"Clamp extender" sounds like a prank item the new guy gets sent for...like a sky hook, board extender or a bucket of elbow grease. And, Matthias just made one. This shows that his skill is on another level.
after all these years that I've watched your videos, you still come up with ideas that make me think how come nobody thought of that before. amazing mind!
There are already videos who have made clamp extenders. However this one is a bit more practical and ingenuous. I should have seen this before I made a pair myself. Having this in stock is really more practical for me than having very long clamps that would just sit there except on very rare occasions that I use them.
Hey Matthias, I bought BigPrint the other day to print out a map for my D&D game (first game I DM'd in person) and I just wanted to say thanks! Saved me a lot of trouble and money trying to send it to fedex or ups or some other print shop.
Dry joints are never a good thing. So better off too much than too little. Plus wood glue is relatively cheap. A gallon of Titebond 2 is $25 and a gallon of glue is a lot. You can glue stuff like a madman and it should last you the better part of a year.
@@larrybud this can be counteracted a lot by pre-taping around the joints and wiping with a wet towel. Takes a little patience to tape but takes all the elbow work out of glue removal and allows for a lot of excess of glue. Also straws!!!!!!
@@tannermaddox3685 Or one could learn the appropriate amount of glue to put on a joint and get the best of both worlds! There's an argument (and I've seen it) that wiping glue with a towel only "embeds" the glue into the grain of the wood.
Alternately: Replacing the rivet at the end of the bar with two holes for 1/4-20 machine screws, permits you to bolt two bars together and remove the foot as needed allowing for the same flexibility.
This is a good alternative, but the tradeoff is now you have half as many clamps! Certainly easier to drill and tap a couple holes than make those relatively complicated extensions though.
Quite true, there's always a price to be paid.. I also have a variety of inexpensive gluing clamps that use an aluminium extrusion with "press punched teeth" for the ratchet mechanism. With a simple piece of hardwood sized to fit inside the extrusion and holes appropriately drilled, I can gang them together in a similar way. Fewer clamps true, but that hasn't been a problem so far.
Great idea! I’ve actually tried making my own bar and fixed jaw using steel flatbar (the moving jaw head from this type of clamp will often work on 3/16x3/4” flatbar) but I quickly found that those clamps don’t have a simple mild steel bar - it’s something stronger. Mild steel of the same size just bends.
Cosmas bauer built some bar clamps, but he used some pretty big steel. I guess that solved that problem, but he said they were really heavy. I have often thought about making bar clamps, but haven't come up with a design that is worth making yet.
Anyone else feel that Mr. Wandel is like the MacGyver of woodworking? These clamp extenders are a good exampe of that. Thank you for a nice video, sir.
I stopped by to Home Depot after work this evening and bought longer pipes for my pipe clamps. Then I came home and found this video in my feed. 😅 Your way is much more awesome (and much less expensive!). Very cool.
Outstanding! I'm making some drawers for my workbench and ran into the same problem. I have two clamps made of steel pipe with the ends you buy. Each one weighs about 3 pounds and is a real pain. Once again Matthias's genious comes through! 👍👍👍👍
I personally rarely use that style of clamp, especially not the longer ones like that. I prefer the 3/4” pipe clamps and I thread both ends of the pipe regardless how long the pipes themselves are. Then if I ever need a longer pipe I just screw on a nipple for 3/4” pipe and screw in a extra lengths of 3/4 pipe in the other end of the nipple to make the pipe clamp any length that I need. I have many pipes 3’, 6, 9’ and a few 12’ and if I need anything longer I can just add another section of pipe to whatever size pipe clamp I’m using. With extra 3’ sections of pipe I can make my pipe clamps pretty much any length I need and there still plenty strong with the two pipes screwed into the nipples! Been doing it this way for decades and hasn’t failed yet! Although if I was to use the same clamps your using, that’s not a bad idea by any means either! Certainly one I never thought of trying! Can’t argue with something that actually works!
I ran into the same problem and bought a set of pipe clamps, plus extra pipes in various sizes. Plus I also use ratchet-style cargo web straps on occasion, loop them around and hook them to themselves.
