Clamp issue

[Matt Benton]

I currently have a bunch of the Irwin quick-clamps, but have noticed recently that they tend to twist on occasion.

Would I get less twist with an F-style clamp like Jorgy's? If not, any recommendations?

Thanks!

[Frank Trinkle]

I currently have a bunch of the Irwin quick-clamps, but have noticed recently that they tend to twist on occasion.

You think that's bad?!?!
I have a ton of Harbor Freight quick clamps.. and they just stop working.... Period!:eek:

Oh well.. I pay so little for them, I treat them as disposable clamps. Their hardwood hand screw clamps are really good though... and cheap!

Good luck

[glenn bradley]

I have 4 and 8 of the 12" and 6" Irwins and they are OK for non precision stuff. They are, after all, called "quick clamps", not "accurate clamps". The twisting you refer to, is it the tendency for the clamps to shift the material when tightening? If so f-style are a bit better about it (good ones, that is). If the bar is actually twisting you are asking too much of that clamp and yes, any more robust clamp will do better in that respect.

One problem with many cheap f-style clamps is that the jaw faces are wayyy out of square. This almost guarantees dents or misalignment issues when pressure is applied. Look closely and you can find some worth having in the low dollar bins.

Parallel clamps work best for me. I have a collection of f-styles that I would trade multiples to one for parallel clamps (I would keep several sets, don't misunderstand me). If I only knew then what I know now, blah, blah, blah . . . learn from our mistakes ;-)

Different folks do different work and use different methods. I was asked just yesterday which clamps I keep near at hand and use the most:

4 - Bessy mighty minis (Lowes, about $5 each)
4 - 6" Jorgie f-styles (Home Depot, about $10)
4 - Bessy 18" Uniclamps (recently on sale at Rockler, wish I'd bought more)
4 - 3" spring clamps (Harbor Freight for about $2 but pick through the bad ones)

The other 70 or so K-body, deep jaw and pipe clamps are on the wall hangers.

[Matt Benton]

Thanks for the replies!

Glenn,

I'm quite happy with my Jorgy Parallel clamps, but need something for small work, like clamping a guide board to my workpiece when cleaning up dovetails.

I think I'll try the Jorgy f-clamps...

Thanks again...

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for the replies!

Glenn,

I'm quite happy with my Jorgy Parallel clamps, but need something for small work, like clamping a guide board to my workpiece when cleaning up dovetails.

I think I'll try the Jorgy f-clamps...

Thanks again...

Yeah, I think you'll like those. They have a 4" too (3704-LD) but I haven't seen them at my HD. For clamping the guide board I would think the clutch mechanism on the Jorgies would win over the Bessy mighty minis as the minis often need both hands to get a grip ;-)

[Ryan Baker]

I have a bunch of the quick-clamps (in various brand-name packaging) that I use quite a bit for the lighter-weight jobs. Never really noticed any twisting problems, but I don't use the long ones. My Jorgie F clamps are by far my most-preferred and most used clamps. Just don't go too crazy with them or you will get a lot of bending in the bar.