4-way Clamps For Woodworking - Get Flat Panel Glue Ups Using Superstrut

4-way Clamps For Woodworking, Flat Panel Glue Ups Using Superstrut
(Material Links Below)
Clamping panels doesn't have to be difficult. This clamp system is designed for the sole purpose of clamping panels using pressure from the top, bottom and sides all at the same time. Bar clamps are great but they dont apply pressure onto the top and bottom, these will save you time and reduce the amount of clamps required for a flat glue up.
Clamps (best):
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Clamps Alternative if top is not in stock:
amzn.to/3B9qWop
Flat Head Screws:
amzn.to/3FCAOY2
Unistrut Amazon:
amzn.to/35P8UvX
Super Strut Home Depot:
www.homedepot....
Nylon Strut Cone Nut (5 pack):
www.homedepot....
Shop Amazon with my affiliate link to support the channel, it costs you nothing but helps to get in more products: amzn.to/3SSLThe

[@johnpetrea]

Mr. Coykendall, I really appreciated this video and actually made a pair of these clamps with SuperStrut and Peachtree/Fulton 4 way clamps… I just finished my first project glue up using them so fingers crossed 🤞… Thank You

[@MattCoykendall1]

Glad I could help!

[@robbyram]

My brother got me these exact clamps for Christmas. Watched the video a month ago and patiently waited for Home Depot to restock their super struts. This weekend I got to assemble with your suggested equipment and try these. Awesome is the only word I can use!

[@kyzor-sosay6087]

Next time go to any electrical supply house,unistrut is a common item in commercial electrical construction.

[@RDAUGIRD]

Cauls and clamps all in one, brilliant.

[@deogloriawoodworks]

I've been watching videos of people using wood bars, and I always question how a glue up will go considering the wood bars would be stuck to the panels. Very glad to have found an option with metal bars. I likely will be giving this a try. Thank you!

[@drewjohnson4673]

People put high density plastic or packing tape on the wood.

[@douglasvine2516]

I just finished putting together a set of clamps following your model. I really like the idea of using the super strut. I'm a retired mechanical engineer that has gotten heavily into woodwoorking. Most of the hardcore woodworkers do everything in wood and it's not as stiff nor dimensionally as stable as steel. I did a router sled for flattening slabs with angle iron. All the home made sleds online are made with wood. So it looks like we might be pioneers in using steel for woodworking :).

[@MattCoykendall1]

I need to put together a router sled one of these days. Thanks for watching.

[@zski03]

Thank you! This video is exactly what I needed to figure out how to set mine up, and to clarify what additional parts I actually need to use these with superstrut.

[@paultyler5989]

The cut off from Super Strut works great as a clamping straight edge. Just Made me a set of these. Thanks for the video.

[@tinkeringeekkissimmeefl4495]

Thanks a million for this video. Been looking for ways to do panel glue up clamping and your instructional video is just perfect. I found the same concept at Woodpeckers, but the cost of their clamps are about 3 times as much as what you present here, for a set of 4. Steps are easy to follow and thanks for providing information on parts needed. Looking forward to building these clamps on the weekend.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Thanks for watching, glad you found it useful!

[@woodyk5127]

Hi Matt I did run into an issue where the glue tends to stick to the super strut. Tried waxing the super strut but that helped but didn’t really solve the problem completely. Finally I decided to add blue tape to the super strut and that worked quite well. Surprisingly, I can wipe off any glue on the blue tape and continue so no need to change the tape between glue up and the super strut remains clean of any glue. Thank you, AJ

[@MattCoykendall1]

Good tip!

[@vincentboothe1700]

I found wax paper works well for this.

[@customadefurniture5475]

finally !!! something to keep my boards straight !!!!!

[@ZzZ-qd1zo]

Cool idea! I saw a video a few days ago of someone just using a couple of bolts on those metal struts for vertical pressure, then using cheaper harbor freight clamps for the horizontal pressure. It seemed less finicky than this setup, and definitely cheaper.

[@ronnieg6099]

Picture?

