3/4" Pipe Clamps: which ones are the best?

[Dan Barr]

Just want to solicit some opinions on which pipe clamps are the best.

ive been looking at the 3/4" bessey's, jorgensen (pony), Grizzly, Irwin, Wilton, Shop fox, on and on.

thanks in advance.

v/r

dan

[Gerry Rhodes]

I like my Pony's.

[Charles Wiggins]

Just want to solicit some opinions on which pipe clamps are the best.

ive been looking at the 3/4" bessey's, jorgensen (pony), Grizzly, Irwin, Wilton, Shop fox, on and on.

thanks in advance.

v/r

dan

Right now, my pipe clamps are the POS from Harbor Freight, but if I was shopping today I would probably go with Rockler's (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17397), and I'd probably spring for their EZ-Clutch system as well (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16530). If you're not in a hurry, they do put them on sale periodically.

They also put their aluminum clamps on sale periodically (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10819). I have some 3' and 4' and am pretty happy with them.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I use the Jorgensen pipe clamps & have been happy with them & think that they are the best. The Irwin Quick Grip look interesting but there have been very few times that I have wanted to remove the heads quickly. The Shop Fox are just like some Craftsman clamps I used to own. The base would slip on the pipe. The Bessey & Wiltons look like copys of the Jorgensen. I have not seen the Wiltons. I bought several of the Besseys a couple of years ago for a large job I was doing. I ended up not using them. They do look like very nice clamps & came with rubber face pads. Maybe I will get around to selling them one of these days.

[Sean Kinn]

FYI - Hope it's not against the rules to reference a deal at another site....If you go for the Jorgy 50's (Pony's) they are on sale at Amazon ($10.49ea, and 4 for the price of 3 deal, free shipping) so you get 4 for $31.xx shipped. This is basically half of what my local BORG is charging. Oh, and I'm still a newbie so take it for what it's worth...but I have found my Jorgy 50's to be great clamps at a great price. They have worked just fine thus far for my panel glue-ups and other assembly tasks.

[David Tiell]

Personally, I love my Jorgenson Pony pipe clamps and would recommend them to anybody. Do a search online. I once bought a dozen from 7 Corners Ace Hardware for about $85 shipped, but I don't see them on their website now. But the deals are out there.

[Lance Norris]

I like the Irwins. People complain about the heads rotating, but I solved that by drilling throught the head, and pipe, and installing a cotter pin. The heads dont screw into the pipe, they have clutches like the moveable ends. Good clamp IMHO.

[John Gregory]

I like my Irwins too.


I like the Irwins. People complain about the heads rotating, but I solved that by drilling throught the head, and pipe, and installing a cotter pin. The heads dont screw into the pipe, they have clutches like the moveable ends. Good clamp IMHO.

[Richard Dragin]

I have used a lot of differant ones over the years and bought a bunch of the HF ones because of the price. I really can't tell the differance between them and Pony's and I think it is one of the few things at HF that is a good value for wood working. I also picked up 20 6" c-clamps for doing laminations because at $3 each it is hard to beat.

[Scott Pearson]

I have HF, Ponys and Rockler. Next time I buy it will be the Rockler sure foots. I really like those the best, the wide base makes them much easier to use.

Scott

[Lee Schierer]

My pipe clamps are from several different manufacturers. Some were craftsman, others were not. None have ever failed and all do a good job of clamping. Most of my pipes are threaded on both ends so I can use pipe connectors to join the pipes to make really long clamps when I've needed them.

Some types of clamps don't work well with galvanized pipe so make sure you know what you need before you buy your pipes.

[Jim Becker]

"If" I were going to buy some pipe clamps...I like the Irwin product with the "feet".

[Dave Sinkus]

That is a good price, especially with free shipping......4 for the price of 3
Thanks for posting the heads up Sean

[Dale Lesak]

I bought 4 of the Rockler clamps. out of the 4 three of them turned so hard you had to hold the clamp from turning over. I spent about 45 mins. screwing them in and out just to get them lessened up a little still don't work as nice as the pony's. the quick real was a joke. had to grind the clamp housing down on three of them other wise they would slide on the pipe. they work kinda OK but they are not my first choice when I reach for pipe clamps. The three I had all th trouble with the screw threads was phosphorus coated.(I think that's what it's called. It's the coating they used to keep stuff from rusting. Black with little shiny stuff in it)

[JayStPeter]

Of the few brands I have, I like the Rocklers the best.

[glenn bradley]

I have a dozen ponys or so. They always work. Use galvanized pipe to avoid staining. Some folks say their clamps slip on galv-pipe but mine never have.

I do wish they had the larger foot like the Rocklers or the Bessys. If the clamp is as good I would be tempted. The trouble is if you shop around, you can find pony 3/4" for $100 a dozen. The Bessy's run a little more and I don't have any hands on opinion but assume they are good:
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/12500

[Bart Leetch]

Right now, my pipe clamps are the POS from Harbor Freight, but if I was shopping today I would probably go with Rockler's (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17397), and I'd probably spring for their EZ-Clutch system as well (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16530). If you're not in a hurry, they do put them on sale periodically.

