The Universal Wedgegrip cabinet clamps are some of the most useful, under-appreciated clamps we have come across in ages. After an initial head scratch or two, we figured the best approach was to put them to use, and that's when everything clicked.
The basic premise of the Wedgegrip clamps is that unlike a regular bar-clamp (or nearly any other clamp we can think of) which you put across whatever you are clamping, with the Wedgegrip the clamp attaches to a single end of the workpiece.
At one end the the Wedgegrip grips the wood, and at the other a screw clamp provides plenty of leverage, right where you want it - around the joint being clamped. Although we're admittedly suckers for clever tooling, what we really love about these clamps is that you don't need access to both sides of the workpiece. Working alone with these clamps is a cinch. No more walking around to one side of your cabinet to set the other end of your bar clamp, only to helplessly watch as the other end of the clamp moves out of position.
One great advantage of site specific clamping pressure is that you needn't worry about bowing your work piece, as is possible with bar clamps.
There are two versions of the clamp. The UC-76
is designed for clamping face frames. The UC-76A
has the wedge grip twisted at 90 degrees to the clamp body, perfect for clamping shelves and cabinet units
.
The basic units come with a U-Member sized for 3/4" stock. Accessories are available (click the tabs) for thicker and thinner stock, for attaching the UC-76 to a work-surface or bench for production work, for adapting the clamp into a short regular clamp, and for clamping miters.
The Universal Wedgegrip clamps come standard with a with a jaw arm designed to handle stock thickness between 3/4" and 13/16" inch, a jaw pad, and the clamp/screw assembly.
Jaw Arms for thicker stock:
Additional jaw arms, also called U-members, are available in two additional sizes. The medium jaw fits thicknesses up to 1-1/16", and the large fits up to 1-9/16".
Extra No-Scuff Jaw pads: We like to keep an extra jaw pad around because we can just leave a bit of sand paper stuck onto the bottom of the pad. By the way the sandpaper helps with thinner stock but if pre-finished materials have a tendency to slip in the clamp even with sandpaper if the material is too thin for the jaw arm.
Base for UC-76: If you do production or semi-production work the base piece - which fits the UC-76 ONLY, not the UC-76A might help you speed up operations. Using one or two bases, screw them onto a board at the clamp position. slide a UC-76 clamp into each base, which will keep them stable and prevent them from moving about as you work. Clamp your rail and stile together, and either let the clamps sit there while the glue dries, or just slide the clamps off with the work to dry, and slide two new clamps onto the base for the next clamp-up.
Clamp / Miter Bar: This rather clever bar is used with the UC-76 ONLY and converts it to either a regular clamp with capacity from 0 to 7" or with the miter accessory you can clamp mitered corners together.
Miter Attachment: This attachment slides over the front jaw of the UC-7^ only and with the miter bar (above) turns your clamp into a miter clamp for frames. The attachment also comes with a small secondary clip that can be used with the regular bar clmaps so that they can be used for clamping miters also.
| Clamp model: |
UC-76 |
UC-76A |
| Clamping angle: |
90 Deg. |
| Primary Application: |
Clamping face frames, frames, miters |
Clamping shelving and carcasses |
| Weight: |
1.55 lb. |
1.5 lb. |
| Capacity as supplied: |
Just over 3/4" (13/16ths) |
| Capacity with available accessory Jaws:
| 3/4" (actually 13/16ths) to 1-1/2" (actually 1 and 9/16ths) |
Can be used with mounting base: |
Yes |
No |
| overall Dimensions: |
11-12.5" by 4" by 3.5" |
13.75-15.25" by 4" by 3.5" |
| Max. Clamping width: |
7" wide stile |
2-1/2" Carcass wall |
| Thread Travel: |
1.5" |
| Thread |
1/2" ACME (Steel) |
| Made of: |
Non-reactive molded Aluminum (Won't stain) |
| Manufactured in: |
Dubuque,Iowa USA |
