Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
One of the biggest aha! moments in woodworking is realizing that painter’s tape can be used like a clamp.
You’ve probably seen it:Stretch a piece of tape across your bench, line up your mitered pieces, glue the edges, and roll it up like a hinge. Overlap the tape to hold everything together while the glue dries.
But here’s the problem: tape doesn’t have the tension.
No, you don’t want to over-squeeze a glue joint, sure—but as glue dries, moisture moves into the wood. If there’s any gap, no matter how small, it’ll start to show. The joint opens just a little… and that crisp miter edge? Gone.
There are two devices you can rely on to give your stock that extra squeeze: band clamps.
There are two main kinds.
The ratcheting kind is designed for larger projects—where there’s enough surface area for the ratchet mechanism to rest while you tighten it down. It applies serious pressure fast.
Then there’s the twist kind—not as strong, but better for smaller shapes where control matters more than brute force.
What’s deceptive are these cheap plastic corner blocks they come with.
They make it seem like these clamps are only good for squares and rectangles but you can pop them off, making them the go to for any miter shape you can think of.
Band clamps
Twist kind → amzn.to/3HHRYLi
Ratcheting kind → BUY them at HARBOR FREIGHT. I tried to find some cheap ones but they're as much as $23 on amazon...I GOT MINE FOR $5! Stay tuned, I'm going to show how to make your own soon!
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Check out my other channel! → @makethingswithrob
Become a patron! → patreon.com/makethings ←
Huge thank you to my patrons that keep this thing going!
*MAKER TEAM*
Michelle B
Keith Current
William L McNally
Rich Lightfoot
Tutor the Barbarian
Aubrey G.
Nukebert
Sam W.
Aaron Knows DIY
G. Salazar
David B.
Marc B.
Richard B.
Ben. K
Make Things
#MakeThings #mtbitesize
One of the biggest aha! moments in woodworking is realizing that painter’s tape can be used like a clamp.
You’ve probably seen it:Stretch a piece of tape across your bench, line up your mitered pieces, glue the edges, and roll it up like a hinge. Overlap the tape to hold everything together while the glue dries.
But here’s the problem: tape doesn’t have the tension.
No, you don’t want to over-squeeze a glue joint, sure—but as glue dries, moisture moves into the wood. If there’s any gap, no matter how small, it’ll start to show. The joint opens just a little… and that crisp miter edge? Gone.
There are two devices you can rely on to give your stock that extra squeeze: band clamps.
There are two main kinds.
The ratcheting kind is designed for larger projects—where there’s enough surface area for the ratchet mechanism to rest while you tighten it down. It applies serious pressure fast.
Then there’s the twist kind—not as strong, but better for smaller shapes where control matters more than brute force.
What’s deceptive are these cheap plastic corner blocks they come with.
They make it seem like these clamps are only good for squares and rectangles but you can pop them off, making them the go to for any miter shape you can think of.
Band clamps
Twist kind → amzn.to/3HHRYLi
Ratcheting kind → BUY them at HARBOR FREIGHT. I tried to find some cheap ones but they're as much as $23 on amazon...I GOT MINE FOR $5! Stay tuned, I'm going to show how to make your own soon!
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Check out my other channel! → @makethingswithrob
Become a patron! → patreon.com/makethings ←
Huge thank you to my patrons that keep this thing going!
*MAKER TEAM*
Michelle B
Keith Current
William L McNally
Rich Lightfoot
Tutor the Barbarian
Aubrey G.
Nukebert
Sam W.
Aaron Knows DIY
G. Salazar
David B.
Marc B.
Richard B.
Ben. K
Make Things
#MakeThings #mtbitesize
