Band clamp

A band clamp used to clamp a mitered picture frame.

See also: Hose clamp

A band clamp (also known as a web clamp) is a type of clamp that allows the clamping of items where the surfaces to be clamped are not parallel to each other; where there are multiple surfaces involved; or where clamping pressure is required from multiple directions at once.

Examples of when a band clamp may be used include:

• Clamping the staves of a barrel—the barrel is encircled by the band.
• Clamping stretchers between the legs of a chair.
• Clamping a mitred frame or box—a special type of band clamp is often used, which has four corner blocks through which the band is threaded.

Clamping pressure is applied either through a mechanical method such as a screw or ratchet mechanism that tightens the band, or through the elastic nature of the band material itself. There are a range of styles of band clamp available for purchase, in particular the type used for framing as described above. In addition to these, many other items may be put to use as a band clamp. These include:

• Ratchet straps
• Car or bicycle inner tubes
• Rubber bands
• Rope or string
• Adhesive tape
• Jubilee clip