3/4" pipe clamps

[Tim Bueler]

Kind of an FYI for anyone considering a pipe clamp purchase.

I'm finally getting around to putting clamp heads on a stack of pipe that I acquired in a buyout. Most of what I already have is Pony, which is no longer an option, so I ordered one each of Bessey and Yost from the big A.

The Bessey has huge standoff feet that seem really clunky to me. Also the casting, while being clean and refined looking, seems light and the jack screw is probably only 75% the size of my original Pony clamps. My overall impressions of this and another Bessey product I purchased, and handling them at a big box store, is I find them disappointing for the price. The Bessey did come with clamp pads but I use cauls so they don't benefit me.

The Yost is clearly a Pony clone. The castings are the exact size and configuration of the Pony as is the jack screw. In fact the casting number on the crank handle is the exact number as is on my Ponys. The only difference I can see is the castings are a wee bit cleaner and say Yost instead of Pony. Oh, and they are blue instead of orange if color coordination is important to you.

Unfortunately both clamps are made in China whereas my original Pony clamps were made in USA. Price on the Bessey was $13.97 vs $11.99 for the Yost. Either one is plenty cheap enough, especially when compared to a parallel clamp (and I already have the pipe), but the Yost just seems sturdier.

[Mark Bolton]

Glad and sad at the same time. We have all ponys as well and don't care for the besseys for the same reasons you mention. When jorgensen went down I bought all the ponys I could find locally and got about 15 sets. The best we ever found ponys for was 13+ a set. Wonder if yost bought the tooling.

[Jim Becker]

Wonder if yost bought the tooling.

If not, it sounds like they went to a lot of trouble to duplicate even the casting number. LOL

I don't use many pipe clamps...they are more for overflow at this point or when I need something really long. (I actually have to 11' pipe clamps compliments of a friend who moved to Florida and left them with me) and they are all the Pony version. If I needed more, it sounds like I'd opt for the Yost myself for consistency in design based on the OP's description.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Thank you for your review. I purchased some Ponys on 1992 but now I need some additional ones. It came on time!

[Dave Cav]

I have at last count over 50 3/4" pipe and long bar clamps. Two of them are old school I beam clamps, and another two are 48" Bessey parallel jaw clamps I got at a yard sale. The entire collection ranges from 30 to 96" long, and I have about every brand imaginable, old Craftsman, Pony, a bunch of old odds and ends and even a bunch of Harbor Freight. They all clamp fine; some are more fussy to adjust than others, especially the old Craftsman style with the trigger mechanism on the sliding jaw. They all get the job done. I would love to have nothing by Bessey K body and old I beam clamps, but that's probably not going to happen. (I even have 3 of the aluminum HF bar clamps that I've reinforced with a long piece of wood, but I only use them for temporary assembly and dry fitting, not gluing.)

[lawrence munninghoff]

Kind of an FYI for anyone considering a pipe clamp purchase.

I'm finally getting around to putting clamp heads on a stack of pipe that I acquired in a buyout. Most of what I already have is Pony, which is no longer an option, so I ordered one each of Bessey and Yost from the big A.

The Bessey has huge standoff feet that seem really clunky to me. Also the casting, while being clean and refined looking, seems light and the jack screw is probably only 75% the size of my original Pony clamps. My overall impressions of this and another Bessey product I purchased, and handling them at a big box store, is I find them disappointing for the price. The Bessey did come with clamp pads but I use cauls so they don't benefit me.

The Yost is clearly a Pony clone. The castings are the exact size and configuration of the Pony as is the jack screw. In fact the casting number on the crank handle is the exact number as is on my Ponys. The only difference I can see is the castings are a wee bit cleaner and say Yost instead of Pony. Oh, and they are blue instead of orange if color coordination is important to you.

Unfortunately both clamps are made in China whereas my original Pony clamps were made in USA. Price on the Bessey was $13.97 vs $11.99 for the Yost. Either one is plenty cheap enough, especially when compared to a parallel clamp (and I already have the pipe), but the Yost just seems sturdier.


Are the Yost pipe clamps still being made? I could not find them on Yost's website. Only found them on Amazon.

[Steve Demuth]

I have a bunch of the Bessey's and like them - although as you point out, the standoff feet can in certain circumstances be a bit awkward. The one thing I would say if you're going to a box store, is for heaven's sake don't by Irwins. I needed some in a hurry a while back and bought 4 of them. Complete junk. They won't stay reliably on the fixed end, and the clutches are worthless.

[Tim Bueler]

Are the Yost pipe clamps still being made? I could not find them on Yost's website. Only found them on Amazon.

I don't know.:confused: I went and looked around and couldn't find them either. Either Amazon or Ebay only. I can't imagine they'd go to all the trouble to tool up for these just for a short run. Maybe they don't have them on their website yet??? I just ordered a dozen more just in case. Thanks!

