I've never had too much trouble with panel glue ups or been too stressed out during the process, but sometimes it just seems like there is too much involved. You've got lots of clamps alternating top/bottom, sometimes they fold over during a glue up , pinching the ends with smaller clamps, using Dominos for alignment or to prevent shifting, etc., etc. I'm not talking about the 24-30" panel of 2 or 3 boards (e.g. charcuterie board), that is trivial and a good milling process makes quick work of thigs. However on longer and/or wider panels it just takes a bit more to get it done.
I build a lot of furniture and other items that require hardwood glue-ups. It's generally part of almost every project. Even when I use sheet goods, leg/base assemblies and/or drawer fronts are still a critical task that often require gluing of hardwood panels. After a lot of research I landed on Frontline.
What sets Frontline apart from others is not only in the astounding build quality, but in HOW the clamps function/perform. The Frontline clamps actually start pinching the boards together long before they start squeezing, resulting in perfect alignment and a brilliant way to check your milling process before actual gluing. I don't want to bash any other brands, and I will intentionallyavoid naming-names, but fundamentally none of them do everything right like Frontline. The first requirement, for me, was that I didn't want something that took a lot of fiddling. It had to be as fast, or close, to my typical process. I didn't want something that I had to slide boards into or mechanisms that needed alignment or "futzing" around with to get centered. And I wanted something that could glue up thin boards or 8/4-12/4 panels. And, the most important part, was that I wanted a panel clamp that was actually capable of clamping down on the panel. If I need to still use Dominos/biscuits/dowels or clamp the ends with extra clamps or supplement with more clamps, what the hell is the point?
Frontline checks all those boxes. After about 10 glue-ups now, I'm still actually having fun gluing up panels LOL. The process is dead simple. First, you just lay down the bottom half of the clamp. Usually I employ one about 1-2" from the ends (I usually cut the ends off anyway) and then just one every couple of feet. The need for lots of clamps is totally unnecessary. I've yet to feel that I need more than 5 (I actually started out with just 3). If I ever need more, my Bessey's could help with squeezing while the Frontlines do the "pinching". Second, you adjust stop one hole back from where your boards will fit, which is accomplished the usual way, by laying them down flat and seeing for yourself. Next, get the top half of the clamp, place the pin at the same hole as the bottom stop and slide'er into place. Do this for all clamps and lay down your boards for a test fit. Just crank it until the boards are being squeezed together like a typical clamp. If it all looks good, take the tops off, flip the boards, glue'em up and repeat the same steps but give another 1/2-3/4 turn more and you're done.
In summary, these Frontline clamps are one of those tools I've found in my woodworking journey that have truly changed my workflow and are something that I personally find an invaluable asset that I couldn't be without. I purchased them from Tool Guy Republic and while they are stupid expensive, they are built and operate in a way as to justify the cost and will last multiple lifetimes.
Here is a dry-fit of two panels for the top/bottom of a side board I'm building. The total dimensions are 72" long x 33" wide. Final dimensions of the workpiece will be slightly less
Mid panel and end close-up of the actual piece after applying glue
I used 5 clamps, that's it. It took mere minutes to glue and clamp with minimal effort. Took them out of clamps this morning and they're perfectly aligned
Shaper 3D rendering of my design (top/bottom panels above shown). I glued up the center divider with traditional means, but I'll be using 2 fronlines each for the side pieces today.