Need Clamp Buying Advise

[Steven J Corpstein]

Now I need to know what the overwhelming favorite clamps are. I'm going to be buying both 36" and 4" or so. I'm getting ready to take on some kitchen cabinets. I need to play with my new toy. :-)

[Michael Cody]

Buy lots of them is the best advise :D


Personally I like your basic pipe clamp.. cheap, works well.... Bessey's are much nicer but you pay a lot more. If price is not that big a deal (think how much the cabinents are going to cost & how long you will have the clamps, makes the price not such a big deal)...

For pipe clamps though:

You can buy the pipe from a big box store, and I buy the clamps from Harbor Freight ... the 3/4" Pittsburgh ones.. Part# 31255-1VGA is priced @ 3.99 ea ... be sure u use "order from the printed catalog option" for this and enter that number, if you don't you could pay 6.99$ ea as that is the web price.

Some will say to avoid HF and if your not comfortable with how HF operates that is ok advise. Customer service @ HF is spotty and shipping is slow.. but that is the price you pay for the bargins. Lots of thier stuff is junk, but a lot are very good values, this is one of those. You will not get twices as good clamps by spending twice the money or more for Pony pipe clamps..

If you are bit more flush with cash then go with Bessey clamps they are the best and are a dream to use, just be ready to pay 25$ or more per clamp for the size you are looking at.

[ray clargo]

ive. got f clamps, pipe clamps, spring clamps???????? most every type of clamp, but when im glueing up a cabinet of laminating a panel i alwayyyyyyyyyyyys reach for the bessy k body. best clamp in my opinion, and now they are coming out with small k bodys though the price is still big. hope this helps ray c.

[Joe_Ott]

Bessey K-Body and Jorgensen's new Cabinet Master clamps. I like the Jorgensen clamps a little better than K-Body clamps. Plus, they are a coule bucks cheaper. When I need more (and I always do of course) they'll be Jorgensen.

Since you mentioned building kitchen cabs... I am im the middle of doing the same right now. I went out and bought a bunch of clamps that I thought I would need. To be honest, I haven't used them that much! But like they say, you can never have too many! :)

I'm using a Kreg Pro kit and don't seem to need the clamps a lot. For what it's worth.

Good luck.

Joe

[Jim Becker]

I'm a dedicated Bessy K-Body addict when it comes to cabinet clamps. (The Jorgensen and GS are also nice, but I tend to stay with one brand on things like this) I also like the Bessey Tradesman and their new UniKlamp series.

I tried the HFT 3/4" pipe clamp sets a few years ago as the price was "extraordinarily attractive". Unfortunately, I had problems with over half of them...there is something unsatisfactory about having to use a hammer to adjust the clamp position on the pipe. (The "real" Ponys work great)

[Ken Salisbury]

When it comes to blades I always think "Forrest". When it comes to clamps I always think "Bessey"
<p align="center">
<IMG src="http://www.kenswoodcentral.com/bessey.jpg">

Bessey Clamps (http://besseyclamps.com)</p>

[Dave Avery]

While Bessey clamps are great for furniture making, I also use Quick Grip 6" and 24" clamps all over the shop

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Dave Avery
While Bessey clamps are great for furniture making, I also use Quick Grip 6" and 24" clamps all over the shop

I have a few Quick Grip clamps that I do find handy, particularly for setups and jigging. But I find they have a lot more deflection and distortion under pressure than heaver clamps and don't prefer them for any kind of glue-up activity...that deflection and distortion makes it hard to keep things in alignment. IMHO, of course. Others may have different experiences than me!

[Keith Outten]

Geez...I'm always out of step it seems. I prefer the old fashioned wooden hand screw clamps. They seem to have more brute clamping power than any other clamp I have ever tried. I have lots of the Quik clamps and of course pipe clamps for glue-ups. I'm probably the only woodworker at my age that has never owned or used a Bessey clamp.

Hand Screws are adjustable as far as angle goes and I even prefer using them on the drill press. I also use them to hold small parts for drilling or sawing on the bandsaw. Our junior high schooll wood shop was full of hand screws and in almost 40 years I have never found any clamp to take its place.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Bessey clamps seem to be great but I've never tried one. I use Gross Stabil (http://www.grossstabil.com/) clamps which I like very much.
These are "my" clamps:

http://www.gross-stabil.de/spann.gif

Regards,

Christian

[Bob Boake]

I know a few cabinet shops that use jorgenson pipe clamps exclusively and have for decades. Since cabinet depth is pretty standard, they don't get adjusted much, just tightened and loosened. Also cabinet carcass glueups rarely require deep throated clamps.

My cheap chinese knockoffs work ok but may not give you the service lifetime of a better brand. If they are not in frequent heavy use it may not be an issue. I may only have a half dozen of them. I think one has come apart.

I have a selection of pipe clamps, bar clamps, I-beams, quick clamps, C clamps and wooden screw clamps. Use mostly quick clamps for the little stuff and jorgenson bar clamps or I beams for the casework. Wood clamps are usefull for bringing together odd angles. Spring clamps are good for sealing bags of potato chips.

[Ken Wright]

even seen one other than on his show .... but I think I would really like some of David Marks clamps. Would be nice if anyone knew the brand .... they may be antiques since David rarely "sports" shiny new tools........ he probably spends more on MDF for templates than most of us spend for wood on a project .. but I ain't knocking him .... love to have a small degree of his skills.

And Keith .... you're not alone ..... neither have I ever owned or used a Bessy .... always choked on the price when looking at them. I'll just keep riding my Ponies. They're more at home in my barn shop anyway.

[Robert Henderson]

I use Gross Stabil.....

[Bartee Lamar]

Check out this Redmond and Sons Sale on Gross Stabil.. (http://www.redmond-machinery.com/default.htm)

This is a very good price. These are very good clamps.

[John Miliunas]

And yet another member of the Bessey K-Body camp. Still looking to try out their new UniKlamps. In the same breathe, though, I do know of many folks being equally (more) happy with the Jorgenson Cabinet Masters, as well as the GS line. All of the above are about equally priced (that being, HIGH!). I got lucky and hit the big Sears sale last year. Also big fan of the Quick-Grip line for smaller work, where deflection isn't an issue. :cool:

[Lee Schierer]

You never own enough clamps. No matter what you are making, you could always use one or two more to get it clamped just right.

My shop is stocked with 3/4" pipe clamps (with both galvanized and black pipe), various sizes of C-clamps and several sizes of Quick-Grip clamps. The quick grips are great for preassembly and holding something until I can get a stronger clamp on it, but they don't apply nearly as much pressure as a good C-clamp or pipe clamp.

Beesys loo nice an reports are that they work well. The price is a bit steep if you need lots of clamps.

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by John Miliunas
Still looking to try out their new UniKlamps.

John, I picked up a few of the UniKlamps from TWC at a recent show to try them out. They are not as smooth operating as the big K-bodies, but have a big advantage over standard F-clamps--the jaws are parallel and with so much area, they are less likely to mark your workpiece should you not use a small block of wood between the clamp and the project. I will probably continue to buy these to fill out my small to medium clamp inventory--I tend to do that at shows when the prices are a little lower. The UniKlamps are priced similar to Tradesmans.

The only noticable negative is the unavailability of deep jaws like some of the Tradesman and other brands offer.

[Ed Marks]

I have a large set of sliding bar clamps (OK), a decent set of 3/4" pipe clamps (better), some besseys (good), and various little toys ... but my all time favorites are the Wetzler sliding bar clamps. They are absolutely indesctuctable and can clamp anything from a table apron to glued up lamitations around a curved form. I wish I had known about them when I started collecting clamps.

