Miter Clamp for Floater Tops

Stephen Enggass

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Aug 12, 2019
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185
Location
Maine
Looking for suggestions on a good, small miter clamp to hold the top of floater corners tight while clamping base with my Stanley 400s. Or any suggestion to make a nice, tight corner through. Profile is about 1.5" tall... Thanks.
 
That is a slick little trick with the tape. I am going to give that a try.

I have put a wood triangle on the inside, then clamped it lightly with quick release F-clamps. It I were going to do a lot of them, I would cut notches in a squared triangle so the clamps would be easier to set.

But a strap clamp would work great and is a usefui tool to have around for all kinds of things.
 
Read the thread "Stanley Clamps" in this forum. Near the bottom are some good suggestions for what you need.
 
Masking tape from one side, over the mitre, to the other side.

That'll pinch it tight until the glue sets and you can finagle it however you need.
That is a slick little trick with the tape. I am going to give that a try.

I have put a wood triangle on the inside, then clamped it lightly with quick release F-clamps. It I were going to do a lot of them, I would cut notches in a squared triangle so the clamps would be easier to set.

But a strap clamp would work great and is a usefui tool to have around for all kinds of things.

Use caution if you use the tape trick.
We do tons of floaters, most of them very large.
About 50 in the last 2 weeks.

We often have to build strainers or use 1/2" gator strips to prop up the canvas boards, dibond mounts, plexi-mounts, epoxy coated mounts and stretched canvases because they like to have the art in the floater about 1/8" below the face and believe me, we know what we're doing.
The design company that feeds us a constant pile of canvases uses many, many floaters in their designs.
Their crate and freight company just came today to pick up 81 pieces going to California.

I use the tape trick sometimes and it can work well, but I've been framing for 51 years now.
If you aren't familiar with the finishes that can take tape and those that can't, you might be in for a bad surprise when you pull the tape off and some of the frame finish comes off with the tape.:shutup:

You can still use the tape trick but put a piece of your brown paper over the face and side of the floater to protect the finish on the mouldings that don't like to have tape on them and just pull the tape over the top of the moulding over the brown paper and stick the tape on the backside off the moulding.

I sometimes use tape over the top and sometimes use a strap clamp if needed but most of the time the frames join quite well without issues or having to go to extra steps.
 
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Pinner. 23 gauge.
Glue, vnail high section as well as flat section (avoid visible area), pin tops.
pinner.jpg
 
Another pointer.
If the top of floater is not nailed, be careful if using gap spacers when fitting.
The pressure can "pop" the corners.
 
I've used the tape trick a few times.
I mostly use Stanley 404 clamps.
 
Strap clamps work great, but if you are going to be doing a lot of them a Hoffmann dovetailer equipped with the W-0 bit will solve all the problems mentioned with joining floaters. With the number of floaters Neil does, I'm a little surprised that there isn't a Hoffmann dedicated to a W-0 bit.

The tape trick does work, but as mentioned has its shortcomings. If you do this remember to remove the tape toward the corner from both sides.
 
The Stanley 404 is a clamp and the 400 is a vice.
Just personal opinion of course, but the vice was one of the best designs ever, and the clamps one of the worst.
I inherited a set of 404 clamps when I bought the business 40+years ago and have used them once. They went into the dumpster 30+ years ago when I moved my business.
 
The 400 is for joining the corner.
The 404 is used upside down on the top of the Floater.
 
Masking tape will pull the finish off of gilded moulding, everything else will probably be alright. The other problem I see is if glue squeezes out under the tape and dries.
 
Spring clamps are a good thing to have sometimes. They are simple and quick. The only caveat is that
they leave a 'divot' that has to be filled. They were the go-to thing in pre-underpinner days when cross- nailing
was the standard method. If you have to fill the nail holes then the clamp marks would get done at the same operation.

The original Ulmia clamps are quite expensive but others are available for not a lot of cash.

spring clamp.jpg
 
I have two strap clamps for pre v-nail gluing of tall frames.

The Merle clamp is extremely strong as the strap is steel.
However the stiff strap does make it a little awkward to work with sometimes.
And I have scratched finished frames with the edge of the steel strap.

81zVDDbrfML._AC_SL1500_.jpg



The other is Wolfcraft. It's easier to work with. The soft synthetic strap will not damage finishes.
The strap does stretch, I'm not sure whether that is a real issue or not.
71Y-Gu-e0pL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Is there a difference between the 'Stanley No. 400' and the 'Stanley 19-400'? I can't seem to find any info on this.
 
I v-nail the float frame as best as possible and than quickly put a band clamp on it and let it set up overnight. Quick and easy.
 
Dittos Dan Berg. Tall masterclamps allow manipulation of meeting point at the top of the miter while clamping.
Hoffman W-0 works best when the moulding is tall enough to use the tall fence on the machine. Then, you can hold the vertical face tight to the fence when routing the keyways.
W-2 and W-3 keys are too reminiscent of tax forms.
 
I will echo the Hoffmann. We have three, one each dedicated to W-0, W-1 and W-2. We have one or two jobs a year that require W-3, and they are large enough to make it worthwhile changing over (maybe 1000 routes at a time) otherwise I'd not bother. Although the MU3x machines surely to make it a lot less painful. We now have two of those and one of the old MU2x.
 
Looking for suggestions on a good, small miter clamp to hold the top of floater corners tight while clamping base with my Stanley 400s. Or any suggestion to make a nice, tight corner through. Profile is about 1.5" tall... Thanks.
I'm partial to the metal strap clamp made by Merle which I use all of the time. Suggest you use a piece of UHMW plastic between the clamp and the frame. It will prevent the clamp from possibly denting your work, glue won't stick to it, and also allows you to position the clamp at the center of the molding.
Merle Clamp - 1.jpg
 
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