Parallel clamps

[Dave Lehnert]

Using my clamps today reminded me of all the parallel clamps I use.

The yellow Stanley clamps below were purchased during the Big Lots sale about a year ago. The red Bessey clamps I have acquired over time on sale.

I know the Bessey are considered to be the Cadillac but I'm not too impressed. When clamping with the Bessey I am always fighting to get everything straight. I can use the Stanley and every thing is square first time, every time. The grips are better also.

If I did not know better I would think the Bessey were the lower end product.
Not to say the Bessey are no good. Just not top shelf.

Any other woodworkers like the Stanley better?

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=140153&d=1264799964

[glenn bradley]

I get a smile out of how folks differ. I have some of the Stanleys too, Big Lots too. I have the opposite impression on the products though. The Stanleys are heavy, clumsy, bind during adjustment and sometimes fail to clamp up square whereas I find the Besseys very user friendly and reach for them (and the UniKlamps) before all others.

I imagine I have just developed a subconscious feel for them over time. They did not always do what I expected when I first started using them. I thought they had just gotten broken in or something but maybe I've just developed some kind of habit or familiarity(?). Either way I get a kick out of how we all differ on things. It is enlightening and gives me other views on things I would otherwise miss.

[Dave Lehnert]

I get a smile out of how folks differ. I have some of the Stanleys too, Big Lots too. I have the opposite impression on the products though. The Stanleys are heavy, clumsy, bind during adjustment and sometimes fail to clamp up square whereas I find the Besseys very user friendly and reach for them (and the UniKlamps) before all others.

I imagine I have just used developed a subconcious feel for them over time. They did not always do what I expected when I first started using them. I thought they had just gotten broken in or something but maybe I've just developed some kind of habit or familiarity(?). Either way I get a kick out of how we all differ on things. It is enlightening and gives me other views on things I would otherwise miss.

Thats interesting. Yes, the Stanley's are heavy but I like that.

Thanks for posting.

[Andy McCormick]

I have several Bessey clamps. I love them until the thread gets dry. For some reason after about 2 years whatever lubriucation they use drys up and when I am glueing lets say a table top together the whole clamp wants to turn instead just the handle. I have tried wd 40, graphite, and everthing else but I still cant get them to be like new. Andy

[Matt Meiser]

I have 6 of the Stanley's and I do like them better, mainly for the handles. The Besseys also tend to stick in their widest-open postion, but on the other hand, the retainer clip to prevent the head from running off the end on the Stanley's is really cheaply made.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have Jets, don't own either the Stanleys or Besseys. Love the Jets. In the store, I tried the Besseys, preferred the Jets, so I bought them.

[Jeff Willard]

Can we throw Jorgensen into the mix :D.

[tyler mckenzie]

Can we throw Jorgensen into the mix :D.


please do! +1 for jorgensen

[Chuck Isaacson]

Another +1 for the Jorgey's! FWW just did a review on these a few months ago and they were tied for the lead with the Jets.

[Glen Butler]

+1 Jorgensen here too.

Jet's and Jorgey's tied huh. They are pretty much identical but the Jorgensen seemed easier to use in the store.

[Fred Voorhees]

While I will always praise my Bessey's... I recieved a bonus of 4 Jet clamps when I purchased my Jet cabinet saw two years ago and I have to admit, I think I like the Jet clamps a little bit better. The clamp faces are a bit larger and the handles are easier to use on the Jets also.

[Dave Lehnert]

Can we throw Jorgensen into the mix :D.

I plan to try a few when I can find a good price. I kinda got turned off by them when they first came out with cracked head problem. That all seems to be fixed now.

What do you like about the Jorgensen?

Speaking of Jorgensen clamps. I pick up one of the new Gear Clamps at Hartville Hardware during a trip to northern Ohio. They are extreamly well made and easy to use. I like them a lot. Woodcraft wants like $40 for one but I think I only gave about half of that.
http://www.adjustableclamp.com/38000_pg.htm

http://www.adjustableclamp.com/38004inu.jpg

[Van Huskey]

Give me the Jets any day, all around better clamp than everyone of them except it just edges out the Jorgensens. I love the release trigger on the Jets.

