on the way home

[lptools]

Overtime ended, so I was out the door at 2:30!! Hit a couple Marketplace ads, and then got a phone call from a guy having an estate sale, home by 4:30!! At top is an Ohio Tool 1-1/8" skewed rabbet plane, below that is a Star Liquid Machny Co. nameplate? next is a 6" vernier caliper, (origin questionable), and 2 folding rules Chapin Stevens No. 68 and a Stanley 36-1/2. On the left is a Stanley 100 Pus enclosed gear hand drill, and a set of Malco T-Handle Hex Keys. On the right is a No. 5 for parts, a clean 110 block plane, and a hefty 1-1/2" socket chisel. At bottom is a Button Pliers, and a very strange looking clamp, feed screw is only about half the length of the opening, and there is a handle as part of the frame!! Regards, Lou

[Bill Houghton]

I've seen other large-capacity C-clamps on which the clamping screw was shorter than the capacity.  It makes sense for large clamps: if you assume the clamp will be used because the large capacity is needed, you don't really need to go all the way to the end of the space; and a full-length screw is subject to bending, ruining the clamp.

[lptools]

Hello, Bill. Thanks for the reply, and the info!! I have a few other clamps where the screw is shorter than the opening, I never thought about it till now!! I'm guessing the crank handle was for quick tightening, and the handle is still a mystery!! Regards, Lou

[Bill Houghton]

...the handle is still a mystery!!

Considering the size and probable weight of that clamp, the handle is no mystery at all!

[lptools]

Hello, Bill. I haven't weighed it yet , it is still soaking!! I don't think it is as heavy as a traditional C-clamp of the same size. It has what I am calling an I-beam frame. Thanks, Lou

[papadan]

That clamp was a life saver for me many times. I used them on overhead cranes to press wheel bearings into the end trucks. I didn't usually have room to hold the clamp by the handle, I hung the clamp on a small come-a-long from the rafters so I could operate the clamp with both hands. Most of the end trucks were 10-20" and only had to move the bearings 3-4". Big clamps with short screws perfect for these jobs. I probably have a couple out in the garage with my old work gear in a small job box.