Soundboard/Rim Clamps

[Farrell]

I am hoping someone might have some input regarding suitability of some
clamps I have found at a hardware store for clamping a new soundboard to the
rim during gluing. A clamp that appears nearly identical can be viewed at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00002245H/ref%3Dnosim/toolstoolstoo-
20/103-5531792-1187059

Greg - these are the clamps I was referring to.

The clamp I am considering has a reach of 4-3/4" from the inside of the bar
to the center of the screw adjuster thingee (I believe it is referred to as
a 5-inch clamp). The bar is 24" long, 1-1/8" wide, and 1/4" thick. I put a
36" version of this clamp on a 32' wide table at the hardware store and
torqued down on the screw adjuster thingee and was only able to bow the bar
perhaps a quarter-inch - maybe 3/8". So I would think that one of these
clamps only opened to 14 inches or so, like you would typically have on a
piano soundboard installation, you would find very little bow indeed (is
that not the worry with a too-light-duty clamp?).

What makes or breaks a clamp for installing a soundboard? Enough reach?
Strong enough bar? What else?

These clamps are significantly heavier duty that the orange bar clamps that
you common see at Home Depot type places. Not a whole lot more heavy duty,
but a significant step up. Still a far cry from a $60 hand made German
clamp. But I suspect they will do just fine. Any opinions?

So maybe I should buy one. And do what with it? How can I reasonably
evaluate it without just buying 40 of them and putting in a soundboard? Any
ideas? Any thoughts Greg?

I think this clamp is A-OK. It only costs $7. I would sure like to find out
that it is A-OK, but I also don't want to find out the hard way that it is
just a tad weak on performance in this application. Thanks for any input.

Terry Farrell