clamping

[seht]

I was wondering if anybody had plans they would be willing to share for clamping and gluing up the blanks.

I have been fighting with the blanks that are cut on an angle. I'm sure I could hack something together, but I was hoping that there might be a tried and true plans out there that would look and function better than my two pieces of wood and assortment of clamps.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[terry q]

A clamping jig from a 2x4, wax paper to keep squeeze out from sticking. Clamp the face first then pull everything together.

 

[jttheclockman]

Scott

Really no secret. If you are using med CA to glue your parts, all you have to do is finger pressure and then hit with a quick shot of accelorator. What this does is starts the adhesion properties and will keep the outside edges glued. Do not think though that the glue has completely dried and cured. That is not the case.

If using woods I like to us yellow carpenters glue. Nothing stronger than that for wood to wood aplication. Now if using exotics that are dense and oily then I use 2 part epoxy.

If doing complicated segments that need clamping I always make sure I am working with square stock. This allows for accurate cutting and clamping. For clamping I simply go to Home Depot and get a piece of angled aluminum channel. Size does not matter. I now have a cradle to set the blank in and use spring clamps to hole in place. With all pieces pressed against the walls of the angle on 2 sides it has to be aligned and straight all the time. If i need to place some stop blocks on the ends I do that also using spring clamps. Some times I use small pieces of wood shaped like wedges to tighten up the joints. One other tidbit though, place some wax paper between the blank and the angle so that the pieces do not stick to the angle. After each glue up process I make sure everything is flat and square again before I go onto the next glue up stage.

I am sorry I do not have any photos but if need be I probably could take some. Just my way of doing this. I am all about making jigs to make my projects safer and easier to handle. Good luck.

 

[seht]

See I knew there were smarter people here than me. Those are simple designs but look much more functional than what I was trying to invent!

 

[Edgar]

See I knew there were smarter people here than me. Those are simple designs but look much more functional than what I was trying to invent!

I needed these ideas also - thanks for posting this thread.

 

[Crashmph]

Simple is sometimes best.

I did a similar design but used toggle hold down clamps like these...
Toggle Clamps - Woodcraft.com

 

[farmer]

rubber bands

I was wondering if anybody had plans they would be willing to share for clamping and gluing up the blanks.

I have been fighting with the blanks that are cut on an angle. I'm sure I could hack something together, but I was hoping that there might be a tried and true plans out there that would look and function better than my two pieces of wood and assortment of clamps.

Thanks,

Scott

I use rubber bands on my Pocket chalkers to clamp them together

 

[stonepecker]

Simple is sometimes best.

I did a similar design but used toggle hold down clamps like these...
Toggle Clamps - Woodcraft.com

Got my toggle clamps at Harbor Freight. Less then $5 apiece.
I also use them on my cutting sled.

 

[Curly]

If you are going to be glueing parts back together with an insert the width of the saw blade, Celtic knots for instance, don't cut all the way through the blank. Leaving 1/16"+ to 1/8"- remaining after the angled cut is done keeps everything lined up. Drop the blade width insert into the slightly spread blank and clamp lightly, or use a weight, to the bench. When the glue dries sand or plane square again. The little bit of wood left after sawing will be removed when you turn it to size. Try it, you'll like it.

 

[SteveG]

As mentioned on some posts here, I often use rubber bands as the clamping pressure source. (I use epoxy as my adhesive of choice, since most of my segmenting includes a thin metal sheet stock, Al or brass, as an accent between the main barrel materials. It is MUCH more convenient to use small rubber bands than to try to double a longer band to get it down to the size that I need

Another tip: This is for the process when using either rubber bands or clamps. With these segment glue-ups, the pieces want to move (sort of squeeze out) as pressure is applied. To deal with this, I will wrap the joint with blue masking tape. This helps keep the unruly little buggers from getting away until all clamps/rubber bands are in place and have their clamping pressure applied.

 

[seht]

Thanks for all the help. Now back to the garage to work on some wood.

 

[dogcatcher]

I have a jig like this, 2 boards that are glued and screwed together at 90 degrees. Before I glue I wrap it in a plastic grocery sack. I only use Elmers Wood Glue Max, these are 1.5x1.5 call blanks.

 

[Wood Butcher]

I too do it simple like the photos show and add either some paste wax or wax paper. BTW, Farmer, what the heck is that in your photo? I could guess but it would be cut by the censors.
WB

 

[Marnat3]

I use clamps, rubber bands and Popsicle sticks to keep things aligned. Anything to keep it straight. I also recommend the "not cutting all the way through the blank" method. Works very well in keeping grain straight.

 

[seht]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of not cutting all the way through, but I can't seem to find anything that is the same thickness as my saw blade. So right now I am limited to just gluing different pieces of wood together. I tried aluminum and plastic but they are thinner than my saw blade so of course the pattern doesn't turn out right.

For now I have gone with 2 pieces of wood shaped like angle iron with a third piece used as a stop to clamp the wood against.

