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Here’s last week’s tip from Woodsmith online editor Ted Raife:
When gluing up a mitered assembly, I often rely on band clamps to pull the joints together. They’re easy to apply and provide the even clamping pressure needed to keep things square.
The only catch is that the sharp mitered corners of the assembly have to be protected from the pressure exerted by the band. My clamps came with metal corners meant for this purpose, but they often damage the corners they’re supposed to protect.
My simple solution was to substitute more forgiving, corrugated cardboard pads for the hard metal corners, as shown at right. The cardboard pads provide plenty of protection without leaving any unwanted evidence of their use.
Good Woodworking,
Ted Raife
Online Editor, Woodsmith