Klemsia cam clamps

[John Coloccia]

Ah...the premiere cam clamp in the world. Nearly 50% more expensive than other cam clamps out there. I bought 8@$25.00 each. I thought I'd treat myself to a little better clamp than my cheapy Woodcrafts.

The things showed up, and they where totally unusable. The jaws moved so rough they couldn't be moved with one hand. Further, not even one clamp had parallel jaws, and some were so bad they had a 1/8" gap at the back of the jaw. Clamping pressure was pitiful. I could barely get them to support their own weight. As soon as you touched it, it would move. Needless to say, I threw them in a box and sent them right back.

I will say they were by far the prettiest clamps I owned, but they were total garbage in terms of fit, finish and function. Anyone else have Klemsia clamps? Did I just get a really bad batch? I really loved how smoothly the cam worked, and the overall feel of the clamp, and I was really ticked off that the things didn't work and I couldn't find a way to justify keeping them. I tried and tried and tried, and finally had to accept the fact that they were totally unusable for even the simplest clamping tasks. I'm wondering if I should try again through a different supplier, maybe. I'm having a hard time believing that they developed their reputation with this kind of junk, but at the same time every last one was...well....JUNK.

My cheap Woodcrafts move very smoothly, the jaws align perfectly and they clamp just fine, by the way. The cam motion is very sticky and squeaky. The Klemsia's cam was smooth as butter....I'd never felt anything like it on a cam clamp. I wonder if there's a way to smooth out my Woodcraft's cam motion. I was thinking a bit of oil, but I think that would eventually start softening the wood, and makes things worse.

[Brent Smith]

Hi John,

I've never tried Klemsia cam clamps, but do have a number of Dubuque cam clamps. They are by far the best I've seen. You can buy them from thebestthings.com, and I believe Japan Woodworker may also carry them.

[John Coloccia]

Oddly enough, they look identical to the Woodcrafts.

http://www.woodcraft.com/EnhancedImage.aspx?ProductString=123262.jpg&NameCode=123264

There's another brand, Pinnicale, that is again identical, and carried by Woodcraft.

I'm getting the feeling that these are all made by the Dubuque, and the only difference is the laser engraving.

That's a GREAT price. I just ordered a bunch of 8" from WC for $17 each. Oh well.

[Bill White]

I have only 2 Klemmsias, and they are over 40 yrs. old. Still work like new. :)
I used them when I was repairing stringed instruments/guitar building.
Bill

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Those are supremely easy to make yourself.
And of course you'll make 'em better than the store bought ones.
But the latter goes without saying.

Send 'em back.

[Jason Hallowell]

I wonder if there's a way to smooth out my Woodcraft's cam motion. I was thinking a bit of oil, but I think that would eventually start softening the wood, and makes things worse.

I dripped a tiny bit of melted beeswax into a couple of mine to smooth out the action, and it's worked great so far.

[Mike Langford]

Like Cliff said,Those are supremely easy to make yourself.......

.....I've made several of them in two styles!

118645 118646

You can build them pretty inexpensive too (depending on how much you tie up in materials).....I think I built the ones in the 2nd pic for around $2.25 per clamp! (of course thats not counting my labor,machines in my shop,electricity used,etc...) the most expensive part was the roll pins!

[John Coloccia]

Yah yah yah...I know I should make them myself. It's just that by the time I'm done, I'll have spent the whole day and it just doesn't seem worth it when I have so many other things to do....especially at the price Dubuque is selling them for.

I have to try the beeswax idea.