Pipe clamps work best on glue-ups that are wide but not very deep. What do you do when you need a clamp with longer reach? Thread together 3/4" black-pipe fittings to fabricate a set of sliding extension jaws for a 1/2" pipe clamp. Pick a nipple length that fits the situation, and then thread a tee fitting on one end and a 90 degree elbow on the other. Make two such jaws. Remove the sliding jaw of the pipe clamp and slip the tee fittings over the pipe with the open ends of the elbows facing inward. Replace the sliding jaw, and clamp your project, protecting the wood from the rough iron of the elbows. --E. E. Reynolds, North Charleston, S.C.

Without a drill press, accurate control of hole depth with an electric drill is difficult to achieve, at best. Drill a hole in a short length of dowel that's large enough in diameter that it won't split and fits snugly on the bit. To adjust for the depth of the hole, vary the dowel's length and the placement of the bit in the chuck. You can make several of these for a variety of depths and bit sizes to keep on hand, or toss them when finished. --From the WOOD magazine shop

You can fiddle a lot of time away trying to clamp hexagons, octagons, or any of the other polygons you might build. A strap-type clamp is the easiest way to hold them for gluing, but what do you do if you don't have one? Get a rope. Then drill two holes (rope diameter) through two pieces of scrapwood near the ends. Thread the rope (sash cord works great) through the wood, as shown right, and tie a knot in each end. Drill a dowel hole on an edge at one end of one piece and glue in a dowel, leaving about two rope diameters of it above the surface. Now, to clamp your work, place the wooden pieces three or four thicknesses apart and cinch the rope around the work, taking in the slack at the end near the dowel. When the rope is tight, pass its end around the dowel and back under itself to make a half hitch around the dowel. Then, draw the pieces together with a C-clamp or handscrew to tighten. --Joe Bailey, Russellville, Ark.