Berna Assemblers
© Frank Ford, 1/25/01; Photos by FF, 1/16/01
Maybe you've run into these little bar clamps at a trade show. That's where I got mine. The demo guy was clamping up all manner of impossible items, and it seemed these would be some mighty useful clamps to have around the shop. In fact, even though they are only about 20% as useful as he claimed, they are a good investment in holding power for slippery lightweight clamping like this binding job:
To get these clamps, do a "Google" search and you'll find them readily available from a number of sources.
They are sliding bar clamps that weigh almost nothing and are surprisingly strong, using a hollow carbon fiber tube as the bar.
I think they are a bit too clever for their own good, because the hollow tube is surprisingly fragile:
This one got all cracked up just bouncing around in the drawer with the others. I broke my first one by stepping on it the day I bought it.
After cracking this second one, I resolved to take care of the situation, and came up with this simple little solution.
First, I taped over one open end to seal it:
Then, I simply filled the whole damn thing with epoxy.
Now, this rod is incredibly durable! And, it is still surprisingly lightweight:
I don't think the additional weight of epoxy has impaired the utility at all, and now I can really abuse these things without fear of damage.
Back to Index Page