Wire Clamper

Project: July 2021

Writeup: July 2021

You know I love me some brass.

Just a quick one this time. This was a fun one-day build. It's a neat little tool for making extremely tight wire clamps for a variety of uses. There are a number of commercial versions (eg. ClampTite), but they're so niche they tend to be fairly expensive for what they are. Then I also came across a couple of DIY designs which I thought I could improve on!

My version is made from a stainless M10 turnbuckle, some thread and a couple of bits of brass. The pointed end has a little indentation for grabbing the wire loop, and is a separate bit of thread from the piece running the rest of the length and attached to the handle at the top. The central thread is captive between the brass handle at the top and the little nut inside the turnbuckle body. Spinning the handle moves the two captive nuts which push the central carriage and arms back and forth. You wrap the free ends of your wire clamp around the central arms and wind the handle to tighten it all up. Then you flip the whole thing over to lock the clamp around itself.

Used brass for the various bits because I've got a big box of ebay offcuts I keep digging into. It's also super easy to braze, to other brass or steel. I've been using 55% silver braze which I find very reliable. The joins are rock solid and I find their rugged look extremely pleasing.

A typical clamp with 1mm wire. Any tighter and the wood would have been crushed

This is an example wire clamp. Basically performs the same job as a cable-tie or jubilee clip but permanent any old wire. Also has an extremely even clamping force, so great for hose connections etc. You can make them much prettier than this, I'm still practicing!

That's it. Questionably useful but attractive in a quaint, practical kind of way. Just like me.