I have an idea to create a modified a clamp we use at my dayjob a lot that would allow us to strap things to irregularly sized / shapes objects with hose clamps of varying sizes.
The main jist is to make an aluminum T (general idea marked in blue lines) with a tapped hole in the bottom, and two through channels at the top to route hose clamps or even zipties through (red rectangles).
Ideally, the business end would have a grooved channel to give it some more bite on rounded or angled shapes like railings / tent poles, basically a wide V.
The only restraints really are the dimensions of the square end with the tapped hole so it still fits into our current gear, and the threads in said tapped hole to match our current bolts.
Since I know jack about metalworking, how difficult would this be to make?
Is this something we can do at Asmby?
We would be looking to make 100ish of them at most
I envisioned cutting this from a single plate, which does waste about half the material. But making it from two bars means connecting them somehow, most likely a weld. And that’s no longer easy at all.
So these look like you’d need roughly a 4”x4” section of 1” plate per clamp. Not sure what the cost of that would be.
Thinking about it more, plate is the only way to go. There are patterns you could use for multiple pieces that will reduce the wastefulness. And it gives you more options for shaping. Joining two bars will be nothing but trouble. Welding aluminum is way more difficult than machining. You can join them with a bolt, but it introduces a number of complications at your critical load bearing point. It does depend on the details of the shape there though. But if you want to add a V or notch there, a bolt limits what you can do.
And we probably have the plate stock you would need for a prototype in the scrap bin already.
