Improving clamp handles

[Derek Cohen]

I have had a bunch of old Bessey parallel clamps forever. About a year ago I purchased a few of the Bessey Revo. What I came to appreciate about the Revo are the soft grips - they are so easy to tighten and loosen. By comparison, the red-painted wooden grips of the old Besseys I have are slippery, which can be quite frustrating.


I tried a latex spray on the painted handles, but it was not durable and peeled off.


I recalled a thick silicon tape I had used to repair pipes. It seals by welding to itself.


Wrapped around the handle, it takes about an hour to become permanent. It is very grippy and comfortable. A definite upgrade for any clamp handle ...





Regards from Perth


Derek

[Jim Becker]

That's a good suggestion, Derek. Smooth handles can be difficult when one has to really crank in the pressure!

[Simon MacGowen]

That's a good suggestion, Derek. Smooth handles can be difficult when one has to really crank in the pressure!

Any hockey fans here?
Hockey tapes are cheap, self sticky and grippy.

Simon

[Robert Engel]

I'm gonna try that.

I've found those latex coated grippy gloves also do the trick.

[Kevin Smira]

Any hockey fans here?
Hockey tapes are cheap, self sticky and grippy.

Simon

Not a hockey fan as I grew up in MS...no hockey there. However, I use hockey tape on many of my handles. I start with wrapping, then I pull off a fair amount, let the tape roll hang and spin it creating a "rope". Then, I wind the rope on the handle and go back and cover with tape. The hockey tape is grippy and sticky, but the "ridge" that is created gives it a different feel in the hand.

Kevin

[Derek Cohen]

Is hockey tape water- and oil proof? I have used tape on my tennis and squash racquets. It did not last long. This silicon tape welds itself into a solid grip. It will last many years.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Simon MacGowen]

Is hockey tape water- and oil proof? I have used tape on my tennis and squash racquets. It did not last long. This silicon tape welds itself into a solid grip. It will last many years.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Moisture proof for sure; water proof probably since hockey sticks are constantly dropped and picked up. These tapes don't come off easily.

Oil proof (tape not coming off when it is in contact with oil)? Don't know because my clamp handles have not been in contact with oil in normal use. But I'd guess so, unless we are talking about oil soaking.

Not only dirt cheap, they survive the cold... -20F? No problem.
Simon

[Bill Carey]

I coated all the handles of my clamps with Plasti Dip. Like a liquid rubber. Very easy to grip.
https://plastidip.com

[Nick Decker]

Speaking of clamp handles, I have several Yost heavy duty parallels that feature handles that break over 90 degrees and become very nice levers, for that last little bit of oomph.

[Mike DeHart]

Any hockey fans here?
Hockey tapes are cheap, self sticky and grippy.

Simon

I was watching a Ron Cosman youtube video and he was clamping something up and he had taped his clamp handles like the end of a hockey stick. I did a head slap for not thinking of that. I've done it to a few clamps and it works great.

[Edwin Santos]

Another vote here for Plasti-dip which I have tried on some wood Jorgensen bar clamp handles. I have also had good success using grip tape they market for gun enthusiasts.

The grip tape I used is similar, maybe the same, as what you find around pools, like on steps, where you can grip it very well, even if your hands were wet, but it is not abrasive in a sharp way like sandpaper.

One time FWW had an image in their tips section that showed how someone routed grooves with a small core box bit into their red clamp handle which gave it grip and looked cool too.

[Simon MacGowen]

I have used Plastic Dip before on pliers, etc. but it is a pretty expensive stuff. During non-hockey seasons, some sports stores sell rolls of 6 stick tapes for a song. So cheap that mummies would wonder why they wrap themselves with cloth!

They come in different colors and if you like, you can use different colors for different lengths of clamps as a quick identifier.

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

I thought Rob Cosman used the stick tape on his mallet, which does not really need a lot of torque, if you ask me. Might be he used it on his clamps, too.

Simon

[Nathan Johnson]

I thought Rob Cosman used the stick tape on his mallet, which does not really need a lot of torque, if you ask me. Might be he used it on his clamps, too.

Simon

I don't think I've seen him use a clamp without it.

[Kevin Smira]

I thought Rob Cosman used the stick tape on his mallet, which does not really need a lot of torque, if you ask me. Might be he used it on his clamps, too.

Simon

Yes, he uses it on his clamps as well. His fret saw, screwdrivers, etc. That's where I got the "idea" from. I took a handtool class from him in Nov and a fair amount of the tools he uses has the hockey tape "trick" I outlined aboce.