: There is also an option
: of using a PVC pipe to make clamps but I don't like the idea very much.

Try the PVC pipe/clamp idea first before you dismiss it. The price of a piece of 3inch or 4 inch PVC pipe is not very great,a dn thet time involved is not very high. You might even get the store to cut off a 3 foot section from a 10 foot length. Never hurts to ask.

I've made numerous, cheap clamps from scraps of wood held together with 4 or 5 inch long 1/4 inch carriage bolts or machine bolts, and wing nuts. The process is simple. Cut an even number of 1 inch wide pieces, about 6 or 7 inches long, from scrap 3/4 inch plywood, or from some 1x3 or 1x4 stock. Satck two of your wood pieces together, and approximately in the middle, drill a 5/16th inch hole.
Drop your carriage bolt through the hole, turn over the stack and add a washer (optional) and thread on a wing nut.

The trick to using these clamps is to put a spacer of scrap wood on one side of the bolt clamp and put the other open side of the wood around the parts you want clamped. then, when you tighten the wingnut the bolt draws the two pieces of wood together. If your spacer is just about the same size as the parts you want clamped, then the wooden "jaws" will close evenly.

: Today was the time to syringe seams with epoxy.
: I poured paint thinner into the syringe to clean it. I don't know whether
: paint thinner works on cleaning epoxy. To make sure I left the syringe
: full of paint thinner over night. I did not have any paper towels to clean
: the epoxy runs yet I hape plenty of rags to use (and used them).

Acetone does a better job, and vinegar is supposed to be pretty good too. Vinegar is cheap and a lot more friendly to the user. Don't get acetone on your hands, and particulary be careful of acetone that might have dissolved any epoxy resin. You don't want that to soak into your skin. Not at all.

PGJ