They also put their aluminum clamps on sale periodically (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10819). I have some 3' and 4' and am pretty happy with them.

Charles

Which style HF pipe clamps do you have?

I have this style & have never had any problem with them.

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

I have 30 or more Sears with the lever on the sliding end that were my Dad's a couple of Jorgy's & several HF's I am going to cut several pieces of plywood & build a small jig for my drill-press & make pads that will extend & raise the clamps like the Rockler clamps cost about 15 cents per pair for the material. Actually free if I can get scrap material off a construction site.

[Charles Wiggins]

Bart,

Those appear to be they. My biggest issue with them is that the clamping faces aren't flat. On some of mine I can even see the parting ridgeline from the mold. I use shop-made clamping pads with them and they do alright, but I don't go to them until I've used all my Rockler clamps. As soon as I can afford to, I'll ditch them and get Rockler sure-foots to replace them. As a stop-gap I might invest in some Rockler conversion pads (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10669), but they were designed for Ponys and I'm not sure if they'll work.

[Jim W. White]

I have several different makes including Jorgies but my favorites by far are the 4 sets of Rockler sure-foots.

My long term goal is to replace all mine with the new wider/taller base models. Rockler does put them on sale fairly often; but but look around as I noticed the other day that Bessey has now copied the design also.

Jim in Idaho

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I LOOOOOVE my Bessey 3/4" pipe clamps. I just purchased four more for my slowly growing collection. I also splurge and buy some galvanized pipe for them. Very very nice clamps. :D

[Larry James]

I don't own any of these, but I like looks and features of the Bessey H-Series Pipe Clamps.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=20169

Larry

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I don't own any of these, but I like looks and features of the Bessey H-Series Pipe Clamps.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=20169

Larry


Those are the ones I got...and I got them on sale. VERY nice...rubber pad, smooth action...tight holding power. I love 'em.

[James Gillespie, Jr.]

Harbor Freight has their own version of the sure-foot pipe clamp. It is item number 94053. I haven't used mine much, but so far, no issues with them and the price was quite reasonable.

Cheers,
James

[Lance Norris]

I made the mistake of buying some of these also.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46828

As Charles Wiggins said...the clamping faces arent flat. Not even close. Also, out of the 8 sets I bought, 3 of the handles have fallen off. I originally bought 4 sets and then 4 more. The second group of 4 wouldnt thread on the pipe. I made 2 trips back and forth to HF after exchanging the bad ones for more bad ones :mad: and finally made the manager open all the ones he had in stock and still didnt find any that would thread. I ended up just throwing away the 4 that wouldnt thread, and havent been in a HF since and never will step foot in one again.

Here are the pipe clamps I have been buying lately and am VERY happy with them. ;)
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-9033382-4392126?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jet+parallel+clamp

[Brandon Shew]

Orange Jorgie Ponies are what I use. I bought the heads at Harbor Freight for a little less than HD or Lowes. If you use them with the pipe above the work, they have a very slight tendency to lift under high clamping pressures.

[Denny Rice]

I have had my 3/4" pony clamps forever, they are a very good clamp. (stay away anything 1/2" in size). If I were purchasing bar clamps today I would probably opt for the Rockler, I like the way they are designed and they have received very good ratings.

[glenn bradley]

Bart,

Those appear to be they. My biggest issue with them is that the clamping faces aren't flat. On some of mine I can even see the parting ridgeline from the mold.

This is where most discount clamps come from. I picked up some PSI "4 for 1 sale" clamps and they are great for the price but they sure aren't 'first' quality.

[Larry Prince]

Jorgenson Pony's but instead of using black/galvanazied pipe, get some 3/4" thick-wall aluminum conduit from an electrical supply place.

The alum. is plenty strong enough but its several orders of magnitude lighter, making the clamps much eashier to use/transport/store.

[Dennis Kelly]

I have the Bessey's with the large feet. I feel they offer great stability that some of the other brands I've tried do not.

Dennis

[Kevin Beitz]

Any time I buy a clamp and it has galvanized pipe on it I'll take it off and put it in the trash. Galvanized pipe slips. Black pipe does not.

[jack duren]

I've never had problem with galvanized pipe. But I have had a black spots from black pipe. Have a lot of both. Not enough problems to put in the trash on either black or galv....

[Mike Kees]

I have 10 of the current Chinese made Pony pipe clamps and about 30 of the original U.S. made Ponys. The Chinese ones work just as well . I was going to buy about ten from Grizzly this summer when I found 12 more original Pony clamps in a pawn shop for $5 each.

[jack duren]

Pony has been around for a long time and is pretty much in any shop making a living in one way or another.

It really came down to best bang for your buck...