Disappointed with Bessey DuoKlamps

[David Brimm]

I picked up four Bessey DuoKlamps about six months ago during a sale and at the time thought I was getting a good deal.

Within about 3 weeks one of the clamps failed and would no longer clamp, followed by another with the same symptoms a week or two later. Well this week the remaining two gave up the ghost too. :(

Needless to say I'm pretty disappointed with Bessey and these DuoKlamps at this point! Yeah they were inexpensive and I know you get what you pay for but my similarly priced Irwin clamps that are years and years old are still going strong. Anyways just wanted to throw this out there so others might make informed shopping decisions.

[Mike Schuch]

Thanks for the heads up... I have gotten better life out of Harbor Freight clamps than what you are describing with these Bessey clamps... they are probably made in the same factory in China. How disappointing! I guess Bessey doesn't care to maintain their reputation that allows them to demand such a premium for their product.

[Jerome Hanby]

Wish these companies would get some craftsman in the front office instead of the bean counters. Some yahoo decides they can trade on their reputation selling cheaper made products and before you know it you have Porter Cable (latest version of PC). I know it happens cause I saw it on TV (latest episode of Suits):D

[glenn bradley]

The whole design of the DuoKlamp looks funky to me and so, I have never tried them outside the store. I do love my other Bessey products though. At any rate, go ahead and get yourself some replacements:

"BESSEY® brand clamping products are warranted under a Limited Lifetime program. We warranty that the products will be free from defects in material and workmanship for the life of the tool or we will replace, refund or repair it; provided that this warranty does not cover any damage caused by abuse, misuse, improper handling, negligence, alteration or normal wear and tear."

[David Brimm]

The whole design of the DuoKlamp looks funky to me and so, I have never tried them outside the store. I do love my other Bessey products though. At any rate, go ahead and get yourself some replacements:

"BESSEY® brand clamping products are warranted under a Limited Lifetime program. We warranty that the products will be free from defects in material and workmanship for the life of the tool or we will replace, refund or repair it; provided that this warranty does not cover any damage caused by abuse, misuse, improper handling, negligence, alteration or normal wear and tear."

That was my first thought but I ended up getting such a run-a-round from the store I bought them at (Bessey says return them to the vendor) that I gave up as I was spending more of my time that the clamps are worth. After complaining to Bessey they did offer to replace them directly if I sent them the dead ones but similarly the cost of sending the clamps to them was approaching the cost of the clamps in the first place. After everything is said and done I'm just writing this off as a lesson learned and will just spend my money elsewhere and on other brands going forward.

[Doug Morgan]

How did they fail? What failed on them? Just curious. I too love the Bessey brand and never had a failure with them. I am disappointed that these failed on you.

[David Brimm]

How did they fail? What failed on them? Just curious. I too love the Bessey brand and never had a failure with them. I am disappointed that these failed on you.

They will no longer advance in the clamping direction when squeezed. They wiggle a bit and you can feel the inner mechanism turning but they just won't clamp. Interestingly enough if you manually squeeze them together on something and then squeeze the trigger while tightly holding them together they will tighten up more and kind of work. They still work in spreader mode. I have yet to take one apart but I suspect a plastic or cheap (ie weak) metal part to have failed, maybe something akin to a pawl.

[Doug Morgan]

They will no longer advance in the clamping direction when squeezed. They wiggle a bit and you can feel the inner mechanism turning but they just won't clamp. Interestingly enough if you manually squeeze them together on something and then squeeze the trigger while tightly holding them together they will tighten up more and kind of work. They still work in spreader mode. I have yet to take one apart but I suspect a plastic or cheap (ie weak) metal part to have failed, maybe something akin to a pawl.

Well I wont be getting any of these in the near future. Thanks David