Appreciation post: My $20 pipe clamp saved a crooked shelf project

Ngl, I kept seeing people online swear by these expensive parallel clamps for any woodworking. I was about to drop $60 on a set when my neighbor loaned me his old pipe clamp from the 80s. Honestly, it held my shelf joint tighter than anything I've tried before. Found out later that pipe clamps can handle up to 300 pounds of force per inch according to a Fine Woodworking article from 2019. Has anyone else had better luck with cheap gear than the fancy stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanr791mo ago

Good for you, man. I got suckered into buying a set of those fancy parallel clamps a few years back and honestly my old pipe clamps get just as much use. They're ugly, they're heavy, and they work perfectly every single time. The parallel clamps are nice for certain things but not $60 nicer. Sometimes the simple, ugly tools are the ones you end up reaching for the most.

spencer_sanchez671mo ago

Evan, pipe clamps are about $20 a pair, not $60.