HF Bar clamps

[Stephen Jones]

IN general, I do not buy from harbor freight but I picked up some 24 inch bar clamps for $5 each and was pleasantly surprised. they compare favorably to the Jorgensens I have plus they have plastic pads on the contact surface that are a nice touch. Just a heads up since you can never have enough clamps!
stephen

[scott spencer]

I've had real good luck with those particular HF clamps too....they're the Pittsburg bar clamps. I've probably got 15 of them and use them frequently. It's worth noting that the HF quick grip type clamps are not as good as the bar clamps IMO.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Shop/Woodworking/hfclamp_zpsi55yjaal.jpg

[David Ragan]

Lots of the time, as we all know HF is a deal- but i have asked too much of their alloys and been horrified when the bar startsd bowing w clamp up. Bring on the Bessey

[John Schweikert]

I have tons of bar and pipe clamps from Bessey and Jorgensen. But for the 6" bar clamps, the HF ones at $2-3 are a pretty darn good deal. I have yet to have the type Scott shows to ever have issues. I don't visit HF often, but when I do, I pick up a few extra of the 6" every time. Can't speak for the much longer HF bar clamps though.

The HF quick clamps are junk. I use Irwin 300 & 600 quick clamps and those have never failed me and I tighten those things hard.

I'll be epoxying the gunnels on boat project in a month and you can never have too many short clamps for that.

[Rick Potter]

I gave up on the HF F clamps, because several of them had handles that came loose, and spun when trying to tighten the clamp. I replaced those with the Chinese Bessey clamps that HD had. $18 for two six inch, and two 12 inch. They are nicer clamps, in my opinion.

For heavier work, I have the good Bessey's.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I find the HF "F" clamps a good deal for the price, not very heavy duty, but for light duty use which is all I use them for they are a bargain. :)

[Frederick Skelly]

I gave up on the HF F clamps, because several of them had handles that came loose, and spun when trying to tighten the clamp. I replaced those with the Chinese Bessey clamps that HD had. $18 for two six inch, and two 12 inch. They are nicer clamps, in my opinion.

A quick aside: I like those Besseys too and have a bunch. Had the handles come loose on those too. So I drilled a hole through the handle and shaft, then used a finish nail as a pin through the hole. Seems to work just fine. (But it aint pretty!)

Fred

[Jesse Busenitz]

I bought several F clamps from HF a couple years back( they had wooden handles, so maybe they changed something) but the threads stripped out within a year or so. Maybe I was just expecting too much.

[scott spencer]

I never really put much pressure on a F-style bar clamp, and I dont' believe even the better ones are design for high clamping pressure. When I really need pressure, I pull out the pipe clamps or the parallel jaw clamps.

[Bryan Cramer]

I use a lot of the 6" F clamps; I have I think 25 or so for use in bent lamination. The long clamp's bars bow too much.

[Curt Harms]

I use a lot of the 6" F clamps; I have I think 25 or so for use in bent lamination. The long clamp's bars bow too much.

That's my experience too. F clamps seem good up to about 12"-18". Beyond that if I want significant pressure it's time for aluminum bar or pipe clamps. I have a couple longer Pony F style clamps and it doesn't take much to make them bow when near their length capacity.

[Stephen Jones]

I rarely need more clamping power than these provide, and for that I have some heavy duty clamps and pipe clamps, but for regular glue-ups (drawers, cases, flat panels) I think these are fine.
S.

[Dave Cav]

I have about 40 of them, mostly in the shorter sizes although I did get 4 of the 36" models in case I have some long, light duty glue job where a bar or pipe clamp would be too clumsy or hard to handle. I also use them a lot at school; in fact, last week I just bought 10 more. At $3.00 each they are hard to beat and easier for the students to use than the old high school shop standby, hand screws. They're perfect for bandsaw boxes, and we make a lot of them in my class. I have had a couple of the handles strip out, and the fix is to find a square piece of scrap about 1x1x4, drill a 5/16 (or so) hole in the end and epoxy it on.