The design of this clamp (nicknamed "The Lobster") is influenced by the Kant Twist clamp that's typically used in metal work. This version is more structured and (I think) better looking, while keeping the exact same functionality and resilience. I initially designed it to be 3D printed and figured I could modify that style to make them from a combination of aluminum and steel.
I made the majority of the parts on my homemade metal-cutting CNC:
You enjoy these, but can't deal with metal? No problem since I made a wooden variation 11 years ago:
And you can get the template for that wooden one on my website:
Among the pluses for this kind of clamp is that the pads do not try to turn (twist) when it's being tightened up, unlike others, such as C clamps. Another plus is that they can "reach into" tighter locations, similar to a hand. The really low-profile "claws" will fit where you can't get a standard F-style or C clamp. More like a spring clamp, however with tons more capability to put the pressure on.
I had fun developing and constructing these clamps and the job was a substantial obstacle. And making them from metal keeps them compact without giving up strength.
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The design of this clamp (nicknamed “The Lobster”) is inspired by the Kant Twist clamp that’s often used in metal work. This version is more streamlined and (I think) much better looking, while keeping the same functionality and durability. I originally designed it to be 3D printed and figured I could modify that design to make them from a combination of aluminum and steel.
I made most of the parts on my homemade metal-cutting CNC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmvjcZmxOjQ
You love these, but can’t work with metal? No problem because I made a wooden version 11 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UcWuyG4e28
And you can get the template for that wooden one on my website:
https://ibuildit.ca/projects/wooden-kant-twist-clamp/
One of the pluses for this type of clamp is that the pads don’t try to rotate (twist) when it’s being tightened, unlike others, such as C clamps. Another plus is that they can “reach into” tighter areas, much like a hand. The very low-profile “claws” will fit where you can’t get a traditional F-style or C clamp. More like a spring clamp, but with tons more ability to put the pressure on.
I had fun designing and building these clamps and the project was a significant challenge. And making them from metal keeps them compact without giving up strength.
They look fantastic.
It’s always a pleasure watching your videos. I wish you all the best for your health and looking forward for your next video
They do look pretty cool, I’ll probably never make them myself but enjoyed watching you make them!
I’d never be able to reproduce this, but it sure was interesting to watch. By the way, any chance of an overview of how your finished kitchen ended up?
Hi John. Do yourself a favour and get some good quality taps. The ones available from hardware stores are garbage. They are more suited for rethreading. I got stuck once on a sunday with a tap I needed and made the mistake of going to Canadian tire. I struggled for a couple hours, and gave up till monday, when I could get one from my industrial supplier. It was cheaper and actually cut steel.
Most of the taps I have, especially the bigger ones, are decades old, so getting new ones is a great suggestion 🙂
This. Don’t buy carbon steel or “hand” taps. HSS spiral-point is what you want, or spiral flute if you’re tapping blind holes.
They do look cool.
It would’ve been nice to see them in action in a few quick demos in the end.
I always love watching your content and builds. So many good ideas!
John, you’re a mind reader. I was thinking you are doing lots of 3D printing and CNC videos lately. I also thought that’s not what drew me to your channel. However, you are still building stuff. There are other ways to build these clamps if one is inclined to do so. I’ve never built anything exactly the same as I’ve watched on a video or bought plans for. The ideas are valuable. For example watching you use your drill press for more than drilling holes is a good lesson. Thanks for what you do. One final thing, you are only a little older than me, and I’m amazed how much it hurts being older! Stay healthy.
They look great. I personally like all the CNC and 3d printing that you video. I like to see what you come up with and mixing CNC, 3D printing, and woodworking is a good thing. I would’ve liked to see you clamp some things with the new clamps at the end and put them through a quick strength test or something but whatever lol
John, I enjoy all your videos! Because I am fascinated by watching a MASTER at work!
Always a pleasure watching your videos. Great design.
Fantastic video John , clamps look supercool.👍 Again you show ways to get things done even if you don’t have the right tool. Now that you do a little more metalworking I wonder if the big belt sander ( 2 x 72 ) is gonna appear again ?
Lol at 00:05 trolling the youtube safety police!
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this video from start to finish John. Thank you. Got to be the best looking hand made clamp ive seen yet here on YT.
I wonder how hot a big pile of rusting chips can get. That’s basically what hand warmers are, right?
You can also print shaped jaws like a right angle groove for holding on to edges of stuff
Your speaker and amp builds were my favorites specifically because of the multi disciplinary angle
John; when I’m doing threading like this, I change the pulley setup on the drill press to the slowest speed, so that the belt is on the lowest/smallest pulley on the motor shaft, and then I turn the motor pulley, by hand, on the largest pulley, so you get about 10:1, maybe, “gearing”, and a nice “feel” while threading, and small rotation of the thread for each pull on the pulley… You can also pull on the belt, itself, to get more travel… If any of it makes sense?
If I had one of those, I’d be clampin’ all day. Just walking around, searching for stuff to clamp. Sweet!