Pneumatic clamps & table v. bar clamps; engineering expertise, please

[Woodwreck]

Like everyone else, I have been using pipe clamps, long bar clamps etc. for years/decades to position, hold, and glue frame or box products, and currently, shutters – principally rail and stile frames. As an efficiency method it would be beneficial to build a simplified form of a clamping table such as sold by Kreg and others using pneumatic clamping air cylinders instead of loose clamps with limited-travel hand cranking…. etc. Interest is in two rails clamped between two side stiles – just two clamps applying pressure on the two sides.

In looking at cylinders, I see incrementally increasing diameters, references to flow controllers; foot switches of several varieties – forward backward, continuous, non-continuous…

What about working air volume requirements?

Control of speed of piston advance? I would like ability to slowly advance piston making sure that tenons/dowels are properly positioned before smashing them; what about determination of final pressure?

What options or features are desirable, and best source. I prefer a low profile, less-than pretty, commercial source v. store front retailer with consumer marketing and equally fancy markups.

I am looking for some form of guidance in selecting proper sizing – avoiding the simplistic bigger is better syndrome. I particularly invite the mechanical engineer-types among us to spring forth with advice or direction to a primer or other guidance of part selection for such a simple, small table setup.


Thank you for looking,

Woodwreck