[@ZzZ-qd1zo]

@@ronnieg6099 Well, youtube won't let us post links, but I dug it up. The channel is Busted Knuckle Woodworks, and the video is "Rockler doesn't want you to see this video"

[@AxGryndr]

I just went an picked up some superstrut for this project. The first time I saw something similar, the person just used lag bolts but I like you idea of making 4 way clamps. The thing I would tell people is to inspect your superstrut carefully. I noticed on many of the pieces at my local HD, the punch used for the holes must have been dulling, because many of them had burrs and/or rigids that could mar your project if your not careful.

[@Reign_In_Blood_963]

I just ordered a set of these. Didn't know there was an alt to the op rockler ones, but for my needs I'll be using wood cauls for a couple of reasons. 1. Cauls tapered from the center in toward the outer ends help with distributing the clamping pressure across larger panels. 2. Wood will be more forgiving on the surface than the metal.

[@keithruffner7168]

Looks good I’m 2 lazy so I just bought some from rockler, definitely more but I’m lazy :) if I wasn’t this video would have helped me out for sure thanks

[@1958bytor]

I used 2x material and packing tape to keep glue from sticking. I love these clamps.

[@MattCoykendall1]

That's a good idea too!

[@williamclark9743]

Wow, I really like the way you made these clamps. I'm going to have to give these a try when I start gluing up larger panels than what I'm doing now.

[@AAA-0]

Thanks for sharing. These double duty clamps are more versatile than K clamps. Also cheaper.

[@pfry]

I just put together a table with my home made wood clamps. This will be much easier than my system

[@sallobello4012]

i purchased the 4 way clamps but i am making some modifications because i used 7/8 struts instead 1 5/8 and they are working just great

[@MattCoykendall1]

Glad to hear it !

[@charliewarren8366]

It appears to me 7/8 stut is what he's using? What kinds of modifications are you doing? Again Matt thanks money saving idea!

[@isaaczeitoun7767]

Great video! Question, with 50" bars how wide of a glue up can fit between the clamps?

[@bitsurfer0101]

I didn't quite understand what you meant by this statement at 5:11 : "It may make things easier if you place something under the panels to provide a little more space to adjust the clamps." Could you demonstrate that?

[@deogloriawoodworks]

The link you provide for the Superstrut is 12 gauge; it appears to be square in shape on the end. In the video, however, it doesn't look square...it looks more like a rectangle at the end view. Just wanted to confirm that the 12 gauge is what is needed. My clamps arrived today so I'm looking at getting the Superstrut ASAP. Thank you.

[@williambraun3563]

I have been wondering the same thing mine are coming in today and I was going to run to Home Depot and get some but it's a little confusing on which one.

[@markk4015]

Matt, which size strut did you eventually go with? Like you I noticed the one he linked to isn't the same one used in the video. The price difference is negligible, but I figured the thinner one would be easier to work with. I posted the question to the OP but he hasn't responded yet. TIA. Mark

[@jbmcmediaAL]

@@markk4015 I used the smaller one like in the video. It worked out well.

[@markk4015]

@@jbmcmediaAL Thanks for the quick reply and info, Matthew, I appreciate it! Have a great one! Mark

[@deogloriawoodworks]

@@markk4015 you bet! Good luck with this project

[@cameroncaffee8243]

Built a set of 4 at 40 in each. Should work very well for my needs. How do you store yours ?

[@markk4015]

Great video, very useful, thank you for posting. I notice you don't appear to be using the 1 5/8" x 1 5/8" strut you have the Home Depot link to. It looks like you're using the shallower one. Any reason why? Is one better than the other? TIA. Mark

[@MattCoykendall1]

No specific reason, just what they had in stock while I filmed this. They both seem to offer the same rigidity at this length.

[@markk4015]

@@MattCoykendall1 Thanks, Matt! And thanks for posting the video! Mark

[@jgromoll]

Very Nice video. Straight to the point and no BS. Love that you link everything as well. I am hoping to mod this a bit and make a stand up clamping station. Thanks

[@MattCoykendall1]

Sounds like a good project, good luck

[@monteglover4133]

Thanks Great idea

[@hdwoodshop]

Dude. GENIUS!

[@MattCoykendall1]

Thanks!

