Pipe clamps can often be used as spreaders too!

Yep. Love that!

You can also use ratchet straps as mini-winches too.

Phil

I could have utilized this many times over.......truly outside the box....

Yep

My helper couldn't figure out how to set up my come-along to pull on the door frame of my shop's main door to get it plumb as there wasn't enough room for the come-along between the door frame and the utility pole that supports the shop on that side.

I ran a wire rope around the pole and over to the opposite side of the building where I put the come-along on the *other* utility pole. Worked a treat!

I think he got bogged down into "I need to put the come-along *here*"; rather than seeing that the real problem was "I need to pull on this board this-a-way!" and anyway that produced the pull was OK.

A lot of folks don't realise that a handyman jack is also a huge C clamp that can be used to winch you out.

I've used a automobile scissors jack to open a helm that was squashed before---lots of use for *controlled* force in the smithy!