Harbor Freight Pipe Clamps

[George Bokros]

Are they any good? They are half the cost of Pony's.

Thanks

[Andrew Joiner]

I have them. They work fine. I like the type with the four plate clutch better than the toothed pivot. Be sure and and check them closely for defects as the quality control is not perfect. Around 1 out of 4 on the shelf is not acceptable. They have held up for 4 years and work as well as my 40 year old USA made Ponys. Ponys may not be made in the USA anymore. The Harbor Freight brand has a lifetime warranty so check it out.

[ken masoumi]

I would stay with Pony,Jorgensen pipe clamps, they are more reliable than the cheaper ones.
The problem I find with toothed pivot type clamps is, they will fail right in the middle of big glue ups, I have four of them and only use them when I absolutely have to.

[Mike Schuch]

I have many different pipe clamps... a lot of them are HF. I have never had an issue with the HF clamps. All of my pipe clamps are on galvanized pipes which Ihave heard some people have trouble with. I have never had trouble with galvanized pipe for clamps.

[Scott Cenicola]

Have to agree. Had my HF pipe clamps for years, never a problem. One of the few HF gems that are out there. Saves you some money too.

[John Gustafson]

Like others, I have some of each. I have them on fairly long pipes for the weird oversize glue-ups that I seem to create. The HF ones I have are the plate clutch an I have never had an issue.

[John Donhowe]

I have a couple of the HF 1/2" clamps (with the toothed pivot grip), and they are pretty useless- they slip with even moderate pressure. I haven't made attempts to increase their grip (by sharpening the grip teeth by filing). I always seem to remember the flaw only in the middle of a glue up, when I don't have the time! I suspect that the 3/4" clamps, with stacked plate grips, should work better. BTW, I've found the HF bar clamps (with screw handles, NOT the quick adjust) to be gems.

[Curt Harms]

I had a couple of the toothed lock clamps and found them about useless too. The only way to be sure they wouldn't slip was to clamp a vise grip behind them. I'm pretty sure they've been recycled, hopefully into something more useful.

[Jim Dwight]

My half inch pipe clamps are not HF but have the pivoting toothed piece. They are also on galvanized pipe. They only work if they get swatted with a hammer, preferably dead blow. But with that encouragement they work fine. I think some of my 3/4 clamps are HF. All work fine. They have the multi plate gripper on the fixed end and are on black pipe. I have 4 of the quick acting clamps from HF, 12 inch I think. I had to get used to grabbing the little metal unlock piece and only the closest plastic handle but used this way, they ungrip fine and always latch down fine. I haven't tried the bar clamp type yet but may when they go on sale again. Pipe clamps work but it would be nice to have some bar clamps.

Simple hand tools like this are generally good at HF. I see no reason to pay premium prices to others.

[Charles Wiggins]

Are they any good? They are half the cost of Pony's.

Thanks

Had ten pair for fifteen years. My only complaint is that some of the faces are not really flat, so as Andrew said, check them closely. Most of the time I use some sort of softwood as a pad anyway, so it's not a big deal. Someday I'll take the time to flatten them.