Reply To: Necessary tools to do quality work
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Oops. We missed a biggie. Clamps. You’re going to need clamps. For a desk, you’re going to need bar clamps of some kind, but you’ll likely need other kinds, too. For bar clamps, you can go Paul’s route and get the cheap ones at Harbor Freight. They need to be tuned (see his video). Another option is pipe clamps. Pony sells 1/2″ and 3/4″ hardware that go onto piping. See http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pony-Adjustable-3-4-in-Pipe-Clamp-50-2PK/100132368 for an example of the 1/2″. You buy pipe separately. In theory, you can have various lengths of pipe laying about and reuse the pony hardware, which makes it more economical. On the other hand, pipe clamps roll around and, if you don’t take care, you can leave marks on your work from the pipe. But they absolutely work. The jaws do have limited reach, but are comparable to Pauls cheap bar clamps. The pipe needs to be threaded on at least one end. Check for the proper thread. If I buy pipe at home depot, they’ll cut the threads for you. I think the’ll do one free thread but often, if they’re not busy, they’ll let me buy 10′ pipe and then they’ll do a few cuts with threading for free. Depends on how bored the clerk is. If they are really in a good mood, thread both ends and buy a couple couplers. Then you can extend the lengths of the pipe.
I’m not sure that I’d suggest pipe clamps over Paul’s, but work out the dollars and cents and decide. You may find alternatives that let you construct clamps of various kinds. I would not buy hand screws at this point and probably not C-clamps. Small bar clamps, e.g., https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-quick-release-bar-clamp-62237.html, are much more useful. I’ve not used the clamp I just pasted in, but that gives you the idea.
Clamps. Curse ’em and bless ’em.