[@hdwoodshop]

I see two super strut sizes, you chose the thinner ones. Would the thicker ones work also? Thinking the thicker ones are stiffer, serving better as calls. What are your thoughts?

[@armus550b]

The super strut looks like a great idea but it definitely increases the cost. I figure a set of two will still run about $130.

[@jeffbednar284]

Good video sir. I have the same clamps made with strut as well. How are you storing them? I made mine 39" long

[@Surannhealz]

The Do Not Open warning is probably for the warranty. Void if open 🤣

[@BandasPalette]

I was looking at buying a $400 3 clamp system. You just saved me money and I'll be able to make more than 3 clamps easy. My man!!

[@stevenfiner3637]

there are three different clamping systems listed ranging from $69 - $29.99 which one are you using and why? Thanks great video

[@a.ced.2052]

Have you built anything with them and if so did you record the build?? Love the super strut idea another idea I’ve been thinking of is 1 1/2” x 1 1/2” by 1/16” aluminum tubing

[@chengliu872]

Do you really have to use those kind of nuts? I am asking because they are like $1 which doesn't sound like a lot until you consider that you need 12 of them per clamp. Regular nuts would probably work fine if you combine it with a washer and it would cost like ⅓ of the cost.

[@LiquidSteaks]

Will this system work with 1 1/2- 2” thick material?

[@TrailBoundco]

do you think 2 of these on the ends and the dominos + parallel clamps everywhere else would work good or do you need the 4way throughout the glue up to hold it all straight?

[@MattCoykendall1]

Two should be enough with your regular clamps as long as it isn’t a really large glue up or lumber that looks like it fell off the Home Depot truck twice.

[@affordablewoodworking4508]

what are the advantages of using the thinner unistrut as to using the thicker one? The thinner one seemed like it flexed fairly easy in longer segments

[@MattCoykendall1]

Use the thicker if it’s available, I have both now and the thin works as well but long clamps will be more prone to flex.

[@charliewarren8366]

Is 60 inches too long for the strut? Seems to make sense to just cut the 10 foot lengths in half. Would that give the strut too much deflection?

[@MattCoykendall1]

Cutting 10 foot lengths in half is a good solution.

[@ryanhirschey]

Matt and others, I’m building this, pretty straightforward, but I have one question: should the metal piece on each of the steel cone nuts be rotated just a bit so that it catches under the rail? I assume the answer is yes otherwise the notched bar will fall out of the rail. It also seems like it shouldn’t be rotated too much, otherwise the notched bars won’t slide along the rail. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and apologies if this seems really obvious. I’ve never worked with Super Struts before.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Hey Ryan, yes they need to be rotated so they can stay attached under the lip of the superstrut.

[@ryanhirschey]

@@MattCoykendall1 thanks, Matt. I did that last night and had better results. Thanks for sharing this great idea with the community!

[@davids9793]

Is the strut rigid enough to get more than enough vertical pressure?

[@MattCoykendall1]

Yes unless your trying to tame some really wild lumber!

[@elwood212]

Rockler have just brought out a 4 x way clamp, yet this kit looks far more affordable. How much did everything cost you in the end?

[@MattCoykendall1]

Interesting, I just took a look these on their site, pricey for a pair. depending on the price of the clamps I use as they occasionally change its at least 2x as much for a set. I should try to get a set in to compare.

[@elwood212]

What was the outlay for yr clamps?

[@hankaguilar2688]

Hello Matt. Thanks for the great video breakdown of this. I have a question: in the video you wrote that you’re using 1/4-20 x 1-1/4. But your link to Amazon has a couple length options. Just confirming…is it the 1-1/4 length option? Thanks again. Hank

[@MattCoykendall1]

That is correct

[@brianbabson9731]

In your video it looks like you use the thinner super strut but the link takes you to the more square thicker super strut. Is the 14 gauge super strut good enough for or do I need the 12 gauge version? thanks

[@MattCoykendall1]

both work!

[@Rjp0665]

Do the clamps stick to the wood from the squeeze out

[@pd417]

I put a strip of clear packing tape on the strut to protect it.

[@timthayer9365]

You can cover the struts with packing tape or paste wax to avoid this concern.

