CAM CLAMP

BAR CLAMPS
These are very easy clamps to make. Apart from the bar which is
25mm(1”) steel square tube the rest is made up from wood scraps,
so they are also cheap to make. I pay $20 for 6.5M of the steel tube
so that’s quite a few clamps depending on their length of course.
Cutting the steel bar to length is the only part of the project that isn’t
woodworking and isn’t difficult at all, it could easily be done even
with a hacksaw and a good blade.
I’ve tried to make things as simple as possible by repeating sizes throughout. It
would be easier to rip all the stock down to the correct dimensions before you
start, then it‘s just a matter of cutting that stock to length for each part.
CUT LIST
Start by ripping down hardwood to the following dimensions

The clamps provide more than enough clamping pressure for a 25 x 8mm length 200mm
glue up but they do have limitations. There is only a small amount of 25 x 34mm length 125mm
clamping travel, so you couldn’t use these clamps to close up a large 26 x 15mm length 450mm
gap. They are however, perfect for a glue up that you’ve prepared
the wood for. Then using the ripped stock, cut down to the following lengths
3x 90mm (26 x 15mm)
Hopefully there should be enough info in these plans but I would 3x 30mm (26 x 15mm)
reccomend watching my video which you can find on my YouTube 1x 74mm (26 x 15mm)
channel ‘PaskMakes’.
2x 59mm (25 x 34mm)
http://www.youtube.com/c/PaskMakes
2x 86mm (25 x 8mm)

Plywood
4x 90 x 130mm (17mm thick Plywood)

Cam is made from 25mm thick Hardwood

2x 12mm dowels (60mm length)

2 pieces for the clamp pads, the size depends on the thickness of plywood used
for the sides. Cut the pads to suit when the clamp has been assembled. Can be
plywood, hardwood, pretty much anything will work.
The Fixed Head
The sides are made of plywood, I used 17mm and would reccomend this or
thicker. All other parts including the dowel should be made from hardwood (oth-
er than the bar which is 25mm(1”) steel box section).

Yellow parts are 26mm thick and are glued and fixed to the plywood sides with
either nails or screws. They could be cut to the same thickness as the steel bar
(25mm) but to make it easier I used 26mm thickness throughout for the yellow
parts as that’s what is needed in the tail section of the clamp. On this fixed head
the 1mm difference can be made up with adhesive. The steel bar is sandwiched
between the two bottom yellow pieces and glued with epoxy, construction
adhesive or similar.

Blue and green parts are moving. The green block is made from two pieces
which need gluing together. For the 15x74mm (taller) piece I used a piece of
stock that is 26mm thick, then after gluing them together I sanded it flush to the
thickness of the other block (you could cut this piece to 25mm first).

The dowel is 12mm, anything smaller may crack. The holes in the plywood sides
(for the dowels) are 12mm and will be glued but the hole on the cam is 12.5mm
and will be free to turn on the dowel.
Tail Section
The tail section moves freely along the bar clamp. It’s pushed up to the
workpiece then locked down to the bar. The cam pushes the green moving
block down onto the bar and acts like a brake. The underside of the mov-
ing block and the top face of the bottom yellow part need a piece of rub-
ber glued to them to make them into brake pads. Instead of using rubber
I smeared hot glue on these surfaces and it worked pretty well but rubber
may be a better option.

The same as the Fixed Head applies, the yellow blocks are glued and the
green blocks are a moving part. The two yellow guideblocks should be
positioned so they don’t restrict the downwards movement of the moving
block onto the bar. It may be worth checking the video out here.
The cams are made from 25mm thick hardwood. They are easy to make and even if you don’t have a band-
saw you could cut them with a handsaw and round the ends over with a file. There is a possiblility that the
cams may need adjusting with a shim when the clamp is assembled. This is an easy enough process, just try
different size shims until it works correctly. The fibres will compress where the cam pushes into the wood so if
you do use a shim then try the clamp out thoroughly before you decide to glue the shim in place. Once the
shim has compressed to a point it shouldn’t compress anymore.

Hopefully these plans help you out and you enjoy making and using your clamps. If I’ve made any
mistakes please let me know.

Email me at PaskMakes@gmail.com

Thanks, Neil
http://www.youtube.com/c/PaskMakes