Another great idea from Matthias, of course! and another lesson is obtaining sufficient "Squeeze out" of the glue. ya think!? Well better than being not enough and dry! Thanks for the tip and another enjoyable tutorial and learning curve even at 79 I still seek knowledge and get it with Matthias. thank you so much. ECF
I am very impressed over and over how well your brain works to solve problems, and your solutions are rather simple. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
I had wondered why you hadn’t designed your own clamps like John. I do like the idea behind this. I have no doubt that these can handle considerable clamping force as well, certainly more than adequate for woodworking. Thanks for sharing this idea.
I have definitely run into this issue before which forced me to go out and buy crazy long pipe clamps. Another simple and elegant solution from Matthias
I learned you can buy shorter sticks of pipe and use pipe couplers to extend pipe clamps, makes them way less annoying to store because you can take the extensions off.
I just realized why I keep coming back to Matthias after all theses years. Every single youtuber after having years of experience, have used their income to buy newer gadgets and bigger shops and all this stuff seems so innaccessible to me, a guy who barely ever does projects... but when I do... I need a reference for how I work within the means I have Matthias is that reference.
Love the idea! 1:25 if you drill a round hole, that would create a less weak weak spot and at the same time you could just route the slot for the shaft instead of cutting away all that material and you need no bandsaw.
I got and order for a 5 ft long bench and I honestly didn’t have enough money to buy long enough clamps. I’m so glad I saw this video before I started making it
Nice solution! Another solution is pipe clamps. Just get whatever lenth you need and buy a central heater piping or somesuch, put the pipe clamps on and you're good to go. Got them from aliexpress, it did take 3 months to arrive though. Got some 3mx23mm pipes cut them in half and made two clamps out of them. You can reverse them so that they push apart instead of push inward.
This is brilliant idea. I was struggling with short clamps for a while, ended up 3D printing some sash clamps. When I'm watching this video I'm wondering, how this did not come to my mind? Thanks for sharing.
I some something recently on a Russian creators page. It was similiar to this but had several holes drilled through it - going down the length of the wood, say 8 holes. The 12" clamp would pop in any one of these holes to suit the approx. size it needed to be for clamping the project, if it was big or small.
Very ingenious idea, but is it really necessary to clamp a box joint? The clamps aren't forcing the portions of the joint with most of the glue area together at all.
MATTHIAS--- a simple jar lid bottle opener was here on you tube looked cool but was $19 what can you do in wood? it had an end which was concave and two notched rod about 7" long and a steel pincher clamp (cam spun inside rails to lock tighter an nth amount fro grip- I know cloth sand paper alone usually makes our fingers and hands quite stronger due to grip but in a simple wood>
It's always a question of 'range' with clamps... For this application where there's a likelyhood of repeating the same thing it looks worthwhile. It's a question of return on time investment. Like any project.
Now the question is, is it easier to store a bunch of small clamps plus the extenders, or to have and store long clamps for that once-every-five-years that you might need them? Another thought would be to find a metal stock to replace the bar with a longer one. I'll bet the long clamp is cheaper than a piece of bar stock.
Not just any bar stock will do. But I have 2 3' long clamps, very handy from time to time. But now if I need more than 2, I can use my extenders. I think this was the first time I needed extra long clamps.
I was recent faced with the same problem, though on a smaller scale. I had been wondering how easy it would be to buy a longer piece of bar stock with the same dimension as the one my clamps use. It looks like your bar clamps have a serrated edge though, which would be difficult to recreate. In any case, your solution is much cheaper!
@@rolfbjorn9937 The load applied on the bar is tensile, so bending wouldn't happen. But agreed that the clamps would stretch a lot more if the bar material was softer (and longer), just like the wood extensions would.
Could a wooden adjustable locking mechanism use a simple hardwood wedge to lock the adjustable bracket in place? The wedge would lock the 'clamping rod' with friction and be tapped loose after use. Would it be too little friction to prevent slipping, it the question.