[@christopherbendel]

Paste wax is the best solution to prevent sticking AND keep everything clean and slick.@@timthayer9365

[@bgebear2]

This looks fabulous, but I don't see any materials list.

[@bgebear2]

Ummm...how do you hide something from a grown man.... put it right in front of him.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Looks like you found it!

[@richardharris2267]

Be aware that the plastic bar that exerts lateral pressure is 5/8" thick. Thus, the clamping system will not exert any downward force on wood thinner than 5/8".

[@MattCoykendall1]

Good point

[@BobBob-eh5sb]

Try placing a piece of wood on the top and bottom between clamp and work piece. Make them just enough shorter than work piece and the pressure plate shouldn’t come in contact with them.

[@ChefKevinRiese]

How do those comapre with Woodpeckers? Price and convenience?

[@savabadanau1825]

never mind the $$ for woodpecker, those are more complicated due to those pins that need to be used. The price for this ones came to ~ $80 a piece. Rockler has the 36" for 119 plus tax (and shipping if it needs to be shipped). Bottom line this ones are less $ versus "brand names" but looks that they do the same.

[@sinanyuksel9622]

Hi Matthew.Where can I get blue spring? Or what they call for this item? Thank you.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Check description

[@davidcorriea8767]

How do I find the materials list

[@MattCoykendall1]

In the description below

[@dusbus2384]

so this is basically half the price of the rockler system and is a couple of feet longer. wish superstrut wasn't so damn expensive. I used to be able to get it for like $15 per 10ft

[@MattCoykendall1]

Yes a little more work up front to put it together but worth it in many cases.

[@SquareRootOfMinus1]

Yikes ! Unistrut / Superstrut is $127 at H Depot. Whoa !! But thanks for the vid. Nice work, if you got in before they ran the price up so high.

[@SquareRootOfMinus1]

Whoops. It’s the Amazon link that shows $127. Home Depot is ~ $32.

[@vajkfekete2635]

So if I use this, I need no glue?

[@MattCoykendall1]

HAHA sure if you leave the clamps on forever. My demonstration at the end was just to show the clamp setup, those two boards were rough stock not ready for use.

[@carlostarraza2538]

Get out of the wood working business, NOW!!!!

[@Euphroe]

Why not simply suggest a Hand File to remove those burrs? Most DIY people do not have a Dremel or a Die Grinder. Sheesh!

[@tomasgimenez4592]

I bet they are cheap

[@chengliu872]

I guess compared to the alternative they are cheap, but overall hell no. Each one will cost easily $80 or more unless you can get the unistrut used for cheap.

[@dennisnolan2544]

That is not superstrut It is shallow channel unistrut

[@woodyk5127]

As soon as I finished watching your video, I quickly ran to Home Depot to buy the super strut model that you came up with and I must say this was a brilliant idea. For someone who got tired of building system using wood of different sizes length etc. I quickly realized your idea will solve my problem by simply readjusting the position on these super strut. Thank you very much for the idea and for taking the time to post this video. For a while, I have been thinking about building a real wide and long sliding table using super strut but now that I have exposure to it I am definitely going to pursue the idea. Thank you again and look forward to watching more exciting ideas from your channel. AJ

[@MattCoykendall1]

Thanks for watching Woody

[@Artisanwoodworks73]

GREAT IDEA!!! I modified it only a bit and purchased the deeper unistrut. I them filled the square interior with a trimmed down to fit 2X8 of yellow pine. Nice, heavy, and these will NEVER bend. Thanks a ton. By the way, I intend to fill my other shop clamps with wood as well.

[@MattCoykendall1]

That’s a good idea to stiffen them up a bit, glad you enjoyed it!

[@franklinmyrickartisanwoodw6918]

@@MattCoykendall1 I linked this in a quick video I posted. Matt, absolutely game changer of an idea for panel clamp builds

[@frankhouck4446]

So that you could use the wood screws instead of Unistrut Nut inserts and bolts?

[@DanielScott-h9v]

Hey Matt, thanks for sharing this panel clamp idea, love it and look forward to making them myself! When I look at the Superstruts in your video it looks like the 14 gauge Superstrut, not the 12 gauge Superstrut. Can you please clarify? Thank you!

