Pipe-Clamp Rack Keeps Big Glue-Ups Under Control
Most pipe clamps are made with flats on the bottoms of the jaws. But that doesn't always prevent them from tipping over and turning your glue-ups into disasters.
Solve the problem by building this pipe-clamp rack from plywood, and your clamps will stay put. For the base of the channels, rip two strips of 3⁄4 " plywood 11⁄2 " wide and as long as your bench or glue-up table. Cut your clip blocks about 6" long from the same material as the channel bases and fasten a broom clip to the center of each as shown in the illustration above. Glue and nail 1⁄4 " x 11⁄4 " plywood sides to the channels and screw a screw eye into one end of each channel. Use the screw eye to store the racks on a wall.
To use the rack, lay the clip blocks, evenly spaced, into the channels and secure your pipe clamps in the broom clips. Place your workpiece onto the pipes and tighten the clamps. Then, put clamps on top of the workpiece, alternating them between the bottom clamps. Now, you can lift the entire assembly out of the rack with the clip blocks still attached and set it aside to dry.
—William N. Szucs, Middleburg Heights, Ohio