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Best way to clamp or hold small segmented parts?

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packer34

PRO Member
I'm going to be turning a ornament and I'm looking for the best way to hold or clamp the segmented pieces, I usually use metal band clamps but these pieces are only 1/4" thick. Any suggestions welcome.
 
packer34 go down to 'Collaborative Bowl Project' below in this section. Glenn and I were working a design similar. Right at the beginning of the thread he shows his clamping metod
 
I have used a rub joint method to build pairs into half rings for thin segments <.25". In doing so, I found that getting the outside edges to match up was critical for creating a round ring. No clamping was done till the two half rings were joined. Then I used rubber bands.
 
I use a method that I've used for years which probably came from Malcolm Tibbetts. I have a 12" x 12" x 3/4" MDF board with concentric circles labeled with their dimension. There are 8 - 16 small holes drilled equadistant around each circle. I buy waxed paper from the dollar store and for each ring, I tear off a piece to fit, place it on the board and insert nails in the ring just bigger than the target ring and put a couple rubber bands around them. I then squeeze glue into the center of the ring and then dab a segment in the glue and use it to spread glue to the next segment and then loosely join the segments. I then pull two opposing nails and then two more opposed to them and repeat until all nails are removed. I'll add more rubber bands after that if necessary.

I've tried all sorts of methods, but seem to keep coming back to this one as it seems to give a good amount of clamping pressure.
 
I many times use the same method as Lloyd, but I cover the board with clear packing tape and wipe it clean with a paper towel after each ring. With very thin rings sometimes it helps to hold down the segments with a round piece of wood just smaller than the outer diameter of the segments while pulling the nails.
 
Lloyd Johnson said:
I use a method that I've used for years which probably came from Malcolm Tibbetts. I have a 12" x 12" x 3/4" MDF board with concentric circles labeled with their dimension. There are 8 - 16 small holes drilled equadistant around each circle. I buy waxed paper from the dollar store and for each ring, I tear off a piece to fit, place it on the board and insert nails in the ring just bigger than the target ring and put a couple rubber bands around them. I then squeeze glue into the center of the ring and then dab a segment in the glue and use it to spread glue to the next segment and then loosely join the segments. I then pull two opposing nails and then two more opposed to them and repeat until all nails are removed. I'll add more rubber bands after that if necessary.

I've tried all sorts of methods, but seem to keep coming back to this one as it seems to give a good amount of clamping pressure.
Click to expand...


Lloyd, any chance you could post a photo? My brain sometimes needs a kickstart...
 
Chris this is my version, I used a plastic cutting board from Walmart. I screwed it to a piece of MDF to stiffen it up. But glue does not stick to it.IMG_20161205_194519494.jpg
 
Bob Beaupre said:
Chris this is my version, I used a plastic cutting board from Walmart. I screwed it to a piece of MDF to stiffen it up. But glue does not stick to it.View attachment 1863
Click to expand...
Thanks Bob, I'll give this a try. I'm lazy, any chance there's a template floating around on the net? Also, I have #64 (3 1/2 x 1/4 inch) bands. Are these appropriate? Not much to chose from at Staples...
 
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Chris Neilan said:
Thanks Bob, I'll give this a try. I'm lazy, any chance there's a template floating around on the net? Also, I have #64 (3 1/2 x 1/4 inch) bands. Are these appropriate? Not much to chose from at Staples...
Click to expand...
Chris I tried that method with the rubber bands with 1/4 inch rings without much success. could be my 10 thumbs though. I found it very tedious keeping the band in place.
 
Chris That is why I ended up grouping rings in WTP into pairs. I then made full thickness rings (3/4" or what thickness my boards were). This way I was able to use the clamp bands. I then split some on the band saw and some I did on the lathe. So gluing up one ring gave me two rings.
 
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