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of not cutting all the way through, but I can't seem to find anything that is the same thickness as my saw blade. So right now I am limited to just gluing different pieces of wood together. I tried aluminum and plastic but they are thinner than my saw blade so of course the pattern doesn't turn out right.

For now I have gone with 2 pieces of wood shaped like angle iron with a third piece used as a stop to clamp the wood against.

Scott somewhere in here in this forum is a list of places I get my inlay materials. I will look for the thread. But in the mean time. There is always material to use. You will probably not find the exact size needed but you can always sand the aluminum down to fit. I buy aluminum rods and other pieces from Home Depot. Here is an example. Had to sand this material down to fit the slots.

 

[seht]

Those are very sharp pens John.

 

[jttheclockman]

Those are very sharp pens John.

Thanks Scott. Not that hard to do at all. Here is the link to the thread I was talking about where I listed a bunch of sites that I get my materials from. It is my answer in that thread. Good luck.


www.penturners.org/forum/f179/materials-136733/

 

[Curly]

Some of the Guitar Pick Guard from Grizzly is .090 and my Forrest thin kerf blade is .093 if I remember correctly. They play well together.

 

[jttheclockman]

One thing I noticed on pickguard material, they are not all the same. Some places that sell it, the 2 outside layers are not the same thickness. If they need to sand one layer down to get to the dimension they want they sand just one side and the layers look out of balanced. Check it out the next time anyone uses pickguard material with multiple layers.

 

[BSea]

A simple way to start segmenting is to drill 2 blanks. Cut them into your segments, and then stack them onto the tube for the pen, gluing as you go. Make the total segmented blank longer than the tube, and just clamp together. The tube will keep everything aligned, just don't put too much pressure on it.

BTW, Farmer, what the heck is that in your photo? I could guess but it would be cut by the censors.
WB

It's a holder for chalk used to chalk a pool cue.
I had to google it.

 

[bobleibo]

Lots of great suggestions. Here's one more...awhile back I picked up a piece of polypropylene from a local plastic fabricator. It's very resistant to glues and chemicals, gives me plenty of options for clamping, is portable and can be wiped off with a damp rag. I think I paid about $5 for a 24" piece of it. It doesn't replace jigs that needed to be super accurate but for the ones that don't it's convenient.

 

[seht]

What are or how are you sanding these down to fit your segmenting needs? Are you hand sanding them or or do you have some type of jig setup to make sure they are consistant? Thanks,

Scott

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of not cutting all the way through, but I can't seem to find anything that is the same thickness as my saw blade. So right now I am limited to just gluing different pieces of wood together. I tried aluminum and plastic but they are thinner than my saw blade so of course the pattern doesn't turn out right.

For now I have gone with 2 pieces of wood shaped like angle iron with a third piece used as a stop to clamp the wood against.

Scott somewhere in here in this forum is a list of places I get my inlay materials. I will look for the thread. But in the mean time. There is always material to use. You will probably not find the exact size needed but you can always sand the aluminum down to fit. I buy aluminum rods and other pieces from Home Depot. Here is an example. Had to sand this material down to fit the slots.

 

[jttheclockman]

Scott, this is not hard at all. You really do not have to be dead on. Just needs to be flat and somewhat loose for the glue. I use epoxy. here is the blank of one of those feathered blanks, cut and glued. I start with a flat stock about 2 or 3" wide, depending how many of these I am making. Hit them on the sander and then rip them into strips on my tablesaw. Very easy. I use a metal blade on the saw. I do acrylics and other materials just the same way.

And here is the tool I use to do the sanding. My trusty belt /disc sander. A workhorse.

 

[Curly]

I wanted to add these pictures to post 19 but couldn't find them at the time. Same kind of segmenting as John's but with pick guard instead of aluminium. I believe it was Eagle that first started making pens with this method.

 

[jttheclockman]

I wanted to add these pictures to post 19 but couldn't find them at the time. Same kind of segmenting as John's but with pick guard instead of aluminium. I believe it was Eagle that first started making pens with this method.

Those are very well done. Pete, did you do these??? I never seen these before. That is cool and gives me some more ideas. This is why I tell people over and over, the world of segmenting is so vast and huge. The designs are endless. Just by changing a simple cut and using different materials the look is changed.

Eagle was so ahead of his time and his ideas are still being copied and advanced on. Wish he was still with us.

 

[Curly]

I made a quick sled and did the cutting and glueing for Marla. It was for a swap on another forum I think, or maybe this one, years ago. She didn't have the woodworking experience to be comfortable and safe doing the cutting for the segmenting on the sled I made. If the plan was to make more I would have made a better sled but it was a one off and I wasn't going to spend hours making it with hold downs, bells 'n whistles, etc., when 15 - 20 minutes would work. :big grin:

Playing with the spacing, angles, and depth of cuts will change the way the hooks and loops of the "Eagle feathers" look. That first kick at the cat worked out well so we'll rest on our laurals for a while. :wink: