Thread: Pipe or Sash clamps

Most hardware chains sell them. You may miss them because you will find the the two parts (screw head & tail) among the clamps and will probably have to go to the plumbing supplies to buy some 3/4" water pipe.

Pipe clamps while cheap are not always the most convenient. The pipe being round is sometimes difficult to manage. It won't sit on the bench where you want it. You can buy extra (for more money) clamps to overcome this. Another problem is that galvanised pipe leaves nasty marks on your timber. It is sometimes difficult enough managing the clamps and the packing pieces that avoid the clamping marks without having to worry about bits of rag etc. to keep the pipe off your timber. Against that, the tails are quick to adjust.

I favour the heads and tails that you put on a piece of timber (65x35). These can be placed on the bench (and they stay there), the frame you are assembling can be placed on top and they can be tightened. However the tails are slow to adjust

You can't win them all!!!

Cheers, hope this helps.

I have tried the cheap red pipe clamps similar to those described here. I found that the spring on the far end of the clamp wouldn't grip the pipe after about 6 months so when you tighten the clamp the end just keeps moving down the pipe. I now go for the cheaper sash clamps .... I try to pick up a few when Bunnies is selling them at 2 for $30.

Stinky,

These red clamps, are they the ones that carb-tec sells? I bought a couple about 2 months ago and I've only had need to use them a few times since then. I'm wondering if I can look forward to them letting me down.
I previously had bought the Prego brand ones (black colour) that Bunnies sells and they were complete crap.

No I dont think that the ones that I am talking about will be anywhere near the quality of the Carbatec ones. The Carbatec ones appear to have a series of plates that angle back onto the pipe giving the clamping action. The cheapo's that I got from M10 had a small spring that adjusted a small gear like thing that was ment to lock onto the pipe. I find that the pressure of the spring na dgear aren't enough to lock onto the pipe so it just slides down when tightened.

Thanks for that. They sound like the black ones I was referring to from Bunnies just painted a different colour. They did the exact same thing. which is bloody frustrating when you're trying to clamp up a M&T joint nice anf tight.

Craig

The big advantage of pipe clamps is when you buy your gal pipe in 1m threaded lengths, this allows you to make the clamp as short or long as you like in 1m intervals (or any other interval if you buy that length pipe) very versitile.

The zinc coating on galvanized pipe can make it hard for the tail piece to get a grip (even the clutch plate variety). Standard black pipe is a better choice.

Dan

I have some "pony" brand pipe clamps that work pretty well. They recommend using "black gas pipe", which is what I am using. I purchased the clamp heads and the pipe in the USA, and was wondering if you can source this black pipe locally? I also thought that the clamp heads were set up with a standard American thread that was different to the "standard" thread here in Aus, can anybody confirm this?

On a similar line I noticed that Carba Tec are now selling Bessey K body clamps. I nearly choked when I saw the price, $153 for a 100cm clamp. These things are about $45US ($60-$65 AUD) in the USA, so I thought I might try Amazon.com . Unfortunately it lists the Bessey clamps as "unable to ship to your address". The K body clamps are a fine clamp, but $153 is WAY to much! Anybody had any luck sourcing them locally for a good price or had luck importing?

Cheers,

Chris

The only problem I have with pipe clamps is that they can bend a bit over long spans. The same applies to the timber beam clamps.

If you are contemplating clamping 1800mm or more, go beg, borrow or steal some good, long sash clamps.

Chris,
Do you have any contacts in the States????

If so get it shipped to them and then get them to ship it to you as a 'gift'. With Amazon.com you can get free shipping on a lot of items so they will ship for free within the US and all you do is pay for the shippping to here.

Hi Chris,

I was in the US last year, and brought some K Body Clamps back with me in my luggage. Tore my suitcase in the process because they're so heavy, but they arrived without any problems and didn't attract any tax. One customs guy did hold me up for a while because he couldn't work out what they were, but then another customs guy came over and told him what they were, so no dramas there.

If I were to try bringing them in again in the future, I'd hunt around for a long box to put them in, then pack them with plenty of newspaper. They're pretty robust, so they don't need too much extra protection. Fortunately, the baggage weight limits to/from the US are very generous, so you can bring across quite a few at a time without worrying about excess baggage. If you don't know anyone flying over to the US, though, the weight will make your shipping costs ridiculous.

As a side note, the K Bodies that Carbatec has (at least, the ones I've seen) have black clamping surfaces. The first time I saw them, I didn't even recognise them as K Bodies! I've seen hundreds of red ones, but never black ones before ...

Michael.

I have tried one of the red ones and had the same problem as Stinky, so I bought a bunch of Pony brand and had no further trouble. I read that black pipe is preferable to galvanised, but where the hell do you buy black pipe in Australia ?

Freight from the US is the killer.

DonN

Hi all
I think youll find that the thread on the clamps in question is BSPT, British Standard Pipe Tapered.
I'm not sure if the USA is useing the same, but the China one might be.
Cheers, Allan