[Bill Huber]

Another +1 Jorgensen

I have Jet, Jorgensen and Besseys...

I use the Jorgensen then the Jets and then the Besseys.

For me the Jorgensen just work better, they slide better and the handles are better and easier to use.

[Greg Pavlov]

If I did not know better I would think the Bessey were the lower end product.
Not to say the Bessey are no good. Just not top shelf.

Any other woodworkers like the Stanley better?
I don't have Stanleys, but I've not been all that thrilled with the Besseys either. I also have some Jets and I find them easier to use, tho they are bulkier, which often is not ideal. Bessey has made improvements in the last several years. I haven't bought any of the latest.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have bessies and Jets and Jorgys. When I want mass to assemble a carcase I grab the Jorgys no question. The Revos are probably as just as heavy but those black pads on the Revos like to slide off though.

The triggers on parallel clamps are nice sometimes but for me not every time.

[Mike Zilis]

I've got Bessey and Jet parallel clamps and I have to give the edge to the Jets. It's the trigger release and the easier to grip handle that puts them over the top. Although if I only had Besseys I wouldn't be unhappy.

-Mike

[Todd Franks]

I have all Bessey's. That's what I started with because at that time they were considered the best. Call me brand name whore but I didn't want to mix-n-match different brands so I stuck with the Bessey's even when others were getting better reviews. I even recently bought some original Bessey's on clearance instead of Revo's to round out my collection. So I can't really compare to other brands, but the one thing I have not liked about the Bessey's is the grip on the handles. The diameter is too small and the handles too smooth. I'm sure other brands got the Bessey's beat here.

[glenn bradley]

See there? What a great discussion thread. I love this stuff.

[Joe Shinall]

Can we throw Jorgensen into the mix :D.

Why can't harbor freight make some parallel clamps??? I'm sure they would be of great quality!!! :rolleyes: Would probably have a built in LED light or some sort of fancy add on.

On a serious note, I never knew Stanley had them. Interested in seeing what the owners on here have paid for them???

[Bob Haskett]

Why can't harbor freight make some parallel clamps??? I'm sure they would be of great quality!!! :rolleyes:

No doubt. I love my HF bar clamps.

[Joe Shinall]

No doubt. I love my HF bar clamps.

I do like my HF bar clamps and use their pipe clamps as well. Just wish they would make parallel clamps. Would not be the quality of Jet or Bessey or Stanley, but at $9 a pop (I'm sure that's how much they would be) you could certainly buy a hell of a lot more :D

[fRED mCnEILL]

"I do like my HF bar clamps and use their pipe clamps as well. Just wish they would make parallel clamps. Would not be the quality of Jet or Bessey or Stanley, but at $9 a pop (I'm sure that's how much they would be) you could certainly buy a hell of a lot more "

Ummm,what good is a parallel jaw clamp if the jaws aren't parallel?

Fred Mc.

[Glen Butler]

For me the Jorgensen just work better, they slide better and the handles are better and easier to use.

Yes. This is exactly what I thought about the Jorgensen also.

Most of my clamps I admit are from harbor freight. More clamps for the money, and they do the job, they just dont turn as nicely or slide as nicely. As for there quick grip style, don't even bother they wont tighten down at all. The plan is to now slowly buy more and more nice ones. Problem is I always find myself buying more tooling and cutters instead of clamps.:)

[Curt Harms]

Why can't harbor freight make some parallel clamps??? I'm sure they would be of great quality!!! :rolleyes: Would probably have a built in LED light or some sort of fancy add on.

.......


HF does sell a parallel clamp, or at least they did. I have 2 24". They appear identical to the Woodcraft (woodriver) brand except the Harbor Freight clamps had metal handles. I caught mine on sale for $15, they were normally $2X.00, around the price of the Woodcraft house brands. I don't see them listed on Harbor Freight's site after a quick search. Woodline sells parallel jaw clamps (http://www.woodline.com/c-270-parallel-clamps.aspx)as well but their normal prices don't seem anything to write home about. The Woodline clamps look in the picture like they have a locking mechanism something like the Jet clamps.

