Making Your Own Clamping Station

I assemble many things that require a flat surface, such as clocks, intarsia, or jointed items. For me, a quick-and-dirty solution was to repurpose an old bathroom cabinet. I put wheels on it and added some drawers. For the top, I used a piece of quality 3/4″ (1.9cm) plywood, which was big enough to provide me some overhang for clamping. I then came across a piece of polished granite countertop at a thrift shop. It provides a hard, flat surface, and any glue that gets on it is easily scraped off with a razor blade. For clamping at a perfect 90° angle, I use square blocks and pieces of metal, but you can buy clamping squares from many sources online.  In addition to adding this clamping station to your list of spring projects, craft a stacked floral candleholder to add to your outdoor decor.

A granite countertop and metal blocks make a great assembly station.

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