Overheard a guy at the lumber yard talking about his clamps

Was grabbing plywood last Friday and heard some dude telling his buddy he "only needs 4 clamps." I almost laughed out loud. Then I saw his work - it was a jewelry box with finger joints so tight you couldn't slide a receipt in. Made me wonder if I'm just buying clamps to feel better about bad joinery. Any of you guys rocking a minimal clamp setup that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

williams.luna20d ago

Man I read about this old school cabinetmaker once who worked with just three clamps and a bunch of wedges. He swore by it. Said modern guys overcomplicate things with a dozen parallel clamps when a couple pipe clamps and some scrap blocks do the same job. I tried his method once on a small bookshelf. Cranked the wedges too hard and split the whole damn thing. So yeah minimal works but only if you know what you're doing. That lumber yard guy probably has decades of practice.

shane_morgan20d ago

Yeah @williams.luna I used to think the whole wedge thing was just old timers being stubborn. But after messing up a few projects trying to get by with less clamps, I get it now. You really gotta feel the wood to know when you're pushing too hard.

hollyscott20d ago

Why do people always act like having less clamps makes you a better woodworker? I've got 15 parallel clamps in my shop and I use every single one. That lumber yard guy probably glue ups a jewelry box once a year. Try building a 6 foot dining table with only 4 clamps - good luck getting those miters tight. @shane_morgan I get your point about feeling the wood but sometimes you just need raw clamping force. I'd rather have too many clamps than a wavy glue line I gotta sand out for hours.