Re: Wodden Bar Clamps - Can you just drill some holes into a 2x4 and have your movable piece locked by a pin/bolt? Would that still classify as a "bar clamp"? It would certainly be more hassle to deal with the pin (and not lose it), and I don't know if you can get threaded rod with a pitch low enough you wouldn't need 1,000 cranks to tighten up. And matching through-hole metal inserts.
Yes that's exactly how it's done. My father used nothing else for example when making window frames. The pins are held to the clamp ends by a small chain, and then inserted into the beam which can be as long as you need. Very strong too. I still have some that are at least 80 years old.
On applications like this i would be tempted to use a band clamp all the way around the outside of the frame. though, i only have ratchet straps so id probably use that as a a cheap alternative
Band clamps don't apply a lot of force, also would need some blocks around the corners to apply pressure in the right place. Just not worth the trouble
I had pipe clamps, purged them in the last move. No deep reach, kept slipping, and the non crank end has this long pipe sticking out. I really only used them once back around 1997
If you went through the trouble of removing the stop rivets (at the end of the clamps), why not just attach two clamps together at the rivet holes? I think one manufacturer of clamps does exactly that with its clamps.
"Clamp extender" sounds like a prank item the new guy gets sent for...like a sky hook, board extender or a bucket of elbow grease. And, Matthias just made one. This shows that his skill is on another level.
Don’t forget the key to the sea chest, relative bearing grease, etc
Compare to you awesome
..Bottom line your welcome God bless
We used to say "bring a bucket of transmission".
Paper stretcher.
after all these years that I've watched your videos, you still come up with ideas that make me think how come nobody thought of that before. amazing mind!
People with space just get more clamps…
It's spurred by his German frugalness I'm sure.
There are already videos who have made clamp extenders. However this one is a bit more practical and ingenuous. I should have seen this before I made a pair myself. Having this in stock is really more practical for me than having very long clamps that would just sit there except on very rare occasions that I use them.
Hey Matthias, I bought BigPrint the other day to print out a map for my D&D game (first game I DM'd in person) and I just wanted to say thanks! Saved me a lot of trouble and money trying to send it to fedex or ups or some other print shop.
I would never have thought of that.
Of all your ideas over the years, THIS is the one that I needed the most. Thank you, you mad, glorious, Canadian genius !!
One thing I take away from Matthias' videos is to never skimp on the glue.
Dry joints are never a good thing. So better off too much than too little. Plus wood glue is relatively cheap. A gallon of Titebond 2 is $25 and a gallon of glue is a lot. You can glue stuff like a madman and it should last you the better part of a year.
@@1pcfred If you're trying to make money, it's more than the cost of the glue that matters. It's the time required for all the cleanup.
@@larrybud this can be counteracted a lot by pre-taping around the joints and wiping with a wet towel. Takes a little patience to tape but takes all the elbow work out of glue removal and allows for a lot of excess of glue. Also straws!!!!!!
Norm Abram was once asked "Why do you use wood glue if you are using nails"? The nails are there to hold it together till the glue dries
@@tannermaddox3685 Or one could learn the appropriate amount of glue to put on a joint and get the best of both worlds!
There's an argument (and I've seen it) that wiping glue with a towel only "embeds" the glue into the grain of the wood.
Alternately: Replacing the rivet at the end of the bar with two holes for 1/4-20 machine screws, permits you to bolt two bars together and remove the foot as needed allowing for the same flexibility.
This is a good alternative, but the tradeoff is now you have half as many clamps!
Certainly easier to drill and tap a couple holes than make those relatively complicated extensions though.
Quite true, there's always a price to be paid.. I also have a variety of inexpensive gluing clamps that use an aluminium extrusion with "press punched teeth" for the ratchet mechanism. With a simple piece of hardwood sized to fit inside the extrusion and holes appropriately drilled, I can gang them together in a similar way. Fewer clamps true, but that hasn't been a problem so far.
Hey! You just used than correctly! What are you doing on the internet boomer?
Great idea! I’ve actually tried making my own bar and fixed jaw using steel flatbar (the moving jaw head from this type of clamp will often work on 3/16x3/4” flatbar) but I quickly found that those clamps don’t have a simple mild steel bar - it’s something stronger. Mild steel of the same size just bends.
Two of my favorite makers collide!
Cosmas bauer built some bar clamps, but he used some pretty big steel. I guess that solved that problem, but he said they were really heavy. I have often thought about making bar clamps, but haven't come up with a design that is worth making yet.
@@matthiaswandel what are your thoughts on John Heisz's latest design?
The clamp industry hates him.
I would think that the clamp industry would copy this and start manufacturing these items.
One day Big Clamp will gain control of the green gloss paint sector and then, my friends, Matthias's days doing this stuff are numbered.
@@Rich-on6fe LOL 🤣
Woodworker's clamps won't reach far enough. You WON'T believe what happens next.
Bessey makes several jigs that extend the capacities of their parallel clamps
Your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me.
Anyone else feel that Mr. Wandel is like the MacGyver of woodworking? These clamp extenders are a good exampe of that. Thank you for a nice video, sir.
that vacuum he made to lift garden tiles will always be my favorite example of this
I stopped by to Home Depot after work this evening and bought longer pipes for my pipe clamps. Then I came home and found this video in my feed. 😅 Your way is much more awesome (and much less expensive!). Very cool.
Outstanding! I'm making some drawers for my workbench and ran into the same problem. I have two clamps made of steel pipe with the ends you buy. Each one weighs about 3 pounds and is a real pain. Once again Matthias's
genious comes through!
👍👍👍👍
I personally rarely use that style of clamp, especially not the longer ones like that. I prefer the 3/4” pipe clamps and I thread both ends of the pipe regardless how long the pipes themselves are. Then if I ever need a longer pipe I just screw on a nipple for 3/4” pipe and screw in a extra lengths of 3/4 pipe in the other end of the nipple to make the pipe clamp any length that I need. I have many pipes 3’, 6, 9’ and a few 12’ and if I need anything longer I can just add another section of pipe to whatever size pipe clamp I’m using. With extra 3’ sections of pipe I can make my pipe clamps pretty much any length I need and there still plenty strong with the two pipes screwed into the nipples! Been doing it this way for decades and hasn’t failed yet! Although if I was to use the same clamps your using, that’s not a bad idea by any means either! Certainly one I never thought of trying! Can’t argue with something that actually works!
Awesome Matthias! Reminded me "good old" videos from 4+ years ago :)
I ran into the same problem and bought a set of pipe clamps, plus extra pipes in various sizes. Plus I also use ratchet-style cargo web straps on occasion, loop them around and hook them to themselves.
Another great idea from Matthias, of course! and another lesson is obtaining sufficient "Squeeze out" of the glue. ya think!? Well better than being not enough and dry! Thanks for the tip and another enjoyable tutorial and learning curve even at 79 I still seek knowledge and get it with Matthias. thank you so much. ECF
I am very impressed over and over how well your brain works to solve problems, and your solutions are rather simple. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Well done Matias! This jig solves a lot of problems and you’re a genius! Thank you for sharing!
Such a great idea, I honestly would never think to make it like that. That's the reason I watch your videos to learn new methods and gain inspiration
I had wondered why you hadn’t designed your own clamps like John. I do like the idea behind this. I have no doubt that these can handle considerable clamping force as well, certainly more than adequate for woodworking. Thanks for sharing this idea.
Once again, pure genius from Matthias. Thank you.
100% guarantee that our grandparents did stuff just like this. "Why go buy it when you can build it." Great Job!!!!
I have definitely run into this issue before which forced me to go out and buy crazy long pipe clamps. Another simple and elegant solution from Matthias
I learned you can buy shorter sticks of pipe and use pipe couplers to extend pipe clamps, makes them way less annoying to store because you can take the extensions off.
I just realized why I keep coming back to Matthias after all theses years. Every single youtuber after having years of experience, have used their income to buy newer gadgets and bigger shops and all this stuff seems so innaccessible to me, a guy who barely ever does projects... but when I do... I need a reference for how I work within the means I have
Matthias is that reference.
Love the idea!
