Clothes Pin Clamps
Source: Tools and Materials
Clothes Pin Clamps
I feel just a bit silly about writing an article just on these little Clothes Pin Clamps, but, on the other hand, I use them all the time, so I will pass this little trick on. They are used for the most part to glue linings on to the guitar sides. They replace the small 1″ spring clamps, which can save you about $100.00 in clamp costs.
Materials Required:
2 Bags of Hardwood Spring Clothes Pins
1/4 Pound Bag #64 Rubber Bands
Gather Your Materials:
Purchase 2 bags of Diamond Large Hardwood Clothes Pins. They come in 100 count bags, and are the spring type. Refer to the photo at the beginning of this article.
Next visit you local Stationary Supply Store and buy a 1/4 pound bag of #64 Rubber Bands. I bought mine at Office Max, but I’m sure you can get them just about anywhere.
I’ve found this size to be the best as they give you enough pressure without winding them too tightly.
Making the Clamp:
Take one of the #64 rubber bands and start to wrap it around the body of the clothes pin. You need to be on the jaw side of the spring joint.
I find that if you center your wrap right over the channel where the spring sits, it will leave enough of the jaw sticking out to fit over the lining and side, and it gives you adequate clamping pressure.
With the #64 rubber bands, wrapping 5 times around the clothes pin gives you just the right amount of pressure that you need for gluing the lining tightly against the side plates.
You will need about 60 of these little clamps to go around one of an acoustic guitar. So plan on making about 130 so you have a few around in case the rubber bands break or you drop some. I just keep mine in a couple of plastic coffee cans with lids.
Using the Clamps:
When using the Clothes Pin Clamps for gluing lining, I place them shoulder to shoulder, which means directly adjacent to each other. I find that if you lean the clamp inward, toward the center of the guitar, the jaws will provide the most clamping pressure as this is the ideal angle. Jam the clamp down to the center-line of the lining to provide equal clamping pressure on the lining from top to bottom.
If you keep your clamps in the coffee cans with lids UV rays will not weaken the rubber nearly as quickly. These clamps will last for years and save you a cool $100.00 over commercial spring clamps.
Tags: clamping guitar lining, clothes pin clamps, guitar clamps, guitar making tools, how to make clamps, luthier tools
