Jim wrote:

>My request for advice is with several Jorgensen wooden hand clamps.  
>The screws have become so smooth they no longer have enough bite to 
>maintain pressure.  When I crank down on one handle, the other 
>unscrews.  Is there something I can do to restore the bite to the 
>threads or have they aged like me to the point they are fit only for 
>lite duty?

If you are speaking of Jorgensen clamps like mine, they use a steel screw
through a threaded steel "nut" in the wood jaw of the clamp.  

(if that's not it, delete now)
If one of those two steel pieces is worn to the point of not engaging the
other, there isn't much you can do with them.
However, If you desperately want to salvage those clamps, ... the nut is
probably where the most wear is, and it's not major surgery to replace it.
You would have to get a friend/machinist person to make a new nut - but it's
not a big deal and not hard to install.  BTW I don't believe it would even
show up as a new part on an old tool - the thing is almost burried in the
jaw. A little rust, and it's as good as old.

Isn't it just a round piece with a threaded hole through it?

E-mail me if you want to work on how to get these things apart.  I have one
needing the same thing and will thrash through it with you.
-----
Gene