[lawrence munninghoff]

I don't know.:confused: I went and looked around and couldn't find them either. Either Amazon or Ebay only. I can't imagine they'd go to all the trouble to tool up for these just for a short run. Maybe they don't have them on their website yet??? I just ordered a dozen more just in case. Thanks!

I talked to a Yost sales person he said their clamps are exactly the same as the pony clamps except that the Yost clamps are also assembled in China. Pony clamps were made in China and assembled in the U.S. He said they are only sold on Amazon and did not know why they were not on their website. I also ordered a few more while they had them.

[Keith Weber]

I'm not a big fan of pipe clamps. I've only got 4 of them (2 6-footers and 2 10-footers) and only use them when my parallel clamps are too short. If you get galvanized pipe for them, they won't mark up your wood as much as the black ones do.

[Jim Becker]

I'm not a big fan of pipe clamps. I've only got 4 of them (2 6-footers and 2 10-footers) and only use them when my parallel clamps are too short. If you get galvanized pipe for them, they won't mark up your wood as much as the black ones do.
I'm not "fond" of them either...and only use them when I run out of parallel clamps myself. But they do have the redeeming factor of the combination of relatively inexpensive cost, stoutness and extreme flexibility in length (as you point out), so they still have a place in my shop. In that respect, they also hang in a different area of the shop away from where all the nice parallel clamps live. LOL

[Jim Andrew]

I have a bunch of pipe clamps, and when someone wants to borrow a clamp, I loan them those. Bought too many parallel clamps when Menards used to put them on sale, and then started buying I beam clamps. When I was younger, could bend a pipe clamp, no way with I beams. Grizzly has some on sale for Christmas.

[Jim Becker]

Bought too many parallel clamps when Menards used to put them on sale, and then started buying I beam clamps.

What is this "too many" you speak of... :) :D

[Mark Bolton]

What is this "too many" you speak of... :) :D

Im with you there. We are probably somewhere between the 60 and 100 count and I would still put several more on the list if I could. Its definitely one of those meme's thats true. You'd never think you'd blow through a big clamp inventory but you always do, and regularly.

[Mark Bolton]

I'm not a big fan of pipe clamps. I've only got 4 of them (2 6-footers and 2 10-footers) and only use them when my parallel clamps are too short. If you get galvanized pipe for them, they won't mark up your wood as much as the black ones do.

Marking up your wood is only really an issue if your gluing up nearly finished material. It all depends on your workflow and the equipment you have. We do all of our glue ups far in advance of getting anywhere close to finished dimension. I cant fathom the time it takes to prep stock to nearly finished size, glue up material, and only have minor cleanup after. Its much easier to leave a good bit of fat on the work, glue it up, and then let your dimensioning deal with the cleanup. All your left with is final sanding.

[Patrick Curry]

Thanks for the post. I've got a dozen or so Pony clamps on long 3/4" pipes for table assembly and they've always worked fine. Good to know that Yost has the molding or is at least making the same design. I'm not open to the higher position of the Bessey.

I have about a half dozen or so Jet parallel clamps that are my 'go to' until the project requires more clamps, but man they're so much more expensive. I can work with pipe clamps.

[Keith Weber]

Marking up your wood is only really an issue if your gluing up nearly finished material. It all depends on your workflow and the equipment you have. We do all of our glue ups far in advance of getting anywhere close to finished dimension. I cant fathom the time it takes to prep stock to nearly finished size, glue up material, and only have minor cleanup after. Its much easier to leave a good bit of fat on the work, glue it up, and then let your dimensioning deal with the cleanup. All your left with is final sanding.

Mark, I guess you never build anything out of finish grade plywood then. I can't fathom the time it would take to build casework entirely out of oversized hardwood.

[Jim Becker]

Mark, I guess you never build anything out of finish grade plywood then.
This can be a valid point, but folks can still take measures to protect a surface by using thin blocking to provide a small space between the clamp and the material where there is risk of marking. I still personally prefer parallel type clamps for most work, but in those situations where pipe clamps are required or what's available...a little creativity can work nicely. :)

[Mark Bolton]

Mark, I guess you never build anything out of finish grade plywood then. I can't fathom the time it would take to build casework entirely out of oversized hardwood.

We work with pre-fin ply almost daily and a lot of raw hardwood ply. Dont know, again, I always feel like its just in your work flow. We are pipe clamps and Ibars, none of them are galvanized, all the way. Never been an issue. Sure, on a solid wood glue up where the pipe is resting against the glue joint(s) youll get a black stain but it gets scraped and sent through the planer, sander, or hand sanded, and its all gone. If it were some critical glue up that wasnt going to see much sanding or the planer, then we may be a bit more tentative but cant remember the last time.

[Jim Andrew]

48 parallel clamps. Had to expand my clamp rack to the point I can barely roll it around.