Single handle right angle clamp, Right Angle Clamp, Best DIY Right Angle Clamp, 90 degree clamp

Best DIY Right Angle Clamp Step by Step

Having corner clamps in a workshop is a must. When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp is much needed.

Having right-angle clamps or 90-degree clamps in the workshop is a must. Many projects will not require those but at some point, you will not be able to do without them. Whether you would be building furniture, cabinets, small cupboards or just fixing two pieces of wood together an easy-to-use yet accurate corner clamp is a must-have.

There are all sorts of different types of right-angle clamps or 90-degree clamps on the market but the problem is, especially in the case of the cheaper ones, they don’t work. In some cases, they don’t work at all. You may be thinking about how this is possible with such a simple device, yet, there are only a few that I would recommend. The problem is mainly in the precision of the device construction which directly affects the accuracy of the clamp.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Based on my experience, I decided to build my own angle clamps. And I would recommend you do the same. The cost is minimal to an equally available clamp you could buy. Material is easily available and they DO work. And besides, it is also fun to make your own tools for the workshop. In my experience, this is the best DIY right-angle clamp you can make.

In this article, I will walk you through how to build these corner clamps step by step and how to use those.

RELATED: Check out this DIY corner clamp or this double-handle corner clamp.  Both 90-degree joints and miter joints can be created using them.

Also, check out these other Woodworking Jigs or this Knob Jig I am using to make the clamp handle.

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Table of Contents

  1. Material you will need
  2. Downloadable Right Angle Clamps PDF
  3. General Questions
    1. How does a right angle clamp work?
    2. How to clamp a corner at 90 degrees?
    3. Do I need a right angle clamp?
    4. Important aspects to consider when selecting angle corner clamps
  4. Making a 90 Degree Clamp
    1. Step 1: Make the Base
    2. Step 2: Make the Jaws
    3. Step 3: Make the Spindle
    4. Step 4: Assembling the Clamp
  5. How to use Right Angle Corner Clamps
  6. Right Angle Clamp Video
  7. Woodworking Jigs

*Safety is your responsibility. Make sure you know what you’re doing and take all necessary safety precautions while working with power tools. Safety comes first!

Always be cautious and careful when using any power tool. I am using a circular saw to build the clamps. Take a look at these safety tips on how to work with a circular saw.

Material you will need to build the Angle Clamp

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Right Angle Clamp:
Birch Plywood 1,2mm
Base: 15 x 15 x 1,2 cm
Jaws: 12,5 x 12,5 x 2,4cm , 2 – 11 x 2 x 2,4cm
Spindle nut: 3,5 x 2 x 2,4cm
6x Wood Screws – 1,5 x 30 mm
2x Washer (to fit a 15mm, 20mm hole)
M6 T-nut
2x M6 Bolt
ø6mm Threaded rod 

Other:
Wood Glue
Forstner bit – 15mm, 20mm
Sand Paper / Sanding Wheel
Epoxy

Right Angle Clamp Plans

Download the Right Angle Clamp Plans here
Right Angle Clamp Downloadable PDF PLans
Download plans here

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Having corner clamps in a workshop is a must. When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position

How does a right angle clamp work?

A right-angle clamp consists of two main parts. An L-shaped block that pushes against an equally shaped frame. Both pieces sit on a base that provides support from below.

A handle is attached to the L-shaped block that moves forward using a spindle. Both the L-shaped pieces need to be high enough to ensure proper fixation. When moving the spindle, the pieces press against each other fixing the wood pieces in position and keeping them perfectly aligned at 90 degrees.

Glue, screws, or other types of fasteners can be used to fix the pieces together.

How to clamp a corner at 90 degrees?

The best way how to join two pieces of wood at a right angle is by using 90-degree corner clamps. These clamps are easily available on the market or you can build them yourself. Keep in mind the quality of angle corner clamps varies from each other.

