What is a bar clamp?
What is a bar clamp? |
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A bar clamp features a long, metal bar and is designed to withstand the pressure of holding large and heavy workpieces. It is capable of heavy-duty clamping due to the strength of the bar, which is made from steel. The length of the bar means the clamp can easily hold long or wide workpieces in its jaws. | |||
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Bar clamps are usually used in pairs. However, for larger tasks more will be required.
They can be positioned across the width or along the length of a workpiece, or both if clamping is required in both directions. Sometimes the clamps may need to cross over each other. |
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A bar clamp is typically used for woodworking applications, such as carpentry and joinery, although they can also be used for metalworking. | |||
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It is the ideal clamp to use for making furniture pieces, including doors, cabinets and table tops. During the creation of these pieces, parts will often need to be glued, nailed or screwed together perfectly. The parallel jaws and straight metal bar of the clamp do not allow the workpiece to taper in their grip, helping to secure two parts together without any faults. | |||
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The only negative aspect of bar clamps is that they are not always practical for smaller clamping tasks. If you are working in an awkward or limited space, the clamp may prove too large, or the bar may simply be too long, for delicate or fussy workpieces. | |||
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There are different types of bar clamp available, including sash clamps, T-bar clamps, Pipe clamps and quick-release bar clamps. For more information, see What are the different types of bar clamp? | |||
