Clamp

The CLAMP or C-Clamp is a great tool to hold, lock, or fasten objects together. It is a versatile tool that carpenters can use to hold boards or lumber in order to nail or glue them together. Metalworking can also make use of these tools to hold metal sheets or bars together prior to welding, cutting, drilling, riveting, or grinding. Basically, anything solid that you want to be held stable, can be clamped. 

The remains of the clamp because the Force was just too much

 We tried to create a DIY sheet bender to fabricate small changes in our block mould. We tried copying what was shown on the internet, making use of available materials we had, and bought Lotus clamps from the hardware. Our inexperience with the tool led us to purchase the 4" sized clamps. These clamps as you may observe from the picture above are made up of cast iron which is a brittle metal. We tried bending a 5mm sheet of metal at a 45 degree angle, but as we approached about 20 degrees, there was a light snap that sent parts of the clamp flying a short distance. The clamp was undersized, and could not handle the force needed.

We tried using 8" clamps from the same brand to try and bend the sheets again to no avail. It seemed like the clamps were starting to bend a little bit as we were approaching close to 40 degrees and we did not want to risk another rocketman phenomenon with the larger clamps. We were also no longer confident with the materials that the clamp was made up of. There were some clamps in the hardware store that were not made up of cast iron, but the prices of which were not economical to us. Other brands such as Stanley seemed to look rigid enough, but then the prices were double that of the Lotus brands. So we decided to look for an alternative solution that did not cost us too much to bend the sheets of metal we needed for our mould.

We have seen some other DIYs on the internet that made use of larger machine bolts as an alternative to clamps. However, this would require making a hole at the metal base for the bolt to be inserted. But considering that the bolt is made up of stronger steel than a cast iron clamp, this would prove to be the safer solution. The bolts are locked in tight with the nuts, and its threads help in ensuring this. The steel bolt diameter of 1" also gives us peace of mind because breaking this will require a tremendous amount of force.

Despite not being able to push through with its planned use, we still use the remaining 8" clamps for different purposes at work. Mostly, it helps in fastening the boards that we nail to make the hollow block trays. The ease of locking and releasing the boards from the worktable makes the job faster and safer. The next time we use it for other types of jobs though, we just have to remember how much force the clamps are going up against to avoid costly mistakes.