Who the heck is Merle and why does his clamp continually hurt me?

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Emibub

Emibub

PFG, Picture Framing God
Joined
Nov 2, 2001
Posts
9,246
Loc
Centennial, CO, USA
For the second time in two weeks my knuckles have been bruised by that @#$%$$# Merle Clamp. This time it drew blood. :eek: It always happens when I try to recoil the strap when I am done using it. I have followed the instructions, I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. I possibly think it is because I am left handed and maybe I am releasing the handle on the wrong side................I like this little clamp but if it doesn't become more cooperative I am afraid it will meet an untimely demise.
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Anybody use it and have any inside info?

Now I'll go put my swollen knuckles on ice.....
 
Just wait until one of the metal bands break while you are torquing down on the tensioner. I have retired the Merle's except when the work is just too big for the Bessey band clamps. Rewinding the metal band into the housing has resulted in many curses and several bruised knuckles.
 
I dont know about the merle clamp but that merle guy must have helped pistorius design their little "arm" that holds the v-nails in. That thing will tear the skin right off of a finger.
 
Well since others have had troubles with the clamp at least it isn't just me. I was afraid it was a "Girl" thing. Being a "Girl" I hate it when things work better for the "Boys". I feel somehow comforted that it has inflicted damage on some of the guys too.

I got this blasted thing because the fact that it will build very teeny frames like 2x2 and then very big frames also. I build a slew of teeny frames because I have discovered needleworkers are desperate for those 2x2's etc. The clamp does a good job on the little guys but it is so hard to wrangle I have just gone back to big rubber bands on the little ones. But, twice in the past month I have managed to take in frames for repair that were too big for my corner vise or the underpinner. The clamp worked on those but at a great cost to my fingers. After yesterday I don't know if I even feel safe being in the same room with it.........

So, I gather Merle is or was an angry bitter man who's sole purpose is or was to inflict pain on the public at large. Too bad he couldn't have channeled his energies into a kinder, gentler clamp.....
 
Kathy,

The Merle clamp is useful for difficult miters where extra pressure is required. I find it cumbersome for routine clamping jobs. The SER clamp sold by LJ is far more useful for everyday clamping. It will work with those small jobs as well as very large jobs. With periodic maintenance (taking apart and tightening) it will last a long time. I still use one that is 8 years old. I've tried some other brands and found that they failed quickly.

Pat
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Thanks Pat, I'll look into it. The Merle clamp did work really well but since I can now bend one out of the two fingers it tried to snap off I don't know if I will ever feel comfortable using it again. I suppose the nice thing is if I use it on just the smallest of frames I won't have to worry about recoiling the strap again......
 
I'm curious, Kathy, how much do you charge for a 2 x 2 frame? Do you actually stretch the needlework for that size and fit it or do you just sell the frames from leftover scraps? I'm guessing I could sell some, too, especially for those little ornament kits, if my husband and his coworker are willing to risk the loss of one or two fingers in the saw!
 
Diane,
I happened to have a needlework customer who was always looking for tiny frames but she didn't want to pay custom prices. I offered to make her some out of scrap and pot luck of course. She has since sent friends my way. I guess they are hard to come by plus all those BB shops are restricted to 5 inch frames due to OSHA.

I started off asking $20 each but have since upped the price to the big chunky ones to $30 and they gladly pay for them. Although, some of them have become a little picky in my choices, I've had to nicely explain how much they would cost custom.

I also have a customer who is an artist who likes the 3-4 inch wide frames and she wants 4x4 and 4x5, those, I've been selling for $50 each.

It really utilizes all of the little bits of wood that I hate to throw away. I only do it with the really nice moulding. I have no kwalms about pitching 4-5 feet of the average moulding whereas 1-1/2 feet of the primo stuff I'm hanging on to.

Plus, with all the art stuff I have in my mind, if I ever get a chance to make these things I will utilize the frames myself......in which case they will be one of a kind
artistic gems" and will run $100 each. People will come from miles around just to behold my little teensy frames and the art they contain.... :rolleyes: Ha!
 
This may be stateing the obvious but are you wearing work gloves when you use the clamp?

Jason.
 
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