Clamp Brand

[Tim Allaire]

Jorg, Bessey, Jet. Best price is Jorg. Most used Bessey. Most user friendly Jet. What is the best value? Are they all about the same?

[Mike Heidrick]

Clamp maufacturer that are woodnet and sawmillcreek members - Jorgy. Clamps made in Chicago - Jorgy. The adjustable clamp co is an awesome group to work with.

[Chris Tsutsui]

If we are comparing the top of the Line Jorg vs Bessey parallel cabinet clamps.

I have a bunch of both and I like the Bessy's because they never get stuck.

Thus, even though the Jorgs were 50% off i would rather just get the Bessy's next time because you know they won't get stuck.

I never tried Jet's parallel but I have about 16 of their bar clamps with the sumo grip and I've never had a problem with any of them.

[ian maybury]

I've no experience of others to compare them to, but have just bought a bunch of Bessey parallel clamps - on the basis that it was a fairly big buy (not available locally, and not enough time to buy some of each to try out) and unlike the Jet they (as well as getting good reviews from users like here) have been around for quite a while, are German made (usually a suggestion of quality) and are well proven.

Bessy have some very nice and pretty cost effective smaller clamps too http://www.woodpeck.com/besseyproducts.html - like the UniKlamp, the LMU and the Might Mini. The idea of buying all my clamps from a single quality source appealed as i've had pretty mixed experience with very variable quality on eastern made clamps that are only a bit cheaper.

Time will tell on whether it was a good call...

FWW magazine recently did a parallel clamp review, and decided the Jet and Jorgensen parallels were the best. But when you read it carefully it seems to have been a bit of a technical win in that the numbers on which they based their decision were actually very close for all three - it was really only some of the cheaper ones like Irwin that seemed to show significant issues with e.g. bending and enough slop that the heads would move out of square...

[Ben Franz]

As others have mentioned in different threads, the latest issue of FWW (Tools and Shop) has a comparison of 6 or 7 brands of parallel jaw clamps. They rate Jorgensen at the top but many here seem to like Bessey. Like they say, Besseys are more $$$ but may be worth it. YMMV.

[Wayne Cannon]

Jet and Jorgenson were rated tops. Bessy was next. If I recall correctly, other than those three, all the others had significant negatives.

[I suspect that Bessy's patent(s) expired and now there are quite a number of nearly identical parallel-jaw clamps to choose from.]

[Rick Fisher]

Did they review the new Revo Clamp ? (Bessey)

I have purchased about 10 of them in the last month or so.. I absolutely love them.

I have a bunch of the wooden handled older Bessey's.. I plan on getting a bunch more Revo's and using the older ones as "extra clamps"..

The Clamp that I feel doesnt get enough credit is the Bessey Tradesman..

I only have 5 of them.. Intend on getting a bunch more as well..

[John Keeton]

I recently decided to try a couple of the Wood River (Indian made Bessey.) Although there are slight visible differences from the Bessey, they seem to work just as well, and are often available on sale at Woodcraft.

[Wayne Cannon]

They reviewed the new Bessey clamp. Their biggest complaint was that the slip-on covers on the clamp faces kept sliding off, and that they broke when the clamps were dropped. Removing the covers solved the problem, but reduced the size of the face.

I don't have the magazine in front of me, but I think the preference for the Jet and Jorgenson clamps over Bessey's were minor differences in face squareness and the maximum force that could be applied.

[Jim O'Dell]

Of the top 3 or 4 brands, I think the one that is on the best sale at any given moment is the best value. I had decided about August last year that I would watch for a sale and get me a "starter" set of parallel clamps. I really watched for the Jets to go on sale, and tracked prices to December. Then Woodcraft came out with their blow out of the last style Besseys (4 24" for 80.00 with free shipping, and 4 40" for 100.00 also free shipping, had 10.00 off any order over 100.00, I think the above prices reflected that extra savings) So I got 4 24s, 8 40s, and 4 extenders to couple 2 clamps together. All in all about 320.00 worth of clamps. (Yeah, if I hadn't done that, I would already have my new cab saw;)) I will eventually need more, but with these, I can put together a cabinet of just about any size I might need to build, albeit one at a time.
I'd say start watching the major players...Amazon, Woodcraft, Rockler, Peachtree, Hartville tool, etc and plot on a graph the ones you want, and track the prices. You'll pretty quickly know when you see a good deal come along. Jim.