I was investigating engraving text to a rock. It turns out the pattern is cut from a thick urethane sheet backed by adhesive. I was given some. I have tried it on my vise and it has held up so far. I have not tried it on a clamp face. I think it might be the ticket for this need.
Any place that puts text on rock will have this stuff.
for assembly of stuff the thick Pony pads are desirable. The squish some and can grab irregular surfaces like the table assembly illustrated below.
I have no idea where I would get that, but it sounds like wonderful stuff.
Recently saw a video on making stuff for the shop on a 3D printer. I don't have one, but prices have come down a lot, and can sometimes be made from parts for even less. He had some pretty nice ideas for clamps, which I like because I have quite a few clamps that could use them.
I have made clamp pads from scrap carpet tile that have served me well for many years.
I made them from scrap tiles using only a utility knife and a drill and Forstner bit. If you don't have scrap tiles, one tile for a couple bucks from the Borg will make several pads. It should be easy enough to modify the shape of the clamping end to fit your bar clamps. Note that eventually they will wear out and the pad will break if attached and removed from the clamp many times. Even after they have broken, the pile should hold them together for several years.
You might also find the PVC sleeves interesting. They keep the iron pipe away from the wood you are trying to glue up, minimizing staining, but are not easy to misplace. (They're probably not necessary for aluminum bar clamps.) Mine are sch.40, but the thinner pipe works just as well.
I have used the plastic pipe to prevent staining. I have also laid out the bottom clamps and put a piece of poly sheeting on them. It prevents staining and catches the drips. Since I use my TS as an assembly table I like to keep the drips off.
The carpet pads don't imprint the texture on the edge of the panel?
Your post came through with a little Icon where the picture should be. I "right clicked" on it and was offered the opportunity to open the picture in another tab. Chose that and it opened in a separate tab. That's a new to me discovery.
If you know anyone who's a windsurfer the stuff they put on top of the boards as anti-slip has an aggressive peal and stick glue backing with is a heavy non-slip rubber facing. Works really well for things like this. Usually its trimmed to fit so you can get the scraps for free.
I've not noticed an imprinting of the fibers on the work piece, but that doesn't mean it can't happen with enough pressure or soft enough wood, so we should keep an eye out for that potential disadvantage. Different carpet tiles might also interact differently, and if there are globs of glue from a previous glue-up trapped in the carpeting, that would surely cause problems. The tile I use has a ~3/16" thick layer of black rubber on the back, holding the looped pile in place.
I've also used small sheets of Visqueen to protect the work from iron stains, but I like the PVC pipe method better. The pipe doesn't get lost, so it is always right there when and where I need it, and it doesn't clutter up a tool drawer, covering up the other stuff in the drawer. My pipe is probably significantly over-engineered. Shorter lengths of lighter, thinner pipe would work just as well, and you would be less likely to have to remove some of them by disassembling the clamp if you end up with a long clamp on a short reach.
Your reported pic icon effect is something else I haven't seen. Very curious. The WoodCentral copy of the posted pic shows up fine in my browser, Safari 11.1.2. The next time I see the little blue question mark, I'll have to try the right click feature.
He does work up to some pretty cool examples, though he must have a fast printer to be printing dust extractor parts, and custom parts for junction boxes.
When I saw your PVC covering the iron pipe I thought it was slotted on the other side so you could slip them on and off without removing the end of the clamp. I had a few I had made by cutting the PVC into short lengths and then cutting a slot in one side by standing them up on the bandsaw. Somehow it never occurred to me to install them whole and then put the end on the clamp. The ones with the slots need to be a little snug to keep the open side from rotating to the top and negating the benefit.
I had a thought. Why not use the conduit type flex tubing that has a slot. You could just cut some pieces and slip them on and if they were a little too long, the clamp could compress them. I will keep my eyes peeled for a piece of the conduit and see if it works.
I have found that I don't need to take the PC spacers on and off very often, as long as I have plenty of clamps in convenient sizes. (Yeah, right! Whatever. )
There is one significant advantage I've found for the stiff, thick PVC spacers. When it comes to flattening a panel made up of narrower boards, the spacers help to align the boards and take the twist out of the panel. After all the glue is applied and all the clamps are in place, but before final tightening, I use a hand screw to force the clamp bar down against the glued joints between each pair of boards at both ends of the panel. Consistent spacer thickness (assuming straight pipes) does a lot to flatten the panel, saving sanding time later.
Until I acquired the aluminum clamps I used Hargrave steel I-beam bar clamps and still do for thicker panel assembly. I just draped some news paper over them when gluing. Kept the glue from the clamps and bench, and iron from the wood.
I use waxed paper on top of the clamps and below the wood. Prevents the black spots, and you can use the clamps to level the panel as you described below.
That is, I use a strip of waxed paper on top of each clamp. There's also a sheet of waxed paper beneath the clamps to protect the bench top.
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