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Thread: New Bessey K Body Revo JR. clamps?

  1. #1
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    New Bessey K Body Revo JR. clamps?

    Pardon if this has been noted before, but there's advertising e-mails coming through now for a new lighter version of the Bessey K Body Revo - the K Body Revo Jnr clamp: americanwoodworker.com/blogs/reviews/archive/2011/06/07/bessey-174-new-k-body-174-revo-jr-junior.aspx

    Trouble is the lack of hard/comparative information in the material is making it tough to understand where they fit in relative to the current K Body Revo - the advertising talks of less weight and lower cost with high clamping forces but doesn't overtly compare them.

    Hopefully it's that they genuinely are filling a gap in their product line - and that they haven't been forced into a cost reduction at the price of quality type exercise. I'm a big fan of the solidity of their current product. It's a bit ominous that they seem to be more or less pitching it as a mainstream clamp in its own right without reference to the current Revo - they certainly don't seem to be creating any hostages to fortune. The switch back to a wooden handle may not be a bad thing - plastics (in general - hopefully not the existing Bessey handles) are often quite short lived in that sunlight can make them brittle.

    A quick look on their North American site looks reasonably promising: the existing Revo is listed at 1,500lbs clamping force, the Revo 'KR' (is it supposed to be KR or Jr i wonder? - most material seems to have it as Jr) at 900lbs, and the UniKlamp at 330lbs. The question presumably is whether or not there are definite/well enough separated markets at each weight/price point for each of the three models to continue in its own right.

    It begs the interesting (and related) question for those already with K Revos and UniKlamps as to whether (or not) it might be worth adding a third range of clamps to the collection - it's a lot easier to buy the odd extra example to top up a current set than it would be to start a new one. Equally (for those starting from scratch) which line of clamps is the best starting point.

    Does anybody have any hands on or better information, or any view on how its likely to play out? It'd be a pity if the lighter clamp cannibalised the sales of the current K Body Revo to the point where the volume was reduced so that they were no longer commercially viable - or the price increased significantly...

    ian
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 01-06-2013 at 12:07 PM.

  2. #2
    I have some of the older ones and current ones, not the new ones you show. When I saw your post my first reaction was "lighter" and cheaper would be good. I was clamping up something last night and was thinking these things are heavy and bulky. I like them a lot though.

  3. #3
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    I prefer the older K-bodies as they were of a reasonable weight and the Revo models are as heavy and bulky as the Cabinet Masters, Jets and so forth *** sigh ***. Rant-off, hears the poop:

    Revo's = 1500 lbs of clamping pressure
    Revo JR = 900 lbs of clamping pressure
    UniKlamp = 330 lbs of clamping pressure

    I have a number of older K-body and UniKlamps. These two ends of the spectrum meet 90% of my needs, YMMV. You have to find the UniKlamps on sale as Bessey is wayyy too proud of those puppies in the price department .
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 12-30-2012 at 11:25 AM. Reason: sp
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  4. #4
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    I wish they would bring back the original K body clamps.
    Vortex! What Vortex?

  5. #5
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    +1 on that
    My old K Body Clamps are just fine with me.
    Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...Holy Cow....what a ride!"

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Mioux View Post
    I wish they would bring back the original K body clamps.
    Absolutely agree. I wish I had purchased more when I had the chance.
    - Mike

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

  7. #7
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    Hi guys. I bought Revos mail order from the US (a whole pallet load) after the original K bodies had faded from the market and just as the Jets were coming on strong. Where did they sit in the weight/size/cost continuum versus the current Bessey line? I'd presumed they were more or less the same as the Revos but with wooden handles, but it sounds not?

    Ditto the Jet parallels, we don't get them locally over here (it's usually a case of sizing up this sort of better quality stuff from the mags and the web and buying mail order), but I'd presumed they were very similar to the Revos too. They came on very strong for a while in advertising terms, but seem to have faded???

    ian
    Last edited by ian maybury; 01-01-2013 at 9:25 PM.

  8. #8
    I have a couple dozen K bodies and have had them for many years. I have sometimes wanted a smaller bodied clamp but never a lighter duty clamp as I can always back off the pressure. Some glue ups can get heavy with all those K bodies but it is a small price to pay for their other favourable attributes! Used K's come up for sale pretty regularly and they don't go cheap but I'd go this route.

  9. #9
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    I got the 12 K bodies I have about 3 years ago when Woodcraft was closing them out. They are the ones that were the older style clamp with the newer style handles. I haven't seen a sale on parallel clamps since, in Bessey or Jet, that rivals what I got these for. I'd love to have some of the Jets, but have you priced them lately? WOWSER! Used to have big sales once per year. Jim.
    Last edited by Jim O'Dell; 01-01-2013 at 10:02 PM.
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  10. #10
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    Man, how things change! I bought about 20 of the original Bessey K-clamps around 12 years ago in a number of lengths. Thought I'd gone to heaven as these were the best clamps I had ever used. Then I got a chance to get a promotional set of 4 Jet clamps about 6 years ago. Liked them even better ! but thought they were overpriced if bought separately.

    Now these new guys show up............Call me old fashioned, but I'll stick with the "antique" Besseys as most of the newer stuff seems to be more marketing hype than actual improvement on an original design

    Yes, the old stuff seems heavy...............but it get's worse.........mine seem to get heavier every time I use them ( I refuse to get older so this may be purely a coincdence )


    Bottom line, I think Bessey has great products and these are probably up to their reputation, but fortunately, I don't need to find out.
    Last edited by Dick Mahany; 01-01-2013 at 11:30 PM.
    Dick Mahany.

  11. #11
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    I have a couple of sets of longer K-Body Revo clamps I use on cabinets. They were quite a handfull on small projects. I recently picked up a some of the 18" and 12" K-Body Revo Jrs and really like them. Just as the name implies, they are a down-sized version of the K-Body Revos and are very handy on small projects.

  12. #12
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    Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but I'm not sure on the etiquette around here whether it's preferable to revive vs starting a new thread. In any event...

    Can anybody tell me whether these are the same size as the original K bodies? I have a fair size collection of those but would like to pick up a few more. My problem is I loathe the gargantuan size of the new (I guess they're not very new anymore!) Revo's and the cabinetmasters and Jet. I troll Craigslist regularly for used original ones but they're getting harder to find.

    So has anyone used these Jr style and can compare the size for me?

  13. #13
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    IMG_0676.jpg
    Here is a photo of all 3 Bessey clamps. Far left is the Revo Jr, middle is the original (to me) with an after market handle softener and the Revo on the right. The Revo JR and the original are pretty close to the same size, the original is about 3/4" deeper and is wider as well.

    Hope this helps - Bill

  14. #14
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    Bill, what did you put on the original handle to improve the grip?

    Thanks
    George

    Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by George Bokros View Post
    Bill, what did you put on the original handle to improve the grip?

    Thanks
    George,
    They are from Rockler, fit the Bessey handles perfectly. not as nice as the new handles but better than the bare wood.

    regards - Bill
    Last edited by Bill McNiel; 10-30-2016 at 9:24 PM.

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