I have older Bessey parallel clamps with wooden handles. They are getting very chewed up.
Are there replacement grips to be had? perhaps larger diameter and material more durable then wood.
Thanks!
I have older Bessey parallel clamps with wooden handles. They are getting very chewed up.
Are there replacement grips to be had? perhaps larger diameter and material more durable then wood.
Thanks!
I have to ask; how are they getting “chewed up”? I have a whole bunch that are 20+ years old and that get used all the time and they haven’t even lost their paint.
yea, Im afraid of the backlash... sometimes I use pliers on the wood bessey handels to get enough torque and tighten like I want.
Pipe clamps....
Sand them smooth, slather with bondo, sand them again, paint. They were not designed to be tightened with something with teeth like that. Even the latest version would suffer from that. Tightening beyond what you can do with your hand is unlikely to ever be actually needed, honestly.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Younger and dumber me did the same thing. Older me now has bar and pipe clamps to crank down when it's needed. Older me also appreciates the rougher handles, that red paint can be slick, even when I'm using them to gently hold something together. I'd take off anything that might splinter and leave them as is.
Orren, instead of using pliers, here are a few suggestions.
First, try to wrap the handles with grip tape, the type baseball players and golfers use.
Second, drill a hole in the wooden handle and use a screwdriver or something similat to give you some leverage when the handles get slick or hard to turn.
My Dad always told me "Can't Never Could".
SWE
Hey don't let them give you any grief. There are times that you just do what needs to be done, and that can certainly happen in the middle of a complicated glueup. If it makes you feel any better some of mine have teeth marks in them. Lately I have to use them to loosen, getting old I guess. Remember, the handles are replaceable, your hands are not.
That drill a hole and use a screwdriver sounds like an excellent way to split a wood handle. I have always been wanting to tape a matching nut on the end and then shave the handle to match, but I have a large pair of Channel Locks on the pegboard so I lack incentive.
Wrap the handle with a silicon self-sealing tape (as I have). This provides a softer, grippy grip. Pretty durable stