Bessey's - which ones?

[Rob Wilson]

I'm looking to get my first "good" clamps. Then I start looking at Bessey and find K-body, Tradesmen, Uniclamp. Any consensus on which ones to go with?

[David Abel]

I'm looking to get my first "good" clamps. Then I start looking at Bessey and find K-body, Tradesmen, Uniclamp. Any consensus on which ones to go with?

I have both K bodies and Uniclamps. the Unis are great for the small stuff. Use the K bodies for cabinets, drawers, etc. Remember: you can never have enough clamps. Just when you think you've added enough to your arsenal, sooner or later you'll wish you have 4 more. I'm resigned to buying clamps until I die or quit woodworking. :)

[Gary Herrmann]

Heavy duty tradesman have deeper throats which can come in handy, and you can add those edge clamp attachments to the bar of either tradesman or kbodys if you want to do edge clamping for shelf nosing etc.

If you're unsure, buy somewhat larger than you think what you might need for a project. Look for sales. Buying clamps for list price gets expensive quickly. Accumulate them over time.

[Vaughn McMillan]

You might also want to also look at the Scott Phillips signature model clamps from Gross Stabil. I have a few of them and few Bessey K-Bodies, and personally I prefer the Gross Stabil clamps. As Gary suggested, watch for sales...both brands go on sale from time to time.

- Vaughn

[Brad Kimbrell]

One of the woodworking schools that I attend when I can afford it recommend that we stay away from the Bessey's. He has $30K invested in them and they are starting to fail to lock.

They look very stable to me and I have a few but don't have enough experience with them to say one way or the other. I figure he does.

What have others found with these clamps? Are they like the cool fishing lure that catches fishermen but no fish???

[lou sansone]

k body for long clamping -- 24" are very handy ... get a few to start and then add as you can afford to. the 6 and 8 inch tradesman are also most used in my shop

lou

[Rob Will]

Jorgensen I-beam clamps would be good to have around. They are USA made and stronger than anything. I also like the Quick Clamps as sold by Irvin.

http://www.adjustableclamp.com/

[Robert Waddell]

Rob,
If you do much WWing you will find that you will need some of about every kind of clamp. You will find a use for any of the ones you mentioned. I use more 24" k-bodies than anything but that is due to what I make. As other's have said, you can never have too many clamps. Buy a few and learn what each one does best and start watching for clamp sales.
Robert

[Thomas Walker]

As people have pointed out, it depends a lot on what kind of woodworking you typically do.

I always choose my uniklamps over the k-body's when they're big enough for what I need to clamp because they are so much lighter.

It also depends on what kind of other tools you have in your shop. I would suggest that you get two long clamps 36" or 48" if that's all you can buy and you do case work sometimes.

But if you have a brad nailer or pocket screws then you can avoid the need for big clamps and get smaller ones that are easier to handle.

Also, someone will usually let you know on this website when a bessy sale is going on. Lee Valley had a good sale last fall where they bundled 24" & 48" k-body's for a good price.

[Anthony Anderson]

I have the Bessey K-Body's. 24, 40, 50, 60, 82. The 24 and 40 get used the most. I have not bought any 96s yet, but 4 of those would be handy to have. Gluing up, or making sure something stay flat while gluing up, the Besseys are great, and a must. I have about 30 or so of the Jorgensen 24" light duty bar clamps, they are okay for face frames, but would never use them for glue ups. I don't have the 31" Besseys. The 24 and 40 seem to fill in the gap just fine. Maybe someday. HTH, Bill

[Byron Trantham]

I have an eclectic collection of clamps. I prefer my Bessy's. They are just so solid. I have the 24, 31, 40 and 50 inch models; no less than four for each size. I also have a large selection of Quick Grips. I use my 12" Quick Grip more than any other clamp in the shop. It's become my third hand. I use pipe clamps (Pony's) as well. As has already been pointed out; buy as you need. Clamps are important but can cost a fortune (over time). Also, as has already been said, wait for sales unless you're up against the wall.

Good Luck.

[Jim Becker]

K-Bodies are the workhorse clamps in my shop, but I also use the Tradesman clamps when appropriate and have some of the UniKlamps for good measure. The latter are nice "small" clamps "similar" in nature to the K-Bodies and easier to use than F-clamps, although they are not really parallel jaws, at least as good as K-Bodies are.

[Per Swenson]

Hi,

The old adage...you never have enough clamps is true.

But I would like to add this should pertain to all clamps.

Pipe clamps, C-clamps, spring clamps, jorgies, besseys, quick clamps

what ever. Just buy one clamp a week for the next ten years.

You will thank me later.

Per

[Allen Bookout]

Clamps are so expensive that you just about have to go with the sales deals if you are going to buy quite a few but do not just look at Besseys. If you can, take a look at the differend brands side by side. Woodcraft handles several brands.

Do not discount the Jorgensen clamps.

I think that you should buy a few of each type, maybe one basic set that includes the different types if you can find it on sale, and give them a try. Soon enough you will know what you need. Like Per said, I just keep adding a few as I find out what I am using the most and seem to always be short of.

Allen

[Frank Pellow]

As others have said, your clamp stock depends very much upon what type of woodwork projects you engage in.

I build a lot of cabinet/bookcase/storage units and I have finally reached the stage where I have an adequate supply of clamps. For these, I mostly use:

- 4 Bessey K body 12"
- 8 Bessey K body 25"
- 4 Bessey K body 40"

as well as 8 of the 3D Square Precision Corners from Jevons Tool (see the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=27305)

and a large supply of Jorgenson $ inch fast acting clamps.

Until now, I have also found that I needed to make occasional use of 2 five foot pipe clamps but, just yesterday, I picked up 2 Gross Stabil (owned by Bessey) 5 foot K-body clamps.

I have purchased almost all my clamps at various sales (mostly from Lee Valley).
Of course, I could always use more clamps.

[Frank Pellow]

As others have said, your clamp stock depends very much upon what type of woodwork projects you engage in.

I build a lot of cabinet/bookcase/storage units and I have finally reached the stage where I have an adequate supply of clamps. For these, I mostly use:

- 4 Bessey K body 12"
- 8 Bessey K body 25"
- 4 Bessey K body 40"

as well as 8 of the 3D Square Precision Corners from Jevons Tool (see the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=27305)

and a large supply of Jorgenson 4 inch fast acting clamps.

Until now, I have also found that I needed to make occasional use of 2 five foot pipe clamps but, just yesterday, I picked up 2 Gross Stabil (owned by Bessey) 5 foot K-body clamps.


Of course, I could always use more clamps.

[Pete Harbin]

Bessy K-Bodies are my main clamp as well. I also have some Bessy Tradesman clamps in various sizes (love those little 5 inchers.)
I picked up the 40" and 50" K-bodies several years ago when I was able to grab them for $17 and $19 each. Over the past couple years I've picked up the shorter sizes (as sales allow), and I use those 90% of the time. The longer ones are nice to have when you need them, but boy do they add a lot of weight when they're more than you need. Glad I picked up the shorter sizes. I do have two of the 12" Uni's as well, and those are nice too. If I were buying more clamps today, I'd probably go with some of the shorter Uni's or the 12" K-bodies.

Totally off topic, but LOML just handed me a plate of homemade green chile, chicken enchiladas! I'll be occupied for a little bit :D

Pete

[Vaughn McMillan]

Totally off topic, but LOML just handed me a plate of homemade green chile, chicken enchiladas! I'll be occupied for a little bit :D

Pete
Pete, as a former Duke City boy myself, I'm one of very few people here who really understands the significance of that statement. I only mean this in a good way, but I hate you Pete. :p :D

To those of you who are scratching their heads, you can eat green chile chicken enchiladas all over the world, but none like you can get in the right areas of New Mexico.

- Vaughn

[Pete Harbin]

Vaughn,

Just let us know if you're ever in town, we'll fix you up with the good stuff!
Jill makes a great Carne Adovada and green chile stew as well. I know that the withdrawal symptoms can get pretty intense! :D

Pete

[Scott Vigder]

The K bodies are used for darn near everything in our shop. I think we have four in each size up to 60". Every now and then I'll use a bar clamp or two in between some Beesey's if I don't want to haul out the big monsters for use on a small job. Also you can find them occassionally on Amazon at substantial savings ( I think I paid $34 for the 60" last fall - with shipping!).
Make sure to wipe any excess glue off the main posts. If you keep 'em clean they will last forever.

[Ken Garlock]

You might also want to also look at the Scott Phillips signature model clamps from Gross Stabil. I have a few of them and few Bessy K-Bodies, and personally I prefer the Gross Stabil clamps. As Gary suggested, watch for sales...both brands go on sale from time to time.

- Vaughn

I second that Vaughn. I have about 16 Bessys, and just 8 Gross Stabil clamps. The next clamp buy will definitely be Gross Stabil. I think they are easier to adjust to your work. With Bessys need you to hold your hand a certain way to get the mechanism to grab on the bar. With the G-S, you just start turning the handle....:cool:

Keep an eye on All Pro Tools, they have several sales on G-S each year.

[Rob Blaustein]

I like the K's and also the Uni's (not mention the Unni's--Joe et al:)). I sometimes wish I had the K's in something in between the 24" and 40" inch size. I just read a brief review in a WW mag (maybe Popular WW?) of a new clamp by Jet that has all the good features of the Bessey K's, with some improvements, according the writer. Anyone try these yet?

[Gary Herrmann]

I handled the Jets at Rockler a few weeks ago. The guys there said they aren't selling too many of them. He thought the Jets were heavier than the Besseys.

I noticed that the handle on the Jet was larger (pro) but the grooves on Jet seemed much larger which made me think it wasn't capable of as-fine adjustments as the Besseys.

With the Besseys, Jets and GS, I just hope the clamp market heats up so we get more sales!

[Rob Wilson]

I just want to thank everyone for all the great info. I'm starting my "can't have enough clamps" with Amazon's "Deal of the Day". Today, 3/8, they have the Bessey Tradesmen 30 piece set at $349. Add to that the clamp rack at $99. They take 10% off and then $99 off the price of the rack. Free shipping to. I figure $214 is a great deal for 30 clamps.
Here's the way it looks.

Shipping Method: FREE Super Saver Shipping
Shipping Preference: Group my items into as few shipments as possible
Subtotal of Items: $349.96
Shipping & Handling: $63.64
Best Value Savings: -$99.99
Super Saver Discount: -$63.64

Promotion Applied: -$35.00
------
Total for this Order: $214.97


Shipping estimate for these items: March 13, 2006
1 "Bessey BTB30 30-Piece Tradesman Assorted Bar Clamp Set"
Tools & Hardware; $249.97

Shipping estimate for these items: April 10, 2006 - April 24, 2006
1 "Bessey ZW-1 A-Frame Mobile Clamp Rack"
Tools & Hardware; $99.99

[Vaughn McMillan]

Let's see...$7.17 per clamp? Yeah, I think you did very good. At some point you'll likely want to add some parallel jaw clamps (K-Bodies, GS Scott Phillips, etc.) but looks like you've got a great start to the clamp collection. Like everyone has said, keep your eyes open for the sales. They're usually pretty well noted here on SMC.

- Vaughn