Traditional Woodworking Tools Internet Magazine

For a hobbyist woodworker, one of the joys of the craft is about the diversity and scope of any project. From jewelry boxes to cabinetry, and all the furniture in between, the options don't stop there. There are still choices of woods, joinery, hardware, finishes, and during the journey, there is a wide variety of tool choices involved in most any project.

A challenge the hobbyist woodworker also faces is not the one of commercial production shops, where so many things are similar, it is preparing for building things which are so different. Still the hobbyist has to outfit their shop nearly as well or better than many others.

Sooner or later, most all projects are going to be squeezed in to the woodworking bottleneck. The Glue Up.

Now glue seems pretty simple. There a couple of major types which have different attributes, but they mainly share a similar goal in the end. When dry, things are stuck together. However, the time between wet glue and dry glue is a journey all to itself. No matter the myriad shapes or size of the project, it is going to see clamps.

It is said that one can never have enough clamps, and so it goes. Pipe clamps, bar clamps, "C" clamps, K body clamps, hand screw clamps, Vacuum clamps, corner clamps, spring clamps, veneer press clamps, hold fast clamps, short clamps, long clamps, and the list goes merrily along.

Sooner or later, woodworkers accumulate a bunch of them, and the funny thing is, though it seems you can never have enough, an awful lot of them spend most of their time just hanging around.

One of the most often overlooked tools of the clamping arsenal is the caul. The caul is a wooden board which has a long gentle radius cut into one side of it. They can be made to most any needed length, and are often used in pairs or more, and held in place with clamps.

The applications of use behind the caul are many. Distribution of relatively equal clamping pressure is but one.

Other uses include applying clamping pressure and extending the reach where a traditional clamp cannot reach. Applying clamping pressure quickly in situations where a glues open time is critical. As a method of applying clamping pressure while using less clamps to accomplish it. As a hold fast which reaches across a work piece to fixture it, so other work can be done. For applying pressure to face applied glue ups such as face frames, even augmenting or replacing the veneer press and vacuum clamps used in veneer and marquetry. They even bring a lot to the table when used with laminates.

Enter the Bowclamp!

The Bowclamp isn't just a caul. It has a few extra features engineered in, which help its application to the work.

The Bowclamp comes in two, three and four foot lengths standard, and can be made to custom lengths. It comes standard in Hard Maple, and is available in Brazilian Cherry.

The curve is engineered and CNC routed into the wood to assure consistent clamping pressure along the entire caul, no matter the length. The Bowclamp can be ordered in standard strength, but can also be special ordered for applications where more or less clamping pressure would be desirable.

Also standard, a "T" slot is routed into the back of the caul for use with the screw and clamp pad side of the clamp, to facilitate better clamp management during glue-ups. The whole thing is finished with a wax coating, and buffed to prevent glue from sticking. It comes with a handy loop on one end for hanging on a nail.

Best of all, the Bowclamp is affordable. Some of its features and engineering would be difficult to duplicate consistently and accurately in the average shop. They cost less than many clamps, and while they do not eliminate the need for clamps, The Bowclamp easily augments or even replaces some of the clamps needed in many glue ups and fixturing applications.

This means that with Bowclamps, the woodworker uses fewer clamps. The days of never having too many clamps is over, at a savings to the woodworker. The Bowclamps appeal for me was initially not about what was routine and easy for them to do, but for the clamping and fixturing situations I occasionally encounter which are difficult to solve.

"You'd have to be CRAZY to make your own... what's your time worth?"

- Frank Klausz

The Bowclamps ability to telegraph clamping pressure into areas where the usual clamps cannot reach was a major asset in some of the projects I have done, and will continue to be a major asset to my projects in the future.

Using Bowclamps encouraged me to think outside the box about my methods of clamping and fixturing. Now I often find applications for them which I wouldn't expect. I sure use a lot less clamps, and in retrospect, I wonder how much money I would have saved on my clamp arsenal, had I known about the Bowclamp sooner.

One thing is certain. The Bowclamp will have a place in my woodworking clamp arsenal for a long, long time.

The Bowclamps can be purchased at:

Rob Hanson is a long-time amateur woodworker and professional operating engineer. He grew up In his dad's and grandfather's shops, helping them with various woodworking projects as well as remodeling and maintenance projects around the homes and farms, outside Mt. Vernon, Wa - using both hand tools and vintage woodworking machines.

He is a journeyman operating engineer, with experience as a foreman, grademan, and equipment operator in large earth moving, grading and asphalt paving projects, specializing in road building. He makes his home in Sacramento, California.

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