Friday, December 28, 2012

Slat clamp

Once again trying to use the whole buffalo.

when making slats from boards there tends to be extras. also when i find myself on a roll i end up with even more extras. 
if the slats were to lay around in a non-compressed form then they will eventually warp. to keep the thinner slats from cupping, bowing, springing or twisting i put them in a slat clamp. 
i do this because it is important not to waste materials nor the efforts used in creating the slats in the first place.

slat clamps are easy to make from scraps of oak pallets and plywood spacers.

i keep the clamps around 18"x1 5/8"x3/4". 
the shorter length will control the clamps themselves from warping.
they are all glued and pinned. the only fact to ensure is that the side grain be on the top and bottom of the clamp. this will also reduce the warping of the clamp.
keeping the winged nutted bolts free moving allows the pressure of the clamping area to be more focused on the slats themselves. 

the back clamps show what to do with longer slats. just adding a third clamp 

when not using they store very compactly.

2 comments:

  1. I really do like this neat little project, since I do a lot of work with pallets. I have two suggestions.
    1st-scrolling down to this post, among your countless other posts, takes forever and it very frustrating. Perhaps you may be better off making your post pages much shorter and having more pages.
    2nd-Have you considered using good grade plywood, such as cabinet grade, instead of the oak? My guess is that it will be less inclined to warp with use. I'm going to try that route, since I always have spare plywood lying around.

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  2. Thank you for your interest in my project. I will definitely look into your suggestions on making more pages. Actually, I have never had anyone tell me of those frustrations so I was a wee bit ignorant to the degree of the issue. I have been thinking about changing sites to house the blog, one with better searchability and with greater organization control just for myself.

    Using a quality ply would definitely work extremely well for both short and long slat clamps. The solid wood scraps works well for the rails in short clamps but I would use a more stable material for clamps over 24". Just and fyi, the shorter ones like I posted are always in use and under pressure so they have not warped.



    Good luck on your slat clamp and thank you again,
    noble

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