Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/20/07, 5:19 PM #1

Greg
Chisel
Offline
83 posts

Registered: 1/2/04

Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

Greg

>I have been putting my clamps to heavy use and have a lot of wood glue dripped on the bars that has dried hard. I can scrape it but it takes along time and doesn't get it completely off. Does anyone know an easy way to get dried glue off the metal bar on a Bessey clamp?

Thanks for any ideas,

Greg

- - -

I am always on the hunt for ephemera. It can be pictures, legal document, diplomas, manuals, personal letters and anything else that shows up. I try not to keep any of my finds. I read them, enjoy them, and then look for a permanent home. I have donated to museums, schools, fraternal organizations and even to the Weyerheauser Company. My finds are distributed here in the Pacific Northwest, but also California, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Connecticut. Helpful hint: Just about every county in the country has a museum of some sort. They are usually thrilled to receive items that reflect their history and culture. I recently had in my possession a personal letter from February,1946, that had been addressed from one APO (army post office) to another. Stamped on the face was "Return to Sender, Undeliverable Address". I had found it at an estate sale, presumably at the home of the person who originally sent the letter. I have no idea why the letter was kept all these years, but it had never been opened. I opened it and read it at home. It was written by an American woman who worked as a civilian for the U.S. government in post-war Offenhut, Germany. She had sent it to another American woman who was doing a similar job in Shanhghai, China. The letter was newsy and informative about the hardships of living in a bombed out country. No doubt the conditions in Shanghai were no better. I had no great expectations of success, but I googled the name of the intended recipient. The woman's first name is uncommon, and I came upon a woman of that name who had gotten married in California in 1947, the year after the letter was sent. Further, the letter had stated that the two women had worked together for the O.N.I. (Office of Naval Intelligence?) in San Francisco during the war, so California made sense. So I had the woman's current name, or at least it was current 64 years ago. More digging revealed that there is a couple living in the same California town as where the marriage took place. He is 97 and she is 91. (It's amazing what the internet can divulge.) I got the phone number and called. The husband answered. I introduced myself and told him I was looking for a woman and mentioned her maiden name. He said yes, that was his wife's maiden name. Then I said the woman I was looking for had worked in Shanghai after the war. He said, yes, his wife had worked in China. WOW, I had hit paydirt. We didn't talk for long, but he was enthused about receiving the letter, and I mailed it the next day. He promised to write back after the letter arrived. It has been just over a week, so I am eagerly waiting for his return letter. Hopefully it will take less than 65 years to get here. Greg

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/20/07, 5:48 PM #2

BilWil
Plank
Offline
46 posts

Registered: 1/20/07

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

BilWil

>Depends on the type of glue, if epoxy or unibond 8000 the answer is scrape, if hide glue warm water and a bit of vinegar, if PVC and it isn't the water resistant kind warm water works. If it is polyurathane of the water proof PVC then it is back to scrap.

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/20/07, 9:23 PM #3

Dustmaker Mike
Master Craftsman
Offline
1,650 posts

Registered: 12/31/03

Wax Paper

Dustmaker Mike

>I always try to use wax paper over my clamps and between the face and the wood just for that reason. The way I get if off depends on the type of glue and that was already covered. Good Luck

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/21/07, 12:06 AM #4

Scott in Eastern Iowa
Guest

Thoughmine havent seen enough heavy use....

Scott in Eastern Iowa

>.....I'm wondering if a fella couldnt just apply paste wax to them so the glue just peels off?

Scott

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/21/07, 2:26 AM #5

Rob Stokes in North Vancouver
Guest

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

Rob Stokes in North Vancouver

>I buzz mine across a wire wheel - takes but a minute.

rob

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/22/07, 3:15 PM #6

David Hay @ Denver
Carpenter
Offline
309 posts

Registered: 1/6/04
Website

Re: Thoughmine havent seen enough heavy use....

David Hay @ Denver

>Seems like I remember someone on this board mentioning that they had done that very thing, with no ill effects (e.g. no problems having the clamp slip)

David

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/22/07, 4:27 PM #7

Michael Wangler in Rochester, NY
Guest

Re: Thoughmine havent seen enough heavy use....

Michael Wangler in Rochester, NY

>That was me. Here is what I had to say:

I have a bunch of Bessey K body clamps and noticed over time that the yellow glue seems to hold very well to the metal bar and builds up easily. Sometimes this seems to affect the operation of the clamp and the ability to close it up against the wood. It was also noted that this glue does not easily come of the bar. Over the weekend I soaked each clamp (with a hot wet rag) and then scrapped the glue off the surface. I was hesitant to put wax (paste wax - bowling alley formulation) on the bar (fearing slippage), but it figured I would try it on one of them. The clamp works much better and there was no slippage. I ended up cleaning and waxing all of them. I also waxed the threaded screw portion. I would recommend it on your Besseys!

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

1/23/07, 3:41 AM #8

Greg
Chisel
Offline
83 posts

Registered: 1/2/04

Re: Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

Greg

>Now that is a good idea. Thanks I will try that

- - -

I am always on the hunt for ephemera. It can be pictures, legal document, diplomas, manuals, personal letters and anything else that shows up. I try not to keep any of my finds. I read them, enjoy them, and then look for a permanent home. I have donated to museums, schools, fraternal organizations and even to the Weyerheauser Company. My finds are distributed here in the Pacific Northwest, but also California, Iowa, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Connecticut. Helpful hint: Just about every county in the country has a museum of some sort. They are usually thrilled to receive items that reflect their history and culture. I recently had in my possession a personal letter from February,1946, that had been addressed from one APO (army post office) to another. Stamped on the face was "Return to Sender, Undeliverable Address". I had found it at an estate sale, presumably at the home of the person who originally sent the letter. I have no idea why the letter was kept all these years, but it had never been opened. I opened it and read it at home. It was written by an American woman who worked as a civilian for the U.S. government in post-war Offenhut, Germany. She had sent it to another American woman who was doing a similar job in Shanhghai, China. The letter was newsy and informative about the hardships of living in a bombed out country. No doubt the conditions in Shanghai were no better. I had no great expectations of success, but I googled the name of the intended recipient. The woman's first name is uncommon, and I came upon a woman of that name who had gotten married in California in 1947, the year after the letter was sent. Further, the letter had stated that the two women had worked together for the O.N.I. (Office of Naval Intelligence?) in San Francisco during the war, so California made sense. So I had the woman's current name, or at least it was current 64 years ago. More digging revealed that there is a couple living in the same California town as where the marriage took place. He is 97 and she is 91. (It's amazing what the internet can divulge.) I got the phone number and called. The husband answered. I introduced myself and told him I was looking for a woman and mentioned her maiden name. He said yes, that was his wife's maiden name. Then I said the woman I was looking for had worked in Shanghai after the war. He said, yes, his wife had worked in China. WOW, I had hit paydirt. We didn't talk for long, but he was enthused about receiving the letter, and I mailed it the next day. He promised to write back after the letter arrived. It has been just over a week, so I am eagerly waiting for his return letter. Hopefully it will take less than 65 years to get here. Greg

Remove dried glue on Bessey clamp

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