1:25 if you drill a round hole, that would create a less weak weak spot and at the same time you could just route the slot for the shaft instead of cutting away all that material and you need no bandsaw.
a round hole would have to be bigger to accommodate the square clamp end. the weakness comes from the thinner walls, not from stress concentration.
Then you would be putting a square peg in a round hole.
Encore une idée de génie Monsieur wandel.
Bravo.
I like all of these simple solutions you find. Thank you for the vid!!
These are going to the top of my “make this this weekend” list.
Your problem solving gift is endless. Great idea!!
I got and order for a 5 ft long bench and I honestly didn’t have enough money to buy long enough clamps. I’m so glad I saw this video before I started making it
Pure genius. Brilliant simplicity! Thanks for sharing.
Nice solution! Another solution is pipe clamps. Just get whatever lenth you need and buy a central heater piping or somesuch, put the pipe clamps on and you're good to go. Got them from aliexpress, it did take 3 months to arrive though. Got some 3mx23mm pipes cut them in half and made two clamps out of them. You can reverse them so that they push apart instead of push inward.
Super simple and super useful. I've seen Pocket83 doing some similar things to extend/modify clamps
what a brilliant yet simple solution. I will definitely be making a few of those.
Neat. You always come up with probably one of the easiest and simpliest solutions
I always used two clamps. This makes it easier this way! Thanks
what a simple solution, first one ive seen like this. you the man!
Another goal against the opponent from the genius of his craft. Leo Messi, who looks a lot like you, gives a standing ovation.
You very rarely are able to slide you box joints together so easily on the first try. No panicked mallet usage this time... Hehe... Well done Mathias
The Einstein of woodworking!
I seriously needed this just two days ago! Made do without it, but man, that would have massively helped
John makes his own, also a pipe clamp can be any length.
Bough 2 50 inch clamps for a project..each one just over $50--came back a week later and they had gone up to 65. Guess i should have bought more.
Seems like a good solution. And avoids the bending that long clamps tend to have under tension.
Brilliantly simple solution, as usual!
Excellent cost saving, space saving work.
This is brilliant idea. I was struggling with short clamps for a while, ended up 3D printing some sash clamps. When I'm watching this video I'm wondering, how this did not come to my mind? Thanks for sharing.
Classic Matthias content right here. Love ya!
That's very cool, I'm going to build some of those for my shop!
That's just brilliant, Matthias! 😃
Thanks for the tip!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I use ratchet straps and the straps that just have a cam as clamps. They have a long reach, store small, and have many uses
But too slow, when you gotta close a joint, every second counts cause the joint can just lock up on you.
Great idea will build 4 long and 2 short. Seem to be between sizes frequently and in a small shop they get in the way while drying.
Thanks
Very cool idea! Now that's "use what you have" (brains+tool=solution) :)
Matthias, you should patent this, totally genius idea
I some something recently on a Russian creators page. It was similiar to this but had several holes drilled through it - going down the length of the wood, say 8 holes. The 12" clamp would pop in any one of these holes to suit the approx. size it needed to be for clamping the project, if it was big or small.
Great idea. Off to the woodshop I go!
I really don't like those rivets. I noticed most of mine have been removed. Thanks for your great tips as always.
Matthias' thinking-creation is not typical!
Excellent invention Matthias! :)
Nice instant project. Great idea. Thanks!
Brilliant! (And simple and obvious.)
Absolutely amazing keep up the good work 🌺🛫🤓💯
Very ingenious idea, but is it really necessary to clamp a box joint? The clamps aren't forcing the portions of the joint with most of the glue area together at all.
MATTHIAS--- a simple jar lid bottle opener was here on you tube looked cool but was $19 what can you do in wood? it had an end which was concave and two notched rod about 7" long and a steel pincher clamp (cam spun inside rails to lock tighter an nth amount fro grip- I know cloth sand paper alone usually makes our fingers and hands quite stronger due to grip but in a simple wood>
You've sold me on pipe clamps. :) (since I don't have many clamps yet)
Wow. It's so useful idea and video.
You're a genious... 😀
c'est une idée génial !
