Dress for Success – Preventing Clamp Scars. I’m often asked to repair furniture for friends and family. I guess they figure if I can build a chair, I ought to be able to repair one as well. Handscrews are my clamp of choice when it comes to fixing a split spindle or leg. Because I’m repairing a finished piece, I have to be extra careful of clamp scars.
I try to keep the handscrew jaws smooth and clean, but when I want that extra layer of protection against marring the wood, I look to my sock drawer. There’s always a sock or two that’s lost its mate or worn a hole in the toe. I cut off the foot and use the ankle portion as a protective sleeve over my handscrew clamp jaws. (I use the foot as a general shop rag. I have a hard time throwing anything away.) The sock slips easily over the jaw and never leaves a mark on the wood.
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Good tip.
I find the clamps pictured hard to manipulate. For me they are difficult to use properly so I avoid them.