Clamp and more clamps

[Bryan Rocker]

After spending many years on the road with the military I finally bought myself a Delta X5 uni. I have started using it and the more I use it the more I love it. One unexpected side issue is the complete lack of clamps. I have a small stock of pony pipe clamps and a couple Quick grips. I can see now I am going to have to invest in a goodly number of clamps to work with. Installing the hard wood front to the box of my top cabinet used every clamp I had......My question is this, did you just buy your clamps in one big investment or did you keep on buying clamps until you had enough...if there is such a thing......


On a completely unrelated note I have found my porter cable biscuit jointer absolutely essential. My first project I built back in 92 was a kitchen table with 1x4's joined together. At that time I used 1/4" plywood strips to join them. All I had to work with was a 1 hp router and my old duracraft table saw. The table didn't wind up as straight as I would ahve liked but it was solid. I had it strong and secure then I moved to Germany for 4 years. The movers decided to disassemble my table somewhere in the crating process. The broke the entire base and legs.....2 sets of legs later my wife still used it as her sewing table. My how I would have loved to have had the joiner back then. The many hours I could have saved myself.....

Ok I am off my soap box now.....

:)

[Joe Unni]

Bryan,

First, thank you for your service. Spent a little time in Germany myself - Hahn AB. Beautiful country...beer...wine...;)

Clamps.

You don't have enough money to get all the clamps you need in one shot. Not because you're not a wealthy man, but because you'll NEVER have all the clamps you need :D .

Get what you need, when you need. Especially when they're on sale.

Good luck,
-joe

[Rick Schubert]

Bryan,

I started my clamp collection buying some Bessey K-Body clamps on special at Amazon. They were a package special with 2 - 24" and 2 - 40". Then I bought some of their Tradesman clamps in the 6" and 8" range. They are both great clamps.

Now I keep buying more K-Body clamps when Amazon runs them on sale. And they have been running them at cheaper and cheaper prices. If they continue, you have choosen a good time to start your collection!

Rick

[Mike Kelly]

Brian, you already had it figured. No way you will ever have all of the clamps you will need, or a place to put them if you did. Just have to make do with the best you can afford at the time. This cart I made overflowed years ago and I still never have enough. All 4 sides have clamps attached. Jet has some news ones that look good now too!

[Jim Becker]

My clamps came in waves...taking advantage of sales, etc., although I was not adverse to just buying something if I really needed it. I'm pretty much "standard" on Bessey K-Body, UniClamp and Tradesman clamps. The experiments with the cheapies were very disappointing.

[Norman Hitt]

Brian, you already had it figured. No way you will ever have all of the clamps you will need, or a place to put them if you did. Just have to make do with the best you can afford at the time. This cart I made overflowed years ago and I still never have enough. All 4 sides have clamps attached.

Jet has some news ones that look good now too!

I've been watching to see if anyone has tried the "New Jet Clamps" that are similar to the Bessy's and Jorgies. They look good, and that release trigger looks like it might be very helpful when holding the clamp in place and trying to get the clamp pushed in place to tighten it. I wish SOMEONE would bite the bullet and be a Guinea Pig for the rest of us Poor Broke Creekers.:D

Bryan, I think you just have to make a list of the different sizes and types of clamps you needed most on your projects, and then watch for sales and buy some of those on your list everytime a good sale comes along. As has already been stated, "You can NEVER have TOO MANY Clamps. ;)

[Larry Cooke]

Bryan,

Like you, I started out with a few Pony clamps and a couple of the Irwin's. Then I started reading posts here, next thing I knew I was ordering some Bessey's from Amazon and it's been downhill (for my credit card that is) ever since. I was going to buy the Tradesmen but after using the K Body clamps I changed my mind. They're very good clamps.

If you check here often enough you'll probably catch one the sales that Amazon has, I say check here because someone will post something to let you know. When they have a sale buy as many as you can afford to.

Larry

[Larry Cooke]

I've been watching to see if anyone has tried the "New Jet Clamps" that are similar to the Bessy's and Jorgies.Darn, I've been waiting for you to test them! :D

To be honest, I haven't found any of the Jet's at a price that grabs me yet. I'm sure it's going to happen that I'll just have to have a couple more and can't wait for one of the sales - that's when I'll try one. I have noticed they are often less than the Bessey's but never like the prices Amazon has on occasion.

Larry

[Jay Knepper]

Immediate needs and sales have dictated my clamp buying. I have mostly Bessies, 'though the several other parallel jaw clamps are reportedly excellent too.

Don't overlook pipe clamps. They are more versitle in that you can change their size easily. They cost 1/2 of what Bessies cost and Rockler has a version that is much superior to the old "Pony" pipe clamps.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Another vote for buying clamps over time, as they go on sale. I started out with pipe clamps, and still use them when necessary, but I prefer the parallel clamps. My collection of parallel clamps is about equally divided between Bessy K-bodies and Gross-Stabil "Scott Phillips" models, and I prefer the Gross-Stabil clamps since they're beefier and easier to adjust (for me). Both brands go on sale, and the folks here at SMC are good about letting the world know when they do. ;)

(And add my thanks for your service, too.)

- Vaughn

[glenn bradley]

Watch the sales. i just picked up some $45 Bessy's for $24 bucks a piece on Amazon. The same clamps are now $35. Rockler's $119 offer for the 2 x 24, 2 x 40 plus the blocks is a great deal. For spring clamps, I hit the BORG. In some areas they carry thier 2" versions for $1 each. HF cheapies (I tried a couple) are disappointing but their C clamps are worth a look.

[Brad Kimbrell]

I started with pipe clamps (and still use them when I run out of I-Bars. You can't beat the strength of the I-Bars and Amazon puts them on sale with free shipping once in a while. I've been replacing the pipe clamps in waves of 4 or 6 at a time - whatever I can justify in my woodworkers brain. ;)

I love the look of the Besseys, but one of the WW schools that I attend told me that their over $30K investment has started slipping. I have a few of them and have not had any problems, but maybe a school atmosphere is different...???

Has anyone out there had problems with the Besseys?

[Clarence Lau]

.....My question is this, did you just buy your clamps in one big investment or did you keep on buying clamps until you had enough...if there is such a thing......
Except a couple of the smaller F-clamps and the C-clamps, I bought all of my clamps during holiday sales or on discounts only. In my case, after acquring a few each of the 4', 3', and 2' parallel clamps, I pretty much stopped buying any more (okay, perhaps I have a bunch more than a few on the 24 inchers) heavy clamps. Nowadays, I am actually more interested in getting a few more hand-screws and those 6" to 8" F-clamps. Those are the ones that I run out the most. YMMV, of course.

Just received a Rockler catalog earlier today and I think they're having a number of the smaller Bessey clamps on sale.

With Aloha,

Clarence

[Dave Richards]

I would say my clamps come in waves, too. Sometimes when I ran into a need and sometimes when there's a sale.

Keep in mind that it is possible to make clamps, too. Not all of them have to be store bought.

When I was working on the cradle I built for my son, I needed some fairly lighweight clamps but they had to have a deep throat. I couldn't find anything suitable to buy so I spent a morning and made a dozen.

I've also got a clamping arrangement for small panels that uses a couple of parallel arms and some wedges. It's easier than a bunch of individual clamps and cost practically nothing.

[Pete Harbin]

Waves here too. Although, I did experience one big wave a few years back, 5, 6, 7 years, somthing like that...Quicken will tell :rolleyes:

I picked up some 40" Bessey's for $17 each and 50" for $19 each. Their nice to have, but I don't use them near as much the smaller sizes.

Pete

[glenn bradley]

Pete makes a good point. I picked up a dozen pipe clamps head and tail pieces on sale before I even had a garage. They have now becom my large carcas clamps and that's great WHEN I need them. I find my 30" and shorter clamps get much more use than my 40" and up. I also picked up a couple more spring clamps . . . never knew I'd use them that much. You gotta love the learning experience of this hobby!

[Larry Norton]

Joe, when were you at Hahn? I was at Bitburg for 10 months and at Hahn for the remainder of my 3 year tour. From '66 to '69. F4 mechanic and crash recovery.

[Joe Unni]

Joe, when were you at Hahn? I was at Bitburg for 10 months and at Hahn for the remainder of my 3 year tour. From '66 to '69. F4 mechanic and crash recovery.

Larry,

I was at Hahn from '84 to '87. I was an F-16 crew chief. Though I drank an awful lot of Bitburger Pils, the only time I actually made it to Bitburg was when I played on the base hockey team and we played the boys at Bitburg.

Prost,
-joe

[Larry Norton]

What I wouldn't give for a Latsenhausen Bratwurst!!

[Bryan Rocker]

Hey all thanks for the comments and suggestions. I will definatley be adding to my clamp collections.

I pressed on with my upper cabinet tonight a little, the adjustable shelves are done and its ready for final sand and stain. LOML is going to do that tomorrow, just maybe I will be able to install it when I get home tomorrow night.

On an unrelated note LOML asked me to modify her sewing table. She wanted her machine dropped flush with the table top. After using just several power tools, disassembling and reassembling the sewing machine now sits nicely on a shelf below the table top. All I have to do now is make the drop "L" and it will be good to go. Its amazing what using the right tool for the job makes life soo much easier.

On a second related note I was stationed at Spangdahlem from 93-97, I lived in Bitburgs old housing. The 3 things I miss most are the swankbrauten, ein Bier and ein Bratwurst, especially after a 10K volksmarch.......

[Howard Rosenberg]

Personally, I'm a "Bessey-man" (ooooh, that doesn't sound too good, does it) through and through.

I mostly make cabinets and buy clamps in sets of eight.
Seven years ago I bit the bullet and bought 16 K-Bodies (eight 30" and eight 50") and have never looked back. At that time there were no alternatives to Bessey K's in Canada.

There's also eight medium-duty 18" Bessey Tradesman clamps.
They DO NOT flex. At all.

Eight little 2 1/2" x 6" Besseys.
Two 25' Bessey band clamps.

And I'm itching to add four Bessey corner clamps.
They seem a heck of a lot easier to use than the Jorgenson units with two surfaces to tighten.

I'd love to get loooong K-Bodies for the odd big box I make but for those projects I use a pair of threaded rods over cauls that sit on melamine boards. Not great but a lot cheaper!

Oh, and two 12" Jorgenson wooden jawed cabinetmaker clamps. Very useful for a long reach situation.

My clamp rack is not very exotic - metal shelf brackets with rod holders at the front. A 1 1/2" maple dowel and I've got tons of real estate to park my clamps so they're within easy reach of my bench.

HTH
Howard

[Bart Leetch]

So I'll say it again even though everyone knows I'm the pipe clamp dude. 2 of these are pretty much a knock off of Jorgenson pipe clamps the other is pretty much the same a Rockler's taller setting pipe clamp. These & 4'6" pieces of 3/4" pipe will go a long ways for not to much money. Also pipe splices & extra pieces of pipe to extend to clamp longer items. So far I've been able to use galvanized pipe & not had a problem with slipping. I do have a few black pipe clamps with some Craftsman pipe clamps that were my Dad's I don't use the often because of the black pipe, not the clamps them-self. Most of my pipe is recycled pipe 17'-20' for 2 dollars.

Besides that don't you need more money for gasoline now days?

I'm not cheap I just want to be able to buy more wood & the gasoline to go haul it home.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=31255

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94053

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46828

I also have some light duty bar clamps.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34387

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34388

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4068

4 18" Jorgenson bar clamps.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38184

2 50" actually 44" clamping capacity.

4 24" actually 20" clamping capacity.

Would I like some Bessy's you betcha would they make me a better wood worker "MMMMM could be" Bugs Bunny. But then again maybe not. I'll tell you this I'll get that waskely wabbit I mean pipe clamp if its the wast thing I do.

Bessy's for a home hobby shop always seems like my hobby was unduly accelerating the filling of someone else's bank account. But once hung on my wall are the really worth as much as I paid for them??? Plus the fact that I've had the chance to use a couple of Bessy's I wasn't really that impressed considering the cost.

[glenn bradley]

Bessy's on SALE!

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=315&refcode=07IN06RL