Steps:

  • Place the wood pieces in the corner clamp and make sure there is no gap between them.
  • Use one hand to start tightening the jaws and the other one to manage and adjust the joint as necessary.
  • Fix the corner with glue or fasteners.
  • Sand or finish the joint as desired.

Do I need a right angle clamp?

A right-angle clamp is a must in a workshop. When building furniture, cupboards, or assembling cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right-angle clamp will help hold the pieces in position.

It is quite difficult to work with larger wood sheets and assembling all the pieces together could be a challenge. A right-angle clamp can easily hold all the parts in position and provides the desired assembly comfort.

Important aspects to consider when selecting and using angle corner clamps

  1. Setup: the setup has to be easy, quick, and simple. Clamps with a single handle are much easier to operate. One hand is operating the jaw which clamps both pieces together, the other one is managing the joint and making adjustments as necessary
  2. Accuracy: the accuracy and the construction of the clamp ultimately determine the precision and the result. Quality clamps will hold the wood pieces in position ensuring a perfect 90-degree joint.
  3. Size: the size of the clamp determines the thickness of the material that can be joined together. Also, the width and the height of the jaws have a direct impact on the strength of the joint. The larger the area of the jaws the bigger and heavier materials the clamp can hold.
  4. Clamping pressure: be mindful of the clamping pressure and avoid overtightening, as this can lead to distortion or damage to the material.

Let's Start

The angle clamp consists of 3 main parts: The base, jaws, and spindle.

All the material used is easily available. The entire clamp (the base and the jaws) is made from birch plywood. The spindle is made from a 6mm threaded rod and a wooden knob is used for the handle.

  • The total size of the angle clamp is 15 x 15 x 3,6 cm
  • The maximum clamping range is approximately 6cm
  • Jaw’s width, depth and height is 12,5 x 2 x 2,4cm

This right-angle clamp is designed to clamp 2 pieces of wood of the same thickness. It allows for a small variation in the thicknesses of the pieces though there are other types of clamps that are more suitable to clamp wood pieces of different thicknesses.

Making a 90 Degree Clamp

Step 1 - Make the base

Start by cutting and shaping the plywood desk for the base. The base is 15 x 15 x 1,2 cm. Easily done with a circular saw crosscut jig. You will end up with nice clean perpendicular cuts.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Draw the design and cut out the inner parts. The cut square is 4×4 cm. The diagonal cut is not necessary – it is a design feature. For the inner cuts, I am using a jigsaw cutting station.

NOTE: Cutting a square in the corner of the base will allow excess glue from the joint to drip outside the clamp base.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Step 2 - Make the Jaws

The total height of jaws is 2,4 cm. They are made from two plywood pieces that are stacked on each other and glued together. The height is sufficient to hold bigger and heavier wood pieces.

Measure and cut the wood pieces for the jaws (2 L-shaped frames).
Front jaw: 1 piece- 12,5 x 12,5 cm
Back jaw: 2 pieces – 11 x 2 cm

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

After cutting all the pieces, sand them and make sure that all the parts fit perfectly.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

1. Make the Back Jaw

Let’s start with the back jaw first.

Glue the first part of the L-shaped frame on the clamp base. After the glue dries you can additionally secure the piece with screws. 

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Repeat the process for the second piece. Use an angle to ensure that both pieces are perpendicular to each other. Align the angle with the first piece and attach the other one.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

1. Make the Front Jaw

Start with a 12,5 x 12,5 cm piece. Draw the design and cut off the unnecessary parts. You should end up with a piece whose height is 2,4 cm and the width of each of the arms is 2 cm.

It is easy to make the cuts using a hand drill in combination with a jigsaw cutting station or a jigsaw guide track.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

To be able to attach the spindle you need to create a pocket in the middle of the front part. The pocket will hold the threaded rod with an attached nut at the end that will push the front jaw forward.

Drill a 20mm hole with a Forstner bit deep enough to insert a washer. Then drill a 15mm hole to accommodate for an M6 nut and a washer (a depth of 8mm should be enough).

