Yeah, you've seen these before but ...

[Daddles]

Yes, I know you've seen these, but I reckon they're great. This is what I spent my afternoon making. Eighteen of the sods ... probably don't need quite that many but that's what I wound up with.

Clamps.

Yes, clamps. Common or garden type clamps (see attachment - I'm not drunk, honest).

I want to fit two rubbing strips to Sixpence, one in the normal gunwale position, another at the bottom of the top plank. That means I need a clamp with a throat of ... a lot more than the clamps I have. So I made these.

The basic concept is simple. Two bits of wood, held together with a bolt. The open end slips over the two things you are clamping together, a wedge gets driven home at that other end.

In this case, it was a tad more complicated because the inwale is already fitted. This means that any clamp needs to reach around the inwale, and reach down to the bottom of the first clamp.

So, if you look at piccy number one, you'll see the clamp from inside the boat. The bit of packing at the bottom of the clamp is nailed to the clamp and is just a packer to get around the inwale.

Now, go to the outside boat shot. The piece of scrap timber is just there pretending to be the rubbing strip (I've got two lovely bits of 15' long kapur for the real thing )

I'm particularly proud of the wedges. Oh sure, anyone can cut wedges, anyone who knows how to do it. I cut eighteen of the things on my Triton Worked out how to do it myself Hey, it might be obvious to you but it was a voyage of discovery for me, and I had to do each with two cuts as my saw only went half way through the block of wood.

Fitting the clamps is easy. Place the clamp in the right place, drop a wedge in the top, make sure the rubbing strip is in the right place and whack the wedge with a mallet. Quick and surprisingly effective.

So, in a few days time, I'll post a piccy of Sixpence with a rubbing strip clamped and glued and place

Incidentally, I could have bought F clamps with a throat deep enough to do this job. They'd cost me about $15 each (I priced them). These eighteen clamps cost me under $20 for the LOT

Cheers
Richard

[Boatmik]

Nice work Richard - will be nice to have them hanging around the workshop!

If you ever find yourself with the same problem and the glue going off then you can extend any clamp with a surprising bit of power.

Like in the same position you put one of your too small throated clamps in position. Then get a scrap piece of wood that goes from the place you want to clamp under the too short clap then up to the edge of the boat.

When you tighten the clamp on the bit of timber the pressure will be on the bit that you want the pressure to be on as well as the edge of the boat.

Nice in an emergency - but I would much prefer to use one of your creations. A bit of string so you don't lose the wedge might be nice.

MIK

[Wild Dingo]

Clamps are charector building arent they?

I got a tad carried away a few weeks back when I found a nice wee 6mtr length of 4in poly pipe... man did I end up with a stack of lovely white poly clamps!! Im inheriting a stack of 12in and 24in G clamps from my future son-in-laws fathers farm which has been sold and everything must go...

And as they have nowhere near large enough to store everything that two families on the land collect over 100 years much of it will end up...

either in the humpyhoochy or in my shed!!!

[Ramps]

Clamps are charector building arent they?

... and everything must go...

And as they have nowhere near large enough to store everything that two families on the land collect over 100 years much of it will end up...

either in the humpyhoochy or in my shed!!!

Dingo ... if you need a hand here to find shelter for any lonely deserted tools etc, I'm sure I could find it in my heart to put them up for a few years

[Wild Dingo]

ooohh mate I reckon with the humpyhoochy the shed the seatainer and the 2 acres I wont have many probs!! well the sheds chockers with my own tools the seatainer half full of gear and the humpyhoochy needs a new top... damn!! ah well we will sort it with a mess of tarps

Mind you I do think the future son-in-law is bein a bit of a pain with some of it... I mean the blighters started taking it to his own shed!! rotten sod!! I mean how dare he!! young buggars eh? no consideration

The timbers mine though!! I reckon Im gonna have to do something about the humpy really soon since theres acres of stacked planks to move Banksia Jarrah Karri Sheoak etc etc... As I told him last night he can have the house stuff as long as I get the timber!! he doesnt have a prob with that since he hasnt a clue when it comes to woodworkin and timber hes a steel welding mechanical sorta bloke... just gotta get well enough to drive his old mans truck to bring it down here!

[Daddles]

Ha. You doubting Thomases. Pah, you lot and your pathetic attempts to hijack a genuine thread. Here's the wee clampy thingies at work holding that nice red rubbing strip in place while the epoxy does it's 'lets turn hard where he doesn't want us to' trick

These are easily the simplest and most accurate clamps I've used. Makes the old F clamp look like an exercise in futility ... er hang on, I think F clamps are

You can see the carry on around the bow where clamping the strip was fun due to not having parallel surfaces. Nothing this old goat can't trick though ... I hope.


Richard

[Ramps]

Looking good ... OK I'm impressed

[Wild Dingo]

oooh I see your attemptin a serious thead here RIGHT!!!

About cramps? no worries I had cramps last night went to the hospital and spent hours hooked up to some weird machine with wires out my everywhich way and back!

You do know that some women have seriass cramps... I mean real mean mothers of cramps which then leads them to become flamin monsters angry snappy snap type crea... Ooooooooh right!! gotcha now you meant CLAMP!!

good one Richard well done

[STEPHEN MILLER]

richard pleased to see the fuel tank next to the electric kettle so when the kettle shorts out you throw a bit of petrol on it to make decent fire or
bang as we have seen in the past