aluminum bar clamps

[Jason Beylerian]

hey everyone. i was scrolling through the mcfeelys catalog and come across these aluminum bar clamps. i did some more searching and found rockler and harbor freight has them too. my question is, has anyone used these and how well do they work? the price seems to be a pretty good deal. http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/UBC-/Universal-Aluminum-Bar-Clamps

[Ryan Baker]

I have some that are similar to those and I hate them. They are light weight, but they are sloppy and don't have much clamping force. The McFeelys ones may be better quality ... can't tell from the pictures.

[Von Bickley]

Jason,

I have some clamps that look exactly like that and they work great for me...

[Jon Bonham]

The look exactly the same as the Rockler clamps. I also saw some at my local lumber yard that looked exactly the same. I think a lot of companies are rebadging those clamps as their own. The Rockler clamps work OK. I've found that you can't clamp out of the edges. You really have to have your work piece fully resting against the bar and clamp.

[John R Green]

for me. Have 10 -48" for 4 years. On sale right now at Rocklers for $25 ea.

[Jon Bonham]

Those clamps are actually in my Rockler sale flyer for $19.99. I purchased 8 of them a couple weeks ago for $19.99.

[Rob Parsons]

I bought a pair recently to try out and really like them.

Toolsforworkingwood.com also has them.

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=MS-ABAR.XX&Category_Code=TL

[Philip Johnson]

I have 3 Rockler ones because I broke one and I cuss em every time I use them.
Save your money and buy some good clamps

Phil

[Van Huskey]

They are not "bad". But, I am always a big fan of GOOD clamps. I suggest buying only high quality clamps (parallel and med/heavy steel bar clamps) and do it on a regular basis a few at a time until you have a full compliment for the things you need to clamp. EVERY time I have tried to find a cheaper way to clamp those clamps ultimately have been replaced.

[Lee Schierer]

Aluminum is 1/3 the weight of steel and is also much more flexible. Aluminum clamps are going to flex more than steel clamps.

[Phil Thien]

I have some of the Harbor Fright aluminum clamps. Two styles. One is the 48" long that they still sell today. The other has adjustable bar lengths (using a pin to set a telescoping bar), and a crank that is more beefy like the Rockler. They (HF) don't sell this adjustable length version any more.

The key with any aluminum clamp is your joinery. You aren't going to muscle a bad joint much with these clamps.

If your joints come together nicely, they're great. I like the cost, but also the light weight.

If your are edge gluing wider boards that aren't perfectly straight, don't expect the aluminum ones to close the joints for you.

[glenn bradley]

Sounds like folks run hot and cold on these. I imagine a lot depends on what ou do and how you do it. I took a pass on them for the reasons others who don't care for them state. At the price they were close enough to the cost of good parallel clamps (on sale) to take me that direction. I find K-body clamps more versatile than most any other clamps I have but that could just be because I am used to them.

[Jim Heffner]

I have those HF adjustable bar clamps, they work great for me. I especially like the fact that they are lighter in weight but still have good clamping
pressure.I use them on a lot of projects with never a failure yet. I feel that
if anyone would need a heavier clamping pressure than these clamps could/should exert they are using the wrong ones to begin with. If a heavier
clamp is needed..for instance..to square up a large glue-up, a large parallel
clamp or 3/4" pipe clamp should be used.I'm not using my pipe clamps nearly
as much as I thought when I first bought them....but am using my other clamps more and more all the time.

[Paul Ryan]

I have 4 48" I bought off ebay for dirt cheap about 6 years ago, they look identical to the rockler clamps. I dont use them much any more since most of my clamps are parallel now. But when I did use them I prefered them over my pipe clamps. They don't bend as easy as black pipe and are super light weight. I wouldn't pay more than about $15 each but under that they are a good value. If over $15 spend a few bucks more and by parallel clamps.

[Rob Parsons]

Not all aluminum bar clamps are created equal. Fine Woodworking reviewed bar clamps in issue #172, and the "Universal" brand came out on top of 3 other aluminum clamp brands.

I think they make a good complement to other types and styles of clamps.