[Jeff Nolan]

The new Besseys are better than the old Besseys because the rubber handle is much much more forgiving on old hands and the clip on the end of the bar comes off so you can join 2 clamps together (you can do it on the old Besseys but you have to do some grinding. I've been meaning to retrofit my old Besseys with a slip on grip enhancer... have to put that on the long long list of things I've been meaning to do :)

The WoodRiver clamps are pretty much crap but only because they have lighter weight materials and will break. Nuff said.

The Jorgensen clamps are solid, perform well but I have a problem with the head getting stuck on the bar. Don't know if this is from debri (glue most likely) sticking to the bar but sometimes I have to give it a good whack to get it to slide again.

My favorite bar clamps are not offered anymore, the Gross Stabil line. These clamps have a unique design relative to other parallel clamps, are silky smooth offering just enough sliding resistance to use them while upright (the clamp head won't fall down if you take your hand off) yet not enough to make them a chore to use. It was really a shame when Bessey bought Gross Stabil's clamp line and killed this parallel clamp, it's far superior to Bessey's own.

I have about 30 parallel clamps and it's a mixed bag of brands... whatever I get on sale. I don't see any reason to be brand loyal, these things are all within range of each other so while I would love to buy more Gross Stabils I would not do so if I had to pay a big premium for the privilege.

[Gary Herrmann]

I've got the old style Besseys. They work just fine for me. I do keep thinking about taping them or putting that plastic handle paint stuff on them to make them a bit larger and and more grippy, but I never seem to get around to it.

[Matt Meiser]

I saw the Woodline clamps at the show. The threads are not as smooth and are a standard thread rather than the Acme thread a lot of clamps use.

Joe, a lot of us got Stanley clamps when Big Lots had them VERY briefly. I hit every Big Lots in metro Toledo and managed to find 6. I think I paid $10 and $15 depending on the length or maybe it was $15 and $20? But I cut them all down to 18" because that's what some were and I needed more short clamps.

Gary, I thought about the same and posted a thread about it a long time ago. Some suggested golf club or tennis racquet handle tape. I've never thought to look when I'm somewhere that would sell it.

[Joe Shinall]

"I do like my HF bar clamps and use their pipe clamps as well. Just wish they would make parallel clamps. Would not be the quality of Jet or Bessey or Stanley, but at $9 a pop (I'm sure that's how much they would be) you could certainly buy a hell of a lot more "

Ummm,what good is a parallel jaw clamp if the jaws aren't parallel?

Fred Mc.

Nice Fred! I guess noone picked up on the sarcasm of the rolling eyes in the first post :D

I do like my Jets. Bought the package with 2 24's and 2 48's with the bench blocks and love the setup. Like them better than my Jergys. Handles seem better and just like them overall.

[Jeff Nolan]

I've got the old style Besseys. They work just fine for me. I do keep thinking about taping them or putting that plastic handle paint stuff on them to make them a bit larger and and more grippy, but I never seem to get around to it.

Don't get me wrong... the old Besseys work great but when I use my new Besseys I really notice the ergonomics improvement. When reaching for them I always go for the new Besseys over the old ones that I have in the same size.

[Stan Mitchell]

I remember when the only choices were pipe clamps! Sheesh, I hate those things.

I happen to have Jets, but find nothing wrong with the other major brands. We come a long way over the last umpty-umpt years.

[joe milana]

I don't get it. Now that I have spent a small fortune on parallel clamps, I find myself reaching for my old bar and pipe clamps almost routinely.

[Cody Colston]

I've not tried any other brand of parallel bar clamps but I love my original Besseys. For frame and panel glueups they are the ones I always reach for first.

I still use my pipe clamps, usually for long-reach clamping and I have a bunch of Jorgenson F-style bar clamps that see considerable use.

That said, I probably use the 12" Quik-Grip clamps more than all the others combined. They are just so handy for all sorts of things where a long reach isn't needed...from small glueups to clamping stock to jigs or clamping stuff to the work table, they are just indispensable IMHO.

There are a lot of clamping options available and something for everyone's personal preferences and budget. That's free enterprise at it's best. :D

[Russell Tribby]

I've got mostly Jets and once I figured out the trigger/handle mechanism they were a pleasure to use. I only have a couple of Bessey's and i don't care for the smaller handle. I have four Gros-Stabil and wish I had more but I think they've been discontinued.