeks $54.04
*Air Mail 2-4 Weeks $152.39
*UPS Express 5-6 Days to Major Centers $118.10

Cost of 2 * 40" and 2 * 24" clamps $142, if using surface freight it works out to just over $300 AUD, or about half price...

Re threads
When I refered to threaded pipe I meant pipe threaded so you could join the lengths together, rather than meaning the thread on the clamp ....... just clearing up.

real sash clamps are definatley better. but regarding the pipe clamps i have purchased many over the years from various places. the red ones that slip if you take a good look they have shaped the teeth in the wrong direction to hold onto thr pipe. over the past year or so i have found some at super cheap auto parts, which have a different grip on the pipe, they use three plates which go around the pipe inside the red cast housing, and i have not had a problem with them. with the ones that do slip if i have to use them i put a set of vice grips behind the tail end. With regard to cheaper sash clamps i have a few and i found the ones with the really course thread to be better, i have a few with fine tread which tend to bind under pressure. As far as new sash clamps go record i cannot fault well exept for the price. if you can find some realy old ones that normally only need the glue cleaned off, these are the go. The pipe clamp set from supercheap is only around $13.00 and they work...

I've got a couple of good sash clamps, quite a few el cheapo sash clamps and 2 good quality pipe clamps.

Even the el cheapo sash clamps are better to use than good quality pipe clamps as they are far more rigid.

But the pipe clamps offer the versatility of being able to lengthen them by just changing the pipe. I generally only glue up with sash clamps. I use my 2 1/.2 metre long pipe clamps diagonally across a carcase to square it up while fitting off. I've never seen sash clamps that long.

BTW black pipe is easy to get from steel merchants and the cauls of the pipe clamps do grip better than galv pipe but I prefer galv as it doesn't rust.

If pipe clamps are worn they can slip on the pipe there are 2 solutions.
1. Sharpen the teeth with a file or grinder.
This even works on some of the cheap ones as the teeth arent a good shape to start with.
2. Drill a hole in the pipe behind the clamp and put a bolt through the hole to stop the clamp slipping

the Bunnies cattledog we got yesterday (for the opening of the Dural store) has a pair of 1.2m sash cramps (ie not pipe ones) for $twenty-something the pair.

As an aside, I fitted some small, sharpened bolts to the outer corners of each face of one of my pipe cramps to grip logs lengthways so I could cut them down with the chain saw to make lathe blanks - works well.

cheers

Colin

Had to go to Bunnies today. 3/4 Gal pipe is about $20-00 for 1200mm length - quite expensive to make clamps. They had 1200 mm sash clamps for about $30-00 a pair so they are far cheaper than pipe clamps unless you can pick up some second hand pipe for nothing as I did and then cut into various lengths - 600mm to about 1300mm and borrowed thread cutter and cut threads on each end. That way I can join them for varying lengths by using a 3/4 straight union at $2-00 each. Mitre 10 have 1200mm clamps in Fathers Day dogalogue for $14-95 each

Once I needed a lot of clamps to build a free standing circular stair
(65) and found the best source of cheap clamps to be the second hand tool market in Flemington or Trash and Tresure in Prestons.

They usually have all sorts of clamps including sash clamps made in India or Pakistan, a bit rustic finish but strong, and if you are lucky some real old ones made in the US or Australia that are the best.

Supercheap Auto has some nice Indian made sash clamps 1.5m long for $29 and about half that lenght for $10.
They do look real decent and I don't think you get them for that money not even at the pawn broker.

I went down to Bunnies today and bought a set of the 1200mm sash clamps they have in their current catalogue for $29.95 and am using them at the moment.
They look to be quite sturdy and are doing the job that I want them to do.
Even though they are 'cheapies' they appear to be well worth it.

I know this is an old thread but info is info.
I bought some Pony clamps from Gasweld for $33 each and went to Dorvik in Port Macquarie and bought 12 metres of 3/8" gal pipe for a little over $30 and they threaded the ends for about $15. Don't bother going to a plumbing supplier for the threaded pipes because it will cost a lot more. One of the plumbing supply shops told me that they get the pipe cut and threaded at Dorvik anyway. Each completed clamp ended up costing a little under $40, which is very good value when you consider that Ponys are a US made clamp and are known to be practically indestructable. They are heavy but what-the-hell, if you need 2-3 metre long clamps they have to be fairly rigid.
Carefull how you use them though, be gentle. They apply a lot of pressure with very little effort and not a lot of feedback. (like a wishbone car jack)

I didn't like using the heavy galvanised water pipe that the plumbers sell so I went to a fencing place and got some of their lighter gauge pipe. It is excellent quality and is soft enough that the pipe clamps can really bite into it. But the biggest advantage is that it is lots lighter than galvanised water pipe.

If you should want some really heavy walled pipe then ask for Ammonia pipe. This is a very strong pipe and is used in the refrigeration industry.

I bought a couple of Quick Grip PowerPress clamps and they are excellent. They are fairly expensive, as are all the quick Grip clamps, about $50 a set from memory. I will get more of these when I can afford to.

PS the pipe for the Quick grip stuff doesn't need to be threaded.