WoodRiver Parallel Clamps???

[Mark Godlesky]

Has anyone used these clamps from Woodcraft? How do they compare to the "brand name" clamps? Looks like WC is putting them on sale in October for 25% off. I've looked at them at my local WC but haven't actually bought or used them.

Thanks.

[John Keeton]

Mark, last sale at WC, I bought a couple of these. They are nearly dead on the Besseys. You can tell a little quality difference, but I have been very pleased with them. At 25% off, it is hard to justify the difference for me. The size, BTW, is identical to the Besseys and you can mix them.

[george wilson]

Is the WC the water closet?:)

[Curt Harms]

They're made in India, supposedly under Bessy's supervision. I have a pair of Harbor Freight 24"ers and a pair of WoodCraft 24"ers (pre-wood River) I don't see any difference except color between them. Both pairs seem to function equally.

[John Keeton]

Is the WC the water closet?:)George, it is where we go to "flush" our $$ down the drain!!

[jerry nazard]

George, it is where we go to "flush" our $$ down the drain!!

So true....

[Mark Godlesky]

Thanks John and Curt. I think I'll give them a try.

My local Woodcraft does get my money on a fairly regular basis. It's nice to have a store close by.

[Curt Harms]

Thanks John and Curt. I think I'll give them a try.

My local Woodcraft does get my money on a fairly regular basis. It's nice to have a store close by.

Take an accurate small square and check that the fixed jaw is square to the bar. I seem to recall one or two at Woodcraft weren't. It wasn't off by much but I didn't feel like taking the chance.

[roman fedyk]

I have not seen the HF parallel clamps. Are they decent for light work?


They're made in India, supposedly under Bessy's supervision. I have a pair of Harbor Freight 24"ers and a pair of WoodCraft 24"ers (pre-wood River) I don't see any difference except color between them. Both pairs seem to function equally.

[Vince Shriver]

George, it is where we go to "flush" our $$ down the drain!!


Well put, John.

[Curt Harms]

I have not seen the HF parallel clamps. Are they decent for light work?

I just did a search and didn't find them. I bought my HF clamps at a store so I could check them over. I don't know if I'd want to buy them sight unseen. I also don't find them using common search terms on HF's web site. The last time I checked they only had 31"ers. They may not longer be carried.

Curt

[Matt Stiegler]

I ordered 2 12" and 2 24" of these (Woodcraft's Woodriver parallel clamps) on sale on Monday and they arrived today, Wednesday, free shipping. So that's nice service from Woodcraft.

The tag on them says "manufactured under contract, exclusively for Woodcraft by Bessey Tools" with a big Bessey logo. Made in India.

The only other parallel clamps I own are Jet. Below are my immediate impressions comparing the Woodcrafts to the Jets (which I've owned a couple weeks and have used a couple times).

Out of the box, these seem a little cheaper, but not cheap. The heads are noticeably smaller. The handles turn smoothly. They lack the Jets' quick release mechanism (which I find a little fussy, but maybe I haven't gotten the touch yet), and as a result they're easy to open/close but seem like they'd be a little tricky to close when vertical.

As previous posters warned, the non-moving heads are not square to the bar. I haven't measured it, but a rough guesstimate would be off by ~1/32 over the length of the heads. Not way off, but readily apparent with a square. But, looking back at my Jets, most of them are not square either, by about the same degree. Are they all unacceptable? I'd be curious to know.

The biggest difference between these and the Jets is that the clamping face of the non-moving heads on all 4 of the Woodrivers are all slightly crowned, whereas the Jets are all dead flat. I could imagine that being an issue in some situations.

They were ~$22 each, shipped, vs. ~$34 each for Jets at regular price.

And the Phils are NL east champs again!