Inner tubes make handy 'clamps' for special glue-ups

 

Do you have some old bicycle inner tubes hanging around? If so, here's a unique way to get more mileage out of them.

When gluing together long multi-sided assemblies, such as the Mission bed legs, first slice the tube into one long length. Then slice this into two long strips. Remove the valve stem. Clamp a tube at one end, wrap it around the assembly, and clamp it again at the other end, as shown at right. (You'll need two tubes to cover the lengths of the bed legs.)

If you don't have tubes, you can buy new ones for under $5 -- a fraction of the cost of buying a lot of clamps.