[@MattCoykendall1]

You’re correct with the 14

[@robinthompson7243]

Matt TY for the video. I am trying to figure out the materials list. I will need 4 pkgs of nylon nuts. (20 total). Flat head screws (20 total). 1 - 10 ft super strut. Clamp 1 - set of 2. Am I correct? TY for your help. I am so green when putting my wood shop together.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Your list looks good!

[@timthayer9365]

Matt, thank you for your clearly presented video! I'll be building my 4-way clamps tomorrow and trying them out. The Superstrut is a product I have never known about...working with it has generated many ideas for future shop projects. Thanks for sharing!

[@MattCoykendall1]

Thanks for watching!

[@timthayer9365]

@@MattCoykendall1 I used the same "B" channel strut that you appear to have in the video. Do you have an issue with the non-handled clamp assembly marking the edges of your wood? I'm finding that the angled linkages press into the wood. Using the taller "A" channel strut, which has a similar dimension to ripped 2x4, raises the linkages and doesn't touch my panel edges.

[@russellfay81]

Thank you for this fantastic information!!!!! I have some plain square steel tubing that I use for cauls, mostly on cutting boards, but they are cumbersome to clamp, and only provide top-to-bottom pressure. I'm working on putting my own system together, following your lead. This should work a lot better for me, especially with my upcoming project where I create a cutting board in panels, and then glue them together! I received my clamps today, with the same "DO NOT OPEN" sticker on it! FYI, that sticker is for the manufacturer, so that they know where all the parts are located within their factory, without having to open the box to look inside. Sort of an inventory listing. Were it me, I would put a "Thank you for purchasing from us" sticker over it, before it leaves their warehouse . . . but that's jus me! The obvious assumption is that the consumer will disregard it.

[@donaldamlaw1266]

Great video. Made two sets of five foot clamps for some barn doors I'm going to make. Home Depot sells end caps for the unibar to finish them off.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Nice, I should pick some up.

[@PowerPivotLeadership]

Built these with the thin suoerstrut, but gluing up 3/4 (nominal 1") boards it doesn't quite work, the back clamps can't close completely on the notches. If i were willing to deal witj the heavier full depth superstrut it would eould work better, I think. I'm going to make it work by adding thin wooden cauls on my thinner glue ups. But it's a great hack. Thank you for this.

[@kasader]

I guess it could make you feel good to use this sophisticated clamp for a simple job. I have been using sash clamps for years and could always end up with a nice flat panel of up to 6 or 7 pieces. It's all about how you tighten the clamps . No thicknesser required.

[@tcbridges]

It's a nice idea but I think you are better off buying the Rockler clamps for $100..

[@chengliu872]

That really depends on you. I made something similar to what this guy made for about $75 ea., That's almost $50 less per clamp which is a lot when you consider that you need one of these per foot. Also mine have a capacity of up to 60" whereas the Rockler one can only go up to 36". It does help that I was able to buy the unistrut for about $25/stick.

[@chengliu872]

The Rockler clamps are now $125.

[@1EliPrice]

Portable band saw works best. I have to cut it all the time as a commercial electricians apprentice.

[@cameronough4374]

Bravo! I copied this and it works beautifully!

[@MichaelLovetere]

Nice...Glue shouldn't stick to the super strut...

[@sharksys]

Extremely clever and innovative. Thanks for the video!

[@chrisschmidt8655]

Awesome presentation and thank you! Curious what your thoughts are about gluing many pieces together. I make end grain cutting boards so I'm questioning whether this clamp setup is right for 8-15 strips?

[@MattCoykendall1]

Oh yeah it should work for pieces of that size.

[@plantice]

Great video. Question for ya, you stated we need 36 of superstrut nuts. So that's 8 bags at 5 bucks each, is there a cheaper alternative? Could I just use a washer or two and a standard nut? Thanks in advance.

[@GeeDeeBird]

I imagine you could use carriage bolts, but it wouldn't be much cheaper.

