The idea of designing these DIY double C Clamps for laminating wood came from the need to quickly obtain a large number of laminated beams in a short time.

We used to laminate timber beams by using a lot of F clamps on each edge of the beam. The entire process of laminating was very difficult and the time we spent to do that was huge. Not to speak about the soreness in our hands. So that, instead of using the usual F clamps, we chose to build these home made double C clamps.

Why do these double C clamps for laminating timber help us?

So, let’s see how these Double C Clamps for laminating timber help us:

• we save a lot of time when laminating
• we can make the laminated timber beams any length, just as needed
• we don’t need that many F clamps to make them
• only one C clamp applies pressure on both edges of the laminated timber
• no more pain for our hands

A short video to see how to make your own clamping system to laminate timber beams

You can take a look at this short video to find out how we built our own clamping system to laminate timber beams:

How to make DIY double C clamps for laminating wood boards

For these DIY double C clamps you need:

• one piece o square tubing (we used 30 mm x 40 mm with a 2 mm wall thickness)
• two hex screws (M 10)
• two nuts (M 10)
• a piece of steel corner profile
• a piece of flat bar

1. Take a piece of steel tubing: 4 cm x 3 cm with at least 2 mm thickness

2. Mark two points so that you can cut the piece of square tube and you can bend it in these points at 90 degrees

3. Cut the square tube by using the angle grinder

4. Bend the square tube at the cuts

5. Try to make it as square as possible

6. Weld the corners of your custom made double C clamp

7. Cut the ends of the square tube at 45 degrees so that the double C clamps will look nice

8. Measure and cut two pieces of flat bar (the same width as the square tube, or as close as possible)

9. Weld the caps. The caps are not just for looks, as they help the clamp maintain it’s shape, too.

10. Drill two holes for the tightening screws. We used three different diameter drill bits to avoid damaging the battery drill. Drilling progressive diameter holes reduces the time to drill large holes, actually.

11. Weld the nuts. Welding the nuts is tricky because you must weld them strong without damaging their shape. To weld them correctly and easy, you can use the hex screws and an additional nut to keep them in place.

12. Clean the welds with the angle grinder. That makes them look even better, if you are not that good at welding (my case, too). Try to make the surface and the corners smoother so that the double C clamps will look better after applying the paint.

13. Paint them. Paint makes everything look way better. It also helps prevent rust. Also,you can clean them easier when they get dirty with sawdust.

14. Use the custom double C clamps to make your own laminated timber beams, quickly and easy. We use steel pressing pads to avoid damaging the face of the laminated wood boards. These ones are some old steel pressing pads so they need some improvements to work and look better.