by David N. Goodchild

There's nothing quite so annoying as a clamp that won't screw in or unscrew when you need it to; usually when you need three hands. This is especially likely if you have used those clamps previously to hold parts together that are gluing up with epoxy. That stuff can really spread to everything in the neighborhood.

To avoid the problem, here's what I do.

I apply a liberal coating of vaseline to all of my clamps. This way the epoxy won't stick to them, the threads of the C clamp won't get gummed up and refuse to function, and the nipple which forms the bar of the pipe clamps won't build up lumps of epoxy which prevents the slider from moving up and down the bar.

Saves a lot of aggravation!