[@JeffLewis-i8x]

I see you reference 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 strut channel, but in the video it looks like you were using the 1 5/8 x 1 strut. Is there a benefit of using one over the other. Less weight would be nice.

[@christopherbendel]

I just picked up the 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 and have the same question. Cause, these are damn heavy.

[@mprumsey]

Very cool. I’ve never seen these before until now. Thank You for sharing

[@AverageOverlander]

At 6 mins 17 seconds when you're wrapping it up it looks like the joint has a lip (ie, not flush between boards). Is this camera trickery or do these clamps not put enough vertical pressure down to keep each board flush with the next one? TIA

[@MattCoykendall1]

The boards I used for the demo where not jointed prior so there was some inconsistencies, but since I was not glueing up a real project they were basically props to demonstrate the clamp. If you have flat stock it should take very little clamping force to flatten.

[@AverageOverlander]

@@MattCoykendall1 ah got it, thanks for the clarification and response. Greatly appreciated.

[@stevewaddell2859]

What is the minimal thickness it will clamp? 3/4?

[@frankmaraschino]

5/8, but you can glue thinner panels by placing a couple of strips between the struts and the panels. I use strips of 3/4” plywood

[@ronnieg6099]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@MattCoykendall1]

No Problem!

[@CrosshairLunchbox]

How does the total cost compare to a Rockler clamp ($120 for 1)?

[@MattCoykendall1]

I couldn’t say, I don’t own the rockler version, I can say I own 4 of the DIY version and they work well for me.

[@chengliu872]

Mine came out to less than $70 each, way cheaper than the Rockler ones and have almost twice the capacity. I did get the unistrut used for cheaper than normal though.

[@donalsakran1971]

I’m confused. Would you mind explaining why these are better than pipe clamps?

[@reznor_59]

Pipe clamps only apply pressure from two directions. These apply pressure from four.

[@donalsakran1971]

@@reznor_59 yeh I get that part but how is that important in gluing up panels? Thanks for the reply 🙏

[@reznor_59]

@@donalsakran1971 It’s in the video title. The vertical pressure keeps the panels flat. If you don’t have nearly perfect and symmetrical milling on the boards you’re using in the glue-up you can pretty easily end up with a bowed/cupped panel. 4 way clamps are one of the ways to keep the panel glue-up flat. Some other common options are using cauls (exact same concept but without the gross-gran clamping), or putting dominos or dowels in the boards to help with alignment and resist the movement.

[@donalsakran1971]

Ah ok so they just replace cauls n dominos. Cool

[@vernsteinbrecker3759]

Great video

[@MattCoykendall1]

Thanks Vern

[@Shadoweclipse1386]

I love the idea of uni-strut (super-strut) as a caul, but as the main clamp, these seem like a bit of a pain... (EDIT) ...But decided to buy a set anyways 😂 The more I think about the clamp having a caul built-in, the more I think it's genius. Even if setup can be a bit fiddly. I will say too, I agree that I think 2 sets of the clamps are necessary, but if you've only got 1 set, 1 of these on each end, with standard bar or pipe clamps in the middle would likely be perfect. You could set those up first, get the glue-up started, and then add these. Once the panel has had glue applied, and clamps put on, it would make putting these on to be less fiddly.

[@keno101]

I did something similar with these 4-way clamp kits, except I used 80-20 extruded aluminum (1501-LS Profile). May be overkill, and the setup is heavy, but it is dead flat and I have no worries about it bending or bowing.

[@nyc_superman5450]

Look at all that extra time your wasting just outting those on, not sure if that’s a good idea for time consuming projects

[@constantinosschinas4503]

These are meant to produce flatter glueups. So even if they take more time to setup (presumably), they reduce time, tools and effort to produce the final piece without a ton of sanding or expensive thicknessers, cost of extra wood and so on. All the above, if the result is indeed quite more flat.

[@nyc_superman5450]

Ohhhhhh okay…… I get it now thank you 🙏🏼 that makes sense

[@FDdesigns]

Your not a woodworker

[@nyc_superman5450]

@@FDdesigns obviously, no one is trying to be one , captain obvious 😆 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@michaelphelan106]

I don’t see where this is any more time consuming than attaching to wooden cauls.