Kevin and Joan Steible, Wetzler Clamp, Toolmaker of the Month,
7/2007
I feel compelled to demonstrate my
enormous grasp of the obvious by stating (boldly even!) that one
simply cannot have too many clamps. Too many saws? Well,
probably not, but I’ll grant the possibility exists even if my own
experience proves otherwise. Clamps? No way. Gotta
have ‘em even if you haven’t figured out where to put ‘em yet!
 So
let’s look at staple of the shop. The clamp. And let’s look at
some really good ones! When Max Wetzler first started
tinkering with clamp designs in New York City during the mid-1920s,
he could not have foreseen that his cast-iron and steel inventions
would endure through the rest of the 20th Century and beyond.
Yet, Wetzler's famous "Quick Action" clamp design was to become the
benchmark of the clamping industry, imitated widely by competitors
and revered by knowledgeable woodworkers, patternmakers,
cabinetmakers and metalworkers for its simple effectiveness,
strength and durability.
Wetzler, together with his wife Hedwig, founded Wetzler Clamp
Company in 1928, on the lower east side of Manhattan. Years
later, they moved the company to a more spacious facility in
Long Island City, NY. After Max passed away in the early 1950s,
Hedwig Wetzler continued to run the company, and, in the early
1970s, when she could no longer deal with the fast-paced clamp
business, she brought in her brother
 other
Ernest J. Seewald to run the family business.
In 1984, the Wetzler family sold the company to an energetic
entrepreneur named John Tracy, who they knew would uphold the
Wetzler tradition of quality. Tracy moved the entire production
facility to the foothills of Pennsylvania, near the Delaware
River south of Stroudsburg. He ran the company until he retired
in June of 2002, at which point he sold the company to long-time
employees Kevin and Joan Steible, who maintain the Wetzler
tradition to this day.
Still made by hand
Every Wetzler clamp is still machined and assembled by hand, in
the true spirit of American craftsmanship. They grind the
castings, drill and tap each hole, and cut every Acme thread on
their venerable Oliver turret lathe — all right there in the
Pennsylvania facility.
A HISTORY OF INNOVATION
Although Wetzler Clamp Company is best known for its
"Quick-Action Clamps," it has made many other significant
contributions to clamp design for the woodworking and
metalworking trades, notably its bar clamps, several sizes of
band clamps, press screws and "cross clamps," designed to work
with Quick-Action Clamps for applying edging to surfaces.
And, all the while, the company worked with other customers and
manufacturers to produce specialty items using Wetzler's
superior metalworking technologies.
Quick Action Clamps
Quick-Action clamps are the professional's favorite for superior
clamping power and ease of use. The lower jaw slides smoothly on
the spring-steel bar and grips instantly when pressure is
applied to the swivel pad. Made of the finest materials to
last a lifetime, Wetzler Quick-Action clamps are available in a
variety of jaw depths and openings for all your clamping needs.
Cross Clamps
These special edging clamps are designed to work with any* of
our Quick-Action Clamps for edge-clamping
applications. Made with the same high-quality materials as our
other clamps, these accessory clamps are invaluable for gluing
solid wood edges, shelves, tables and countertops, especially in
situations where regular bar clamping is not possible.
Heavy-Duty Bar Clamps
These are the choice of professional woodworkers for all
bar-clamping applications where superior strength and rigidity
are required. Wetzler bar clamps are available with two
different handle styles: a balanced T-handle and a sliding pin
handle. Both styles employ a guide rod parallel to the screw
that keeps the clamp pad aligned and helps direct the screw
pressure evenly over the clamp pad surface. The self-locking
tail assembly adjusts instantly without binding and locks at any
point on the spring-steel bar. The bar itself is smooth, with no
notches or deformities to reduce its strength.
Band Clamps
 Band
Clamps are the professional's choice for clamping case
furniture, chairs, tables, boat and aircraft assemblies,
columns, tanks and other band clamping applications, where
uncompromising strength and ease of use are of primary
importance. Our flexible, high-tensile-strength nylon bands
conform to round, square or irregular-shaped objects for gluing,
welding and other assembly and fastening operations.
The Wetzler patented locking device maintains even pressure yet
releases automatically when screw pressure is reversed.
Press Screws
Press Screws are ideal for making your own portable or
stationary jigs and fixtures. Each heavy-duty screw has a
balanced, malleable-iron T-handle, a removable pressure plate
and a cast threaded collar which may be press-fit into a round
hole in your veneer press or fixture. The 3/4" diameter
cold-drawn steel spindle is cut with a deep-cut Acme thread for
accuracy and long thread life.
I like simple things that are insanely practical. If ever
a tool fit that description, the clamp might just be the one.
Nope, you really can’t have too many clamps and looking at the
Wetzler collection just makes me want to run down to the shop
and tackle a complex glue up!
Jim Esten
Cedarburg, Wisconsin
July 2007 |
