Clamp Sizes

[Russ Filtz]

After reading the Bessey/Jorgy thread it makes me want to buy some clamps. I've got some 60" besseys, after that nothing other than crappy quick-clamps for general work. What's a convenient size to get next, since I can't buy 4 of every size (yet!)? Was looking at 24, 32, or 40" sizes.

[Doug Jones]

Since the "crappy quick clamps" can be found quite handily up 36", I'd go for the 40" or even a few more 60"
just my opinion

[Russ Filtz]

I've got five 60 inchers already. They're great, but in my garage "shop" they can get unwieldy. Was leaning to the shorter 24 and probably 32, but the 40 inch keeps peeking out at me! Want something that's handy and not hard to handle, but don't want to get caught too short (don't we all!). So probably the real question is can I live with 32" and/or is the 40" too large to be convenient like the 60". Guess I need to hit a store and feel'em up.

[Jim Becker]

I mostly use 24" followed by 40" (could substitute 30" often enough) and only use the 60" on occasion. I really don't like using clamps that are "too long" for safety reasons...and I have a scar above my right eye to prove it. But I will if necessary. Since my last "buy" during the "Jorgie Orgie" (Amazon shipped Besseys which was fine with me), I now generally have enough 24" clamps for most projects without having to resort to the longer ones. I'd actually love to have some short 12" Bessey K-Bodies, but the UniClamps fill that role pretty well at a lower cost. They are just not as robust and more of an F-clamp replacement than a substitute for short K-Bodies.

[Scott Coffelt]

There is a saying that you can use a longer clamp most of the time for shorter work, but not always. Also when using Bessy's and Jorgies they can get pretty top heavy. I started with 4-40's. I then upped the quantity and bought 50's and 40's. I found I really need something smaller. I also realized that pipe clamps for the money are a better option for above 50" needs (IMHO). So, I have since focused on 24's. I now have a great mix of 24-24's (20 red and 4 orange), 4-31's (R), 4-36's (O), 8-40's (R), 4-48's (O), and 8-50's (R). I have seriously been interested in getting some 12" Bessey's and may do that for the big buy.

I now have a supply that allows me to put the right size clamp to the job, I can always go up a level if needed, but more times then not I have plenty.... except for above 50" I only have 3-72" bar clamps so far. So day I need to buy some more pipe.

[Tim Sproul]

I'm with Jim on this....I use my 24 inch clamps the most. I'd love to invest in some 12 inch clamps when money is available.....the other very much used clamp size is my 4 inch bar clamp.......

Bigger doesn't always work. If you've a 5 foot long by 20 inch wide panel glue up...that requires 6 to 10 clamps..you try clamping that with 60 inch clamps and then moving it out of the way so you can get going on the next part of the project. It is barely doable for me with 24 inch clamps. With 60 inchers, I'd be stuck waiting for an hour or so before moving on.

[Russ Filtz]

I've had a few 60" porcupines to step around in the garage! The heavy factor is a concern I guess. With the 60" on smaller glue-ups, it seems the heavy bar "tail" makes the whole assembly want to tip.

[Chris Padilla]

I'd like to add that while longish clamps can make for cumbersome arrangements and glue-ups, they also help when you need to have wide cauls to help distribute the clamping pressure more evenly.

Some times you can get away with fewer long clamps versus alot of small clamps because you can clamp, with a caul, further away from the work.

In the end, clamps are tools and a variety of them is always good to have on end for the right application.

[Kent Cori]

I have 12-24", 8-40" and 4-48" Besseys that I use for glue ups plus 4-12" and 4-16" quick grip type clamps that I use for general clamping purposes. I also have about a half dozen F-body clamps and another 8 pipe clamps of varying lengths. I use the 24" most often and use the 40" ones when I run out of those. The 40" is a little unwieldy but not too bad. I do notice a distinct difference when I have to dip into the 48" ones for a relatively narrow glue up. The others don't produce enough pressure to be used effectively on glue ups. The pipe clamps come in handy when I have a glue up wider than 24" and run out of the Besseys.

I was fortunate and bought all my Besseys in the various clamp orgies so I haven't paid more than $20 for any of them and as little as $15 for most of them (notice the remarkably subtle stealth gloat here.:D) At these prices, they were an absolute steal but even at the "group clamp buy" prices under another thread, they are a bargain.