Cheap keel clamp?

[bryanc]

This addition is something of an aside, and, at the risk of looking foolish I thought I'd share it. Like, I suspect, many others, there is an abundance of tools I'd like to possess but simply cannot justify the purchase price. One of the primary ones being a keel clamp. One of the better ones is the lovely one costing a little short of £50.00.

 

Well, I was in Aldi this afternoon, actually went specifically to have a look at one of their "specials", a table vice, which I thought could maybe pressed into service as a keel clamp, and with other uses. The vice edges are rubber sheathed to protect the object in the jaws. I bought one. Getting it home I thought perhaps it was a waste of money, its quite a robust thing, die cast aliminium and weighty with it. However I tried it; I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Have a look at the photo just taken.

 

 

Its bulky and its use will be limited, but I can see it proving useful for some tasks. Its available as a clamp mounted thing that clamps to a table edge or similar or a suction mounted one. And why am I making such a fuss? Well it costs less than £7.00!!

 

bryanc

[usedtosail]

Nice!

[jbshan]

That should work.  Your model is pretty short, so it may not be a problem, but you might want to think about a couple of pieces of wood in the vice to extend the clamping surface so the keel is supported for a longer distance.  A bolt either end of the wood, and a slot in the top a smidge smaller than the keel would be nice and stable.

You've already spent the money, but Amati makes a keel clamper with swivel base that works very well for me.  Just checked, it's $87.95 here, so that's close to your £50.  Is this the one?

 

Joel Sanborn

[Tadeusz43]

Hi,

My jigs for hull assembling and planking.

Simple is the best.

 

Tadeusz

 

My models:

From kits

Vasa, HMS Victory, Le Solei Royale, Friesland

From scratch

HMS Warrior 1860, Esplanade, Grosse Yacht

Norman’s ship, HMS Speedy, La Royale

Peter von Danzig

Polacca XVII cent.

Current project:

SS Savannah 1818

[bryanc]

That should work.  Your model is pretty short, so it may not be a problem, but you might want to think about a couple of pieces of wood in the vice to extend the clamping surface so the keel is supported for a longer distance.  A bolt either end of the wood, and a slot in the top a smidge smaller than the keel would be nice and stable.

You've already spent the money, but Amati makes a keel clamper with swivel base that works very well for me.  Just checked, it's $87.95 here, so that's close to your £50.  Is this the one?

full_0095_7382-A.jpg

 

Joel Sanborn

 

 

That should work.  Your model is pretty short, so it may not be a problem, but you might want to think about a couple of pieces of wood in the vice to extend the clamping surface so the keel is supported for a longer distance.  A bolt either end of the wood, and a slot in the top a smidge smaller than the keel would be nice and stable.

You've already spent the money, but Amati makes a keel clamper with swivel base that works very well for me.  Just checked, it's $87.95 here, so that's close to your £50.  Is this the one?

full_0095_7382-A.jpg

 

Joel Sanborn

 

Hi Joel, thanks for that, and yes, that is the £50.00 one I was referring to, and I'd love one, but just can't justify the expense yet, hence the much cheaper alternative. Its already proved its worth by holding the ship fast while I fiddle with deck fittings.

 

Bryan

[bryanc]

Hi,

My jigs for hull assembling and planking.

Simple is the best.

 

Tadeusz

 

My models:

From kits

Vasa, HMS Victory, Le Solei Royale, Friesland

From scratch

HMS Warrior 1860, Esplanade, Grosse Yacht

Norman’s ship, HMS Speedy, La Royale

Peter von Danzig

Polacca XVII cent.

Current project:

SS Savannah 1818

 

Hi Tadeusz,

 

Well I can't argue with your jigs, given the high quality of work you're producing!

 

Bryan

[CaptainSteve]

Want a cheap keel clamp ??

 

Here's one which I picked up just the other evening. It's designed for my soon-to-be-rebooted USS Constitution build. It was put together by a professional carpenter friend free of charge ... all I paid for was the packet of bolts.

 

Here's a couple of pics ..

 

Essentially, the back rail is fixed to the base-board. The front rail is free and joins to the back one using two (soon to be four) bolts.

 

All up, it's 100cm (about 39.5 inches) long. As mentioned, I'd like to drill two extra holes thru closer to the centre, so that it will end up using four bolts to clamp shut on the keel.

 

Here it is with my current build, the Bounty Launch, clamped into position ...

Edited February 13, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[rtropp]

Tadeusz

Can you provide close ups of your stern and bow clamps in pictures #3, 4 and 6?

Thanks,

Richard

[pythagoras]

Hello everyone,

  Just to add my $.02.  I built the same clamping device as Captain Steve but added a lazy susan base to the bottom board.  It is invaluable for rigging both sides of the model.

   Pythagoras

[Modeler12]

I used two metal bars with two bolts to clamp my hull until the copper sheeting had been applied. It is similar to what Captsteve shows above. 
 

From that point on I mounted the ship on a wooden board with the posts in place that will hold the ship in its final position.

It is a very rigid support that allows me to handle the whole thing without worries of coming loose. The board has taken a lot of abuse and will be replaced with a better looking one when the ship is finished. The picture below was taken when I made some adjustments to the sails. 

 

 

I have a lazy Jay to turn the ship around

Edited February 7, 2015 by Modeler12

[Julie Mo]

Some interesting keel clamps here!   Maturin suggested the Amati clamp to me and a search led me to this thread.

 

I am at that point where I will need to make a cradle for my build.  I don't think the Amati keel clamps shown here will work for my model (J-Class Endeavour).  The problem arises when the clamp is pressing on the balsa backing I installed.  I've taken a lot of time fairing the backing and don't want to deform or compress the balsa.  

 

But I do enjoy seeing the ingenuity displayed here. 

[Ponto]

I used two metal bars with two bolts to clamp my hull until the copper sheeting had been applied. It is similar to what Captsteve shows above. 

 

From that point on I mounted the ship on a wooden board with the posts in place that will hold the ship in its final position.

It is a very rigid support that allows me to handle the whole thing without worries of coming loose. The board has taken a lot of abuse and will be replaced with a better looking one when the ship is finished. The picture below was taken when I made some adjustments to the sails. 

 

sail 501.jpg

 

I have a lazy Jay to turn the ship around

 

Yikes!!!.....don't you feel like you're tempting fate??

 

JP

[jbshan]

Think about ways to support it upside down for doing the planking.  Your new vise is nice, but perhaps will need some fingers to get onto the center plate from the top while you plank the outside of the hull.  That's why I like my Amati vise, plus it has a fairly sturdy base with the swivel fitting and doesn't need screwing down.  Tadeusz has a couple of set ups that might give some ideas.

[Bob Blarney]

Bryanc,

 

It's not apparent to me that that vise is cumbersome.  A good vise is like having a giant with a strong hand to hold things for you.

 

If I were you, I'd think about making auxiliary jaws for special purposes.

 

(Note - as I understand the English language:  British English makes no distinction between the spellings of 'vice' and 'vise'.  But for Americans, the word 'vice' means something that holds >you< tightly and usually works to your detriment.  On the other  hand, the word 'vise'  means a mechanical object that holds objects for you so that you can work productively.)