[Stew Hagerty]

I too have some of the HF clamps. I really like them. With my disability, pipe clamps are pretty heavy, so I bought them specifically for their lighter weight. No, I can't clamp quite as forcefully as I would the big pipe clamps, but they work good for me.

[Jay Allen]

"Aluminum Bar-Clamp" is an Oxymoron isn't it?

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, here's the thing. You're gonna hear they're crap and you're gonna hear they're great. Some people can afford the $50 per clamp for parallel clamps and buy them a few at a time. I, on the other hand, can't afford that. I have a ton of HF clamps just like those. As well as their quick grip clamps. They do the job for what I do. I have a set of Jet Parallel clamps I bought a while back and I use them when I really need something great. Otherwise I use my HF clamps like there's no tomorrow.

When i clamped up the top on my workbench, the aluminum clamps like that actually put more clamping pressure than my parallel clamps did. They did bend, but they kept the workpiece straight as an arrow.

[Howard Skillington]

The clamps offered by McFeely's appear to be the same ones sold by Tools for Woodworking and by Highland Hardware - where I happened to get mine. They're a very nice clamp - remarkably light, simple, trouble-free, and plenty strong. If you need stronger ones, then the problem is with your joinery.

The Rockler clamps bear no resemblance to these, except for being made of aluminum. I have some of them, too, and I wish I didn't. They look much more handsome, but they rack and lock up and have to be knocked loose with a hammer. Check the reviews on the Rockler site and you'll see that several others report the same problem.

As for the Harbor Freight clamps, they're rock-bottom cheap, and the skinny little handle will hurt your fingers when you tighten them.

The ones in the McFeely's catalogue are by far the best tool of the three.

[Don Dorn]

I have a couple of the HF ones that are longer. I'll use any other option before turning to these. On larger carcasses, I'll try to use pocket hole joints if I can so it negates the need for extra long clamps.

The good side is that I got one of the 3 footers, removed and threw away the clamp end, turned it over and welded it to a piece of 6"x6" aluminum. It makes a fantastic bench slave and very light to hang out of the way.

[Shawn Morley]

I used to work at Rockler, we returned many of these clamps and chucked them m straight into the dumpster. They bend and break easy and have very little clamping pressure when compared to any other bar clamp out there.

[Rob Sack]

I, too, have a set and for certain applications, they work great. They are light in weight and easy to use. Mine apply adequate pressure, but the beam or bar will bend under high clamping pressure. For high clamping pressures I use the Bessey K-Body style bar clamps, although I prefer the Jorgensen version.

[Mike Heidrick]

No offenses to the those that have used clones - but these are not HF or Rockler clamps by a long shot. These are the Universal Clamp company branded aluminum clamps that are made in Iowa. They are awesome and VERY well built - I love them for face frame attachment. Read up on them at www(dot)thebestthings(dot)com(slash)newtools(slash )uniclamps(dot)htm

That price is not special though IMO.

[Ted Wong]

The clamps shown in the original post and sold by Rockler, Harbor freight, and other dealers are different and inferior to the ones mentioned by Rob.
I've used both and the imported variety that sell for around $19.99 and like Mike mentions are a far cry from the quality ones sold by Toolsforworkingwood.com. For starters the movement on the Universal clamps is so much smoother and better machined. Then the aluminum tube on the Universal clamps is thicker and doesn't twist and flex like the cheaper imports. I ordered a dozen of the imports from Lee Valley last summer and after one use I sent them back because they were so flimsy and poorly manufactured.

[Rich Engelhardt]

HF has clamp shaped objects, not clamps....
:(
(Yeah - I have a few of them laying around here and there...)
:o
They "work" in the same sense that anything above eye level can be considered something you have to look "up" at.
:rolleyes:

[Rob Sack]

No offenses to the those that have used clones - but these are not HF or Rockler clamps by a long shot. These are the Universal Clamp company branded aluminum clamps that are made in Iowa. They are awesome and VERY well built - I love them for face frame attachment. Read up on them at www(dot)thebestthings(dot)com(slash)newtools(slash )uniclamps(dot)htm

That price is not special though IMO.



The ones I have are made by Universal and as I said in my previous post, they work fine under medium pressure and are light weight. However, they will bend under high pressure.