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

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Step 3 - Make the Spindle

The spindle consists of 2 main parts. The spindle nut and the threaded rod.

1. Spindle Nut

Cut a piece of plywood ( 3,5 x 2 x 2,4cm). Drill a 20mm hole with a Forstner bit in the middle and insert a T-nut.

NOTE: Drilling a hole is not necessary. If you mount the T-nut right on top, the spindle will work well. But having the T-nut flush with the surface looks just so nice 😉

Check out this blog post if you want to know how to insert a T-nut in a professional way.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Glue the spindle nut to the clamp base and fix it additionally with screws. This time I recommend using screws since the spindle nut will take a lot of pressure.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

2. The Spindle

Measure and cut the threaded rod for the spindle. Take into account the handle and the nut that pushes the jaw forward.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Step 4 - Assemble the clamp

And now the most fun part – assembling all the pieces of the angle clamp together.

First, screw the threaded rod into the spindle nut. Put on the washer and the handle as shown in the picture below. Then place the nuts on both ends of the rod and fix them with epoxy.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

NOTE: I am using a star knob as a handle. It looks awesome and has a good hand grip. If you want to see how I made it take a look at this article – How to make Star Knobs with a Knob Jig.

Dado Jig For Router - Making a six star wooden knob
Dado Jig For Router - A six star wooden knob

Once the epoxy fully hardens and the nuts are fixed, slide the handle on the nut. For a permanent fix add again some epoxy or wood glue.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Place a smaller washer that fits in the 15mm hole (It will be easier for the threaded rod to push the front jaw forward).

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

Screw the threaded rod until the nut touches the smaller washer and fix the bigger washer to the front jaw with epoxy. Be careful not the get the resin off the washer.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

This is what the finished right-angle clamp looks like. Let’s use it!

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.

How to use right angle corner clamps

  1. Open the clamp’s jaws and insert the first wood piece in. Make sure the piece is lined up with the jaw’s L-shaped frame
  2. Insert the second piece and align both wood pieces until the edges are completely flush
  3. Start tightening the clamp with one hand while holding the wood pieces in place with the other
  4. Adjust the clamp and the pieces until they are tight, ensuring not to overtighten the clamp
  5. Fix the wood pieces with glue, screws, or other types of fasteners
  6. Sand or finish the joint as desired

Don’t over-tighten which could result in damaging the material or the clamp.

If you want to fix the wood pieces with glue then do that during step 1.

TIP: Place a piece of wax paper right below the joint. You will be able to easily get rid of the glue excess keeping your workbench clean.

When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
Using right angle clamps to join 2 pieces of wood
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a right angle clamp will hold the pieces in position.
Perfect 90 degree angle using right angle clamps

Right Angle Clamp Video

If you want to see how to build it, watch the video below for a step-by-step guide on how to make a right-angle clamp.

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Having corner clamps in a workshop is a must. When assembling furniture, cupboards or cabinets where large pieces need to be joined at 90 degrees a 90 degree clamp will hold the pieces in position

My Take

When it comes to holding materials securely at a 90-degree angle, corner clamps are an essential tool for any woodworker. They help ensure that the joint is precisely aligned and can be easily glued, screwed, or fastened together. 

Unfortunately, corner clamps are not that cheap, and your will need many of those in your workshop. It is definitely worth spending the time and making them… Not only you will save money, but you will also have a good feeling from the work done and appreciate a nice addition to your workshop. 😉

Now you have all the information needed, so let’s build them!

How to make a 90 Degree Clamping Jig

Woodworking Jigs used for this project:

RELATED: Interested in other types of workshop clamps? Take a look here: DIY Corner Clamp

DIY Corner Clamp

Corner clamps are so much needed in a workshop. This corner clamping jig can be used for all types of perpendicular inner joints, such as t-joints, dado joints or rabbet joints. Learn step-by-step how to make a perfect DIY corner clamp.
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About the author, Lukas
About the author, Lukas

My passion is to build homemade equipment for the workshop and sharing that with others.

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