I thought I had enough clamps..

[daddo]

From the answers, I guess it depends on what you normally build or work on.

I use the 4" a lot, then the 18" and 24". I do some setups with the 36" and 48" old Jorgies.

[WilliamHodge]

For me, clamps are like router bits. I just buy what I need for a job. It's cheaper to use the clamp suppliers as my warehouse, and not get charged for clamps until I need them. I also never buy clamps that I don't use. 

What are you clamping?

[Dave Diaman]

Marine, where are you located? I have access to a CNC router I can use anytime I want and a wid belt planer. I can flatten the bench and sand it for you if you are close enough. I hate the new format because I never know where anyone lives.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Central va, but I see from your company webpage you are up in Maryland. Thanks for your kind offer, I really appreciate it... but Maryland doesn't appreciate the way I dress to travel, so I don't cross that state line. Lol.

[BrentDH]

Dave Diaman (and anyone else who wants to publish your location)
I agree it is really nice to know where people are from when they are posting as the location sometimes has an impact on the message.  Especially in the "Swap N' Sell" and "Home Improvement" forums.
You can go into your
  User Control Panel
        Your Profile
               Edit Profile
                      Additional Information
                               Location
and enter your location.  I think if that is filled in it automatically displays in in your posts.

[bhh]

Well, I think you answered your own question early on.    "What do you normally build?"

If you are building bookases, small boxes and such, then a 24" will be fine.
Most chests/dressers with drawers should max out at 24" drawer depth, so unless you're going way over, 24" will do for them.
If you are building beds, tables, desks, etc., you'd want the 36ers.

And remember, you can always make a large clamp work on a smaller width, but not vice-versa.   Generally, there is a (relatively) small marginal increase in price for the larger ones.  Only con is awkwardness during clamp-up.

Another option is to use pipe clamps and just get a selection of pipe lengths.  You can have more pipes than heads.   And with a handful of couplers, you can get clamps of extreme length.

[Arlin Eastman]

I wish I had a lot of them for everyone's different projects.  The most we use is the 12", 24, and some 36".  If I could afford more I like Menards MasterForce which work really well and do not cost very much.  If I remember right the 12" cost $10 and the 24" cost $12

[Joe Connors]

The simple answer is just recycle your clamps. You only need to leave most glue-ups clamped for 1 hour. By the time you finish
clamping and cleaning up squeeze out, another 1/2 hour or so (think coffee break) and you can pull the clamps from the first
glue-up and use them to do the second. People tend to leave the clamps on glue-ups for way too long! Most glues achieve 90%
of their strength in 1 hour and ho longer need to be clamped.

[Tony Z]

You need a variety and a lot. My favorites are the Universal brand aluminum bar clamps-have a number of each size and mostly use them. But there are times ms when the old Jorgy bar clamps come out. Sometimes a handscrew is needed. The "footed" Bessey pipe clamps work nicely for panels.

In fact the only tools ever bought, that I didn't have buyer's remorse for, are clamps! Never have enough!

[BrokenOlMarine]

I normally only leave stuff clamped for an hour or two, however, I have two exceptions. When I build bandsaw boxes, the initial laminating step I leave in the clamps a minimum of 24 hours. Overkill? Meh... maybe. But there is too much work involved to take a chance. The clamps on the countertop stayed for 24 hours because the titebond site said to leave connections under stress for 24 hours.