Thread: F Clamp handles where to purchase

Find a local woodturner. I hven't seen handles available commercially.

I'd turn them for you but Aussie post's charges would make it ridiculously expensive.

Do bicycle hand grips have a big enough void in the middle? Heat in hot water and stretch?
I suppose that snow ski pole grips are not particularly common, out your way.

What's snow? as said above you won't find anything ready made, you may be able to adapt such things as file handles
File - Krugers since 1911

I found a nice big powerful clamp without a handle, a friend welded a bit of steel dowel at 90 degrees to the screw , works very well

I'd also recommend finding a friendly wood-turner.

Personally I've gone to the extreme of casting my own from epoxy, using a mould made from a screw-driver handle... but I don't recommend that. Too much fuss for little reward. It's not like my clamps were special in any way except that I had them, I needed to use them and that was the first solution I found all the resources to accomplish.

I've also seen many, many clamp handles made from either short lengths o' metal tubing (often old galv water pipe) or PVC electrical conduit; normally simply epoxied or bondo'd onto the clamp tang.

Whereabouts in Outback QLD? I have my Dad's old Dawn & Paulcall F clamps mostly with the original timber or plastic handles intact. A couple I have been meaning to replace but haven't got aroundtuit and I'm a woodturner. I've seen 3/4" GI waterpipe welded on as a replacement handle and more traditional timber versions.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

.......I've also seen many, many clamp handles made from either short lengths o' metal tubing (often old galv water pipe) or PVC electrical conduit; normally simply epoxied or bondo'd onto the clamp tang.....

Yep, one of my old pot's favourite recipes for handles. Bang a bit of wood into a short length of pipe, drill a hole in one end a wee bit under the diameter of the tang & hammer it on. Not pretty, but durable - I had quite the job removing one from an old Titan so I could put a 'proper' handle on it.

Other sources of handles for those without the whirly-turny gadget or any way of making bits of wood round-ish include old broom handles, or busted shovel handles etc.

You might want to epoxy any handles you make onto the screws for those clamps, they have to tolerate a bit of torque & the shafts look rather smooth & round, as if they've been tightened up with multi-grips a few times?!...

Cheers,

I think the shaft has a hole in it for a rivet to prevent turning under duress. I would try epoxy glue first and drill through if that did not hold.

Regards
Paul

Good Morning

I think Ian's suggestion of using a large dowell, aka broom handle, is the best option. But you will need a drill press to drill the hole accurately and straight.

Alternatively, if you can find a piece of pipe or tube that snuggly fits over the unthreaded screw end, then cut a piece to length and rivet and epoxy into place. Then cover with a cricket bat handle grip.


Cheers

Graeme

Thanks for the suggestions, love the lathe idea so I went and purchased a second hand wood working lathe and made some nice hardwood handles and Araldited them onto the shafts along with a metal pin through the shafts that were already in place.
Love the lathe and now looking for a used smaller metal working one.

Originally Posted by Specialized29er

......Love the lathe and now looking for a used smaller metal working one.....

Oh dear! You fell down that slippery slope easily!

But it's a good place to be. Getting a small metal lathe was one of my better moves, it's allowed me to tackle projects I wouldn't have been able to manage years ago - and being able to make knurled brass thumbscrews of any size adds that "professional" touch to them. I only wish I'd gone one size bigger, but I have a feeling that if I had, I'd now be wishing for one size bigger...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Oh dear! You fell down that slippery slope easily!

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