It’s time for you to go to your work bench and build a project using some wood. Before anything else can happen, you has to make sure that those pieces don’t move while you are working on them. You want something to keep them in place until you drive in a nail or two, or get the glue to set.
There are many types of clamps available; the problem is selecting one that will perform correctly without breaking the equipment or warping the joint. You reach into the rack where your clamp are stored. What do you choose?
Do you get the bar clamp or the pipe clamp? Well they both grasp things securey. They both look like metal levers with handles.
How could they be different? Well the answer is how they are made and what they are design for. Which one meets the needs of the task you’re doing?
That is the one you desire. There is a set pressure point and a range for every type of clamp. Some grip fiercely but only for a short distance.
Other clamps is kings at maintaining long slow pulls. Knowing how they work saves you heartache and time. You go from fighting the tool to working with it.
From there it’s all about outcomes. It is about the quality of the final project. It is also about whether you’ll have fun while you’re building it.
Because a screwed up screw makes a clamp useless, and a loose joint makes a table useless. Both force and precision matter. Force does not.
Comparing Pipe Clamps Versus Bar Clamps Strength
Introduction to Woodworking Clamps
It is the most common face in the shop. Bar clamps probably come to mind first. And it’s likely you’ve got one somewhere: either a Ridgid or a Bessey bar clamp.
The tool consist of a flat bar, usually made of aluminum or steel, that runs the length of the jaw spread. By sliding the jaws along the bar, you can vary the distance between them with precise control. Because of their shape, they’re perfect for face clamping something of a uniform thickness.
Bar Clamp Features and Limitations
Align the edges, close the handle, and everything spreads uniformly along the flat bar. What provides the rigidity? The bar itself doesn’t flex when under moderate pressure.
That is why bar clamps are so popular for glue-ups; they keep boards parallel and prevent twisting. The trade off though? Bar clamps are at max spread only.
You can’t make a 4 foot bar clamp longer than 4 feet. So if your project grows, you need a longer bar. With a longer bar.
Which is less versatile since you never add length to the bar to make it go further. Instead you just get a bigger one. It is great when building table legs or cabinets of normal size.
Not great when making long panels or other odd shapes. Now you’re getting many sizes of bar clamps that you’ll want in order to cover all the bases. This takes up room in your shop and costs more money.
It’s an inevitable expense, but still an expense. And then there’s its rough-and-tumble cousin (the pipe clamp), which resembles a plumbing fitting. There are some great ones out there manufactured by brands such as Jorgenson and Irwin.
Pipe Clamp Versatility and Strength
Unlike a bar clamp with a fixed bar, a pipe clamp has a threaded pipe and a sliding jaw. You can make it longer by replacing the pipe. That’s the beauty of this tool: it’s modular.
A single pair of handles and heads can transform into a 12-foot monster or a 6-inch clamp. For big jobs, that makes a pipe clamp really flexible. It’s what you turn to when constructing a wide table or bookcase.
Because you can adjust the length, you don’t have to purchase several different tools. But there’s a price for that flexibility, rigidity. When you clamp something very hard against a long pipe it will bend.
And when it bends it loses some clamping force in the middle of its span. You crank down on the handle and it still sags in the middle. This is not good if you are doing a big glue up where you need evenly distributed pressure.
The edges get crushed while the center stays loose. This is dangerous. To make up for the weakness, woodworkers will use double piping.
That means running two parallel pipes to make them stiffer. It complicates your set up. It slows things down.
Instead of relying on what the tool does well… Applying consistent force; you’re working around its weakness. Which is stronger though?
Choosing the Right Clamp Type
Depends what you mean by strong. If strong means staying stiff and not bending at a certain length, then the bar clamp is stronger. A round pipe bends more easily than a flat bar.
So if you need something really precise with parts that line up closely, then go with the bar clamp. If strong means robust and adaptable at any number of different lengths then the pipe clamp is stronger. It can handle the mix of project sizes that occur when you do a variety of projects.
It can take the pounding of every now and again using it to hold up a bunch of weight. So how big are your normal projects? If they are small to medium, go with the bar clamp.
If they are big and odd shapes, go with the pipe clamp. Consider your recent large build. Was it a reach issue?
Invest in some pipe clamps. Get the heads, buy some pipe and get to clamping. Were your bars bending, or were your jaws slipping?
Stick with good bar clamps. Find ones with thick bars and wide jaws. You don’t need both.
Unless you are doing everything. Choose the tool that addresses your most common issue. That’s the one you want to spend your money and space on.
Tighten your joints and keep your bench clean.