Cardellini Clamp

Cardellini Clamps are a versatile clamp with a 5/8" baby pin. They can be used to clamp onto flat or round surfaces and come in different sizes and lengths. They were originally created by a San Francisco Key Grip, Steve Cardellini.

Uses

• End Jaw Cardellini

The End Jaw cardellini is pretty much the standard. It has it's jaws on the end of the clamp and the baby pin is connected to the screw side of it. You can use it to clamp onto any flat surfaces or pipes. It does not work very well on round surfaces if you are doing anything besides a dead hang, because the clamp only relies on friction from the pads, it cannot bite very hard onto the pipe. For those applications a pipe hanger or baby cheeseboro are better suited for the work.

• Mid Jaw Cardellini

The Mid Jaw cardellini is very similar, the clamp has the screw side on one side and the baby pin connected to the other part of the clamp. There could be a number of reasons to use a mid-jaw over an endjaw, either needing a lower profile for the clamp, needing the pin to be on the opposite side as where your screw is, or just want your light to put less leverage on the clamp and keep a lower center of gravity.

There is also a matthelini clamp, made by matthews. It's a licensed version of the Cardellini with some small differences: Chrome plated steel instead of stainless steel and large 2 way handle instead of 4 way handle.

Troubleshooting

Two things usually happen with Cardellini's:

• Missing or Slipping Pads: The pads will often times start to fall off over time, you can order replacement pads, peel off the old ones, and restick the new ones. Very simple process and will make the pads new again.

• Stuck Jaw: If you are not clamping all the way onto a surface, screwing it down tight will bind the jaw onto the screw side. The only way to fix this is to hit the backside of the clamp with a hammer or other tool, it will unbind itself and slide freely again once you do this. The clamp is close to indestructible and you will not damage it like this.