I have 6-8 Stew-Mac spool clamps. I need a bunch more for a guitar I'm working on. I was going to make them. I could cut a dowel into slabs, drill a hole, etc. I could use a hole saw and buy some poplar and drill some out. then I'd have to sand, etc. I found a toy wheel mfg in Maine that sells factory seconds, already drilled and sanded for 15 cents each. Then I found an online bolt seller where I bought the carriage bolts, wing nuts and washer for about $25. So I can assemble 50 spool clamps for a whole lot less than I can buy complete clamps without the labor involved in cutting and sanding.
Good score. Make sure the threads are smooth on the bolts and in the wing nuts. I have a bunch of spool clamps with rough threads, and not only does that slow me down (I don't use spool clamps much because they are soooo slooooww...), but the threads sometimes grab and the clamp twists right off of the work.
Make sure the threads are smooth on the bolts and in the wing nuts. I have a bunch of spool clamps with rough threads, and not only does that slow me down (I don't use spool clamps much because they are soooo slooooww...), but the threads sometimes grab and the clamp twists right off of the work.
Here's one that's FAAAAST, but are slower to make...
Some leather or thick felt on the contact surfaces of the spools help protect the finish. And a bit of plastic tubing or cardboard thread spools will keep the threads of the bolts off the sides of the instrument. I have bought threaded stock and cut lengths to make clamps, using wing nuts on both ends. Cheaper than bolts.
I just used pieces of dowels, but cut cushioning circles out of cork tiles I got at Lowe's. You can get a lot of circles out of one 12 x 12 cork tile. They can be clamped together with the clamp you are making and mass-sanded.
Tractor Supply stores sell nuts, bolts and washers by the pound, so 14-20 carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts are pretty cheap there. I spent very little making a bunch of these.
I did what Ken did. Except used leather for the pads. Saved a whole lot of money. Got a whole lot of clamps. Phil
For .15 ea it is much cheaper per hour to buy the wheels than cut drill sand them. Unless you have lots of time and enjoy cutting sand and drilling repetitively
I did what Ken did. Except used leather for the pads. Saved a whole lot of money. Got a whole lot of clamps. Phil
For .15 ea it is much cheaper per hour to buy the wheels than cut drill sand them. Unless you have lots of time and enjoy cutting sand and drilling repetitively
A lot of homebrew spool clamps start their life as a piece of 1-3/8" closet pole; that eliminates much of the time used to make them. With a chop saw and drill press they almost make themselves.
I suggest drilling off center slightly. Good Work BEEGEE
I obtained a whole box of cello clamps, I used two to make my neck sled, the felt works great, but the threads are neither SAE, nor Metric, but Wentworth.
I've always just used ordinary woodworking clamps of various sizes to glue up soundboxes. For guitars and the cello I use mainly bar clamps with ad hoc cauls, and for fiddles, mandolins and dulcimers I mostly use 2" spring clamps. I would like to make a set of 15 or 20 cam clamps someday, I think they would be much handier than spool clamps for large instruments but so far it's on the infinite list of things I want to do but have put off. About a year ago I got a large lot of bar clamps for $10 at a furniture factory that was being auctioned off, and around that time I got most of my clamps organized on the rack on the wall in the picture. It's great to be able to lay hands on them quickly when I want them and to know where each size is.
I have bunches of clamps: C-clamps, rachet clamps, bar clamps, home-made clamps. I buy clamps wherever I find them, salvage sales, auctions, yard sales. For stuff that needs lots of clamps that need to sit for a few day, I need cheap ones that I won't need somewhere else.
Been watching this thread for a bit and thinking that if you got some 1/4" ID tubing and fastened it to the wooden wheels so that the threaded rod or carriage bolt goes through the tubing so that the tubing acts as a stand off from your work so you don't get marks from the threads. I have not though this out completely but I can get milker tubing from my local farm store, cut it about 1/4 - 1/2" long, glue it to the wooden wheels. I am assuming that you would be clamping something thicker than the combined length of the tubing.
Been watching this thread for a bit and thinking that if you got some 1/4" ID tubing and fastened it to the wooden wheels so that the threaded rod or carriage bolt goes through the tubing so that the tubing acts as a stand off from your work so you don't get marks from the threads. I have not though this out completely but I can get milker tubing from my local farm store, cut it about 1/4 - 1/2" long, glue it to the wooden wheels. I am assuming that you would be clamping something thicker than the combined length of the tubing.
Just a random thought.
The "damage" from using all-thread is greatly over-exaggerated. If you're not being careless it's easy to position and tighten spool clamps without doing any damage. I've done several instruments or repairs and never had any problem. If you're doing something like re-gluing an already finished instrument you have to be a little more careful but it's not really an issue.