[Angelo Schembari]

I love the K-bodies too...Cleaned up at sears both times around, as well as some of their f- clamps and powergrips. I got the K's in 32, 48, 50, and 60 but last month tey were all too short for the assembly of my workbenck. Pulled out some not-pony pipe clamps and some old craftsman 1/2" pipe clamps and they worked great. It pays to have a variety on hand, and a few pipe clamps can be easily modified for longer needs .

[John Miliunas]

Originally posted by Jim Becker
John, I picked up a few of the UniKlamps from TWC at a recent show to try them out. They are not as smooth operating as the big K-bodies, but have a big advantage over standard F-clamps--the jaws are parallel and with so much area, they are less likely to mark your workpiece should you not use a small block of wood between the clamp and the project. I will probably continue to buy these to fill out my small to medium clamp inventory--I tend to do that at shows when the prices are a little lower. The UniKlamps are priced similar to Tradesmans.

The only noticable negative is the unavailability of deep jaws like some of the Tradesman and other brands offer.

Thanks for the quick overview on the Uni's, Jim! I was just pricing some out today, as it happens. Definitely better price point than their big brothers, but sometimes a guy doesn't need all the umph of the K's, just more of them!:D Me thinks I'll give a pair or so of them a try. I know it's never been mentioned before, but I really think a guy can't have too many clamps, anyhow! :D :D :cool:

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by John Miliunas
I know it's never been mentioned before, but I really think a guy can't have too many clamps, anyhow!

Yea, I agree with that! I ran out of 24" Bessy's yesterday when I was clamping up drawers and had to use some 40"ers. I don't like doing that, especially since I "beaned" myself with one a few years ago in the eyebrow and still have the scar to prove it...thankfully, I was wearing safety glasses as I always do, or I might have done serious damage to my eye. I wish the UniKlamps came in 24" as they would be really ideal for drawers, etc. Light in weight, but with the parallel jaws.

I do plan a formal review on the UniKlamps for my site, but I also have a lot of things backed up on that front...like the "bifocal" safety glasses I just started using and the DW618K router kit. So much to cover...so little time.

[Dale Thompson]

As has been already mentioned, get yourself a $140 Kreg Propack Pocket Hole Set. Pocket holes will minimize your need for clamps and give you some very strong joints. They are easier than biscuits and the only clamping required, when glueing,is when you are actually inserting the self-tapping screws (about 30 seconds). Tighten the screws, remove the clamps, set the piece aside to cure and go on to the next section.

Just a thought from a totally lazy person who is tired of stumbling over clamps and having the upper ones hit me in the head. :D

Just remember that I'm not the sharpest tack in the box! :confused: :cool:

Dale T.

[MIchael Caldwell]

It took me a while to get past the Bessey price. After I bought my first "cabinet set", Bessey is al I'll buy.

I noticed immediately that I didn't have to fool around getting my case work dead square....the Besseys did it for me.

Yeah, they're pricy, but my labor is more expensive than the clamps. And if you'll budget for a couple clamps a month, you'll be surprised that you'll build a collection, and not feel the pain too much.

[Mike Leonard]

I just got the Grizzly Summer Sale catalog in the mail today. They have Bessey K-Body clamps on sale at $4.00 - $5.00 off their regular price.

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Mike Leonard
I just got the Grizzly Summer Sale catalog in the mail today. They have Bessey K-Body clamps on sale at $4.00 - $5.00 off their regular price.

Unfortunately, tax PLUS shipping kills that for me!

[John Sanford]

Originally posted by Christian Aufreiter
Bessey clamps seem to be great but I've never tried one. I use Gross Stabil (http://www.grossstabil.com/) clamps which I like very much.
These are "my" clamps:

http://www.gross-stabil.de/spann.gif

Regards,

Christian

The Gross Stabil seem to be pretty good clamps, but they're both a little more expensive and a whole lot harder to find over here, hence the popularity of Besseys.

[Steve Clardy]

If you are to stay in woodworking, buy any and all you can. I have c-clamps, spring clamps, bar clamps, pipe clamps, f-clamps. Probably have over 200 all together, and still could use a few more at times, namely deep reach clamps. Steve