Well, we have some of the "clamps" soaking in the bath tub in hot water. My husband says they will loosen up more quickly by doing that. After they are warmed up, we are going to dry them off and slip them onto 7/8" dowels that we bought at the hardware store. I brought one of the clamps with me to the store, and we found that the 3/4" dowels fit pretty easily; my dh could get the 7/8" dowel inside, but it was more difficult. So, I am hoping once we do all this the clamps will become loose enough for me to be able to get onto the rods.

Not sure exactly when I will get a chance to try this out as I have a practice quilt in the frame at the moment. I will post an update after all this to let everyone know if I am able to load a quilt by myself afterwards. Based on previous posts, I am very hopeful this will work.

I had problems in the beginning and my husband had to help or my daughter but by now hundreds of quilts have been done and it loosened some. My DH also showed me how to have the red snapper on top, put my hands on top of that and then use my weight to snap them on. I can now do all sizes. I have joint/bone issues and osteoarthritis in my hands. I do not like pinning either but would absolutely dislike having to sew a zipper or velcro on every time. I hope the snappers will work over time or else just let that nice big strong guy do it. I think my man misses helping the "little" lady.

This sounds like the method I use too. I'm quickly losing strength in my hands and find it the only way that works for me. It's the way Matt Sparrow demonstrates in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzGyf_lO4nE