Thimble Clamp

[Tom Moore]

I thought sure that someone had posted a picture of a very clever clamp to hold thimbles tight to the under rib for soldering. Danged if I can find it. Does anyone remember where it is or am I locked in the embrace of another senior moment? Thanks to all. -Tom

[Ken G]

Tom, I remember it and use one on a regular basis. They work great. It was on the old board under shop tools. You will need to go to the archives to find it

[J. Talbert]

Tom,

You may be thinking of this little gizmo that I came up with and posted a while back.





It's made with the hole in the end piece a little oversized, so that when the screw is tightened it rides up on the bevel of the fixed end and spreads, holding the thimble from the inside.  The whole thing is held in the vise and can be rotated to almost any position you might need.

Hope you find it handy,

Jeff

[Tom Moore]

Thanks guys. It was Packdog's "soldering clamp for barrel lugs" that I was going to modify to hold thimbles that I finally found. Memory sure does funny things... 

[J. Talbert]

Tom,

I should have read your post more carefully.

Jeff

[David Rase]

Tom,

I should have read your post more carefully.

Jeff

Jeff,  I am glad you did not read Tom's post more carefully.  I remember your little fixture but never got around to making one.  Glad you posted it again.  I will knock one out before it slips my mind again.
DMR

[Metalshaper]

[
Jeff,  I am glad you did not read Tom's post more carefully.  I remember your little fixture but never got around to making one.  Glad you posted it again.  I will knock one out before it slips my mind again.
DMR

I'm with David on this one!  Need to get mine built and added to the tool kit!!

I've borrowed a couple of different jig/clamp ideas, that have been shared by the membership!  btw, the lil sight base clamp,,worked like a charm!

Thanks for all the great ideas/info!!

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan

[Ken G]

I thought yiou were talking about the 2 pieces of rod with oversized hole also. The lug clamp jig is one I made based on a Don Getz post/jig sometime back.

[J. Talbert]

David and Jonathan,

Glad you like it.  Hope you find it handy.

Jeff

[ptk1126]

Although not what Tom is looking for, I thought I would mention something I have found useful for
holding thimbles for filing and sanding -  a Dremel (or similar) sanding drum mandrel. These are a rubber drum with
an expansion screw in the center and usually a 1/8" shank. The drum itself comes in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2",  and
3/4" sizes and only costs about $2-3 each. Worked well on my last set of pipes.

All the best
Paul