Jack Llewyllson
11-06-2020, 6:59 PM
I am fond of the old style, clutch type, orange-headed Jorgenson small bar clamps (37 series). They're just dang useful, and also not much available anymore.
I also kinda love my K-clamps, but never thought much Bessey's small to medium bar clamps. I've mostly used those in the simpler style where the head bears against bar knurls when under pressure. During two-handed glue-ups, those dang things tend to require all three of my remaining hands.
Recently I found (while looking for something else) four-packs of small Bessey bar clamps. These are clutch style. They look and feel a lot like my semi-favorite Jorgies. The four-packs are around 25 bucks (depending on your sales tax), which includes two six-inchers and two foot-longs. Throat depth is around three inches. As mentioned, they feel a lot like Jorgensons, but they're a bit less sloppy in the head and clutch. Nice crinkly black finish on the heads.
At around $6.25 a pop, and with a dinghy project planned for the mid-term future, I cheerfully bought five of their four-packs. They seem like a stellar deal, and 20 easy-peasy clamps should take a lot of the stress out of gluing gunwales.
I'd drop in a link, but I'm not sure the site rules allow it. Anyway, you know where Home Depot is. The same set on Amazon is $30.71 with free shipping, which still seems like a fine bargain.
I'm not a Bessey rep of any kind. If I could still find 37s at good prices, I'd probably still buy those, but if you're looking to bump up your clamp assortment, I think these are worth a look. I really like 'em.
Cheers,
Jack
I also kinda love my K-clamps, but never thought much Bessey's small to medium bar clamps. I've mostly used those in the simpler style where the head bears against bar knurls when under pressure. During two-handed glue-ups, those dang things tend to require all three of my remaining hands.
Recently I found (while looking for something else) four-packs of small Bessey bar clamps. These are clutch style. They look and feel a lot like my semi-favorite Jorgies. The four-packs are around 25 bucks (depending on your sales tax), which includes two six-inchers and two foot-longs. Throat depth is around three inches. As mentioned, they feel a lot like Jorgensons, but they're a bit less sloppy in the head and clutch. Nice crinkly black finish on the heads.
At around $6.25 a pop, and with a dinghy project planned for the mid-term future, I cheerfully bought five of their four-packs. They seem like a stellar deal, and 20 easy-peasy clamps should take a lot of the stress out of gluing gunwales.
I'd drop in a link, but I'm not sure the site rules allow it. Anyway, you know where Home Depot is. The same set on Amazon is $30.71 with free shipping, which still seems like a fine bargain.
I'm not a Bessey rep of any kind. If I could still find 37s at good prices, I'd probably still buy those, but if you're looking to bump up your clamp assortment, I think these are worth a look. I really like 'em.
Cheers,
Jack