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• This clamp grabs and holds onto a bone during orthopedic surgery, which I’m told is a fairly athletic activity not unlike woodworking.

• Pipe clamps are a variation on bar clamps where you buy just the two jaws and supply your own standard iron water pipe. The advantage is that you can get as long or short a pipe as you need.

• Old Cam Bar Clamp

• Lever Action Bar Clamp

• This clamp relies on small ridges along the edge of the bar to keep the sliding jaw in place.

• This little thing is so comically thick I can only assume it was home-made.

• This is hands down the most gorgeous C-clamp I’ve ever seen. The shape is elegant, the color is cherry, and it’s completely blemish-free. Just lovely. I could not possibly ever use it, lest its pristine condition be assaulted.

• The shape of this venerable old beauty reminds me of the old-time fonts you see in Wanted posters in old Westerns. It was made by the Peck, Stow & Wilcox company, founded in 1870, bankrupt in 2003, land bought by developers, currently an empty field. The story of America.

• I’m not going to tell you what this clamp is for, because if I did, I couldn’t include it in this book.

• These clamps, sold in sets of four, are used to gently squeeze a cell phone replacement screen down while it’s being glued. I’m not really sure why people don’t just put a stack of books on it. Maybe people don’t have books anymore?

• Bar Clamp

• Bar Clamp

• This is a typical large C-clamp. If used on wood you need pads or bits of scrap to avoid denting the wood, as it will easily squeeze down into the grain of even good hardwoods.

• C-clamps come in so many shapes and sizes.

• Clamp

• This is a C-clamp with a third jaw that comes in from the side. You use the two normal jaws to clamp to the edge of a piece of wood, and the third one to press a piece of edging onto the edge.

• This is a terrible C-clamp. It twists out of shape if you tighten it too much.

• This clamp may be all metal, but it’s so cheaply made it might as well be plastic. Not pleasant to use.

• Clamp

• Clamp

• C-Clamps

• C-clamps are so common you can buy them anywhere for a few dollars.

• Bar Clamp

• Bar Clamp

• This clamp has a spring-loaded wedge that has to be squeezed to allow the clamp to open, which is a nice upgrade.

• Note that there is a big difference between a pipe clamp and a pipe vise. A pipe clamp is a clamp made out of a piece of pipe. A pipe vise (covered later in this chapter) is a vise used to hold a piece of pipe.

• Here’s a feature I’d like to see more often: a quick-adjust button that releases the screw so it can slide quickly into place.

• This is not a terrible C-clamp. It’s actually quite sturdy, yet a previous owner apparently managed to turn the elegantly formed handle so hard they twisted it out of shape anyway.

Do you have a better example of this kind of tool? Let me know by leaving a comment, and include a picture of it if you can so everyone can see!