Bien joué.
A great idea and very useful. Thank you!
It's always a question of 'range' with clamps... For this application where there's a likelyhood of repeating the same thing it looks worthwhile. It's a question of return on time investment. Like any project.
Great job, surprised you don't just use pipe clamps though, maybe you just dont own them and had these already 👍
You have a lot useful ideas for me to learn. Thanks. (Subscribed and rang the bell of course.)
And if that's ever too short, you can make a clamp extender extender!
How is this not a standard accessory for every long clamp?!?!
Big clamps are expensive, whereas extenders probably wouldn't be.
Very very clever…..love it.
Good idea, very useful, thank you!
Might make some for my quick clamps. Those things always seem to be not quite as wide as you need. Or as wide as you think they should be.
Nice! I did something similar with some 80/20 and brackets, but not for woodworking.
Dude you are crazy good
Now the question is, is it easier to store a bunch of small clamps plus the extenders, or to have and store long clamps for that once-every-five-years that you might need them? Another thought would be to find a metal stock to replace the bar with a longer one. I'll bet the long clamp is cheaper than a piece of bar stock.
Not just any bar stock will do. But I have 2 3' long clamps, very handy from time to time. But now if I need more than 2, I can use my extenders. I think this was the first time I needed extra long clamps.
great videos as always
I was recent faced with the same problem, though on a smaller scale. I had been wondering how easy it would be to buy a longer piece of bar stock with the same dimension as the one my clamps use. It looks like your bar clamps have a serrated edge though, which would be difficult to recreate. In any case, your solution is much cheaper!
most bar stock that is easily sourced would be mild steel...so it would just bend under load.
@@rolfbjorn9937 The load applied on the bar is tensile, so bending wouldn't happen. But agreed that the clamps would stretch a lot more if the bar material was softer (and longer), just like the wood extensions would.
Brilliant, thanks for creating and sharing.
Could a wooden adjustable locking mechanism use a simple hardwood wedge to lock the adjustable bracket in place? The wedge would lock the 'clamping rod' with friction and be tapped loose after use. Would it be too little friction to prevent slipping, it the question.
Ide bagus dan kreatif. Terima kasih sudah berbagi 🙏👍👍
Original as always👏🏼
Re: Wodden Bar Clamps - Can you just drill some holes into a 2x4 and have your movable piece locked by a pin/bolt? Would that still classify as a "bar clamp"?
It would certainly be more hassle to deal with the pin (and not lose it), and I don't know if you can get threaded rod with a pitch low enough you wouldn't need 1,000 cranks to tighten up. And matching through-hole metal inserts.
Yes that's exactly how it's done. My father used nothing else for example when making window frames. The pins are held to the clamp ends by a small chain, and then inserted into the beam which can be as long as you need. Very strong too. I still have some that are at least 80 years old.
I like this.....very smart idea👍
Brilliant, as always.
Of course we would like to know how much force it can withstand.
On applications like this i would be tempted to use a band clamp all the way around the outside of the frame. though, i only have ratchet straps so id probably use that as a a cheap alternative
Band clamps don't apply a lot of force, also would need some blocks around the corners to apply pressure in the right place. Just not worth the trouble
How would 3/4 inch steel pipe clamps compare to these extenders?
I had pipe clamps, purged them in the last move. No deep reach, kept slipping, and the non crank end has this long pipe sticking out. I really only used them once back around 1997
I figure you can easily made your strap clamps with strap and wood corners
I don't think I have the patience to build this mid project. It could go into my list of project ideas that I'll get to someday.
Buyable clamp extensions need to be a (cheap) thing. Genious :D
If you went through the trouble of removing the stop rivets (at the end of the clamps), why not just attach two clamps together at the rivet holes? I think one manufacturer of clamps does exactly that with its clamps.
I get to thinking I'm pretty smart, then I watch one of your videos.
Bravo ,idée simple mais semble très efficace . Merci beaucoup
Very good idea. Thank you.
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
Ratchet straps might have worked in place of the F-clamps. They are inexpensive, easy to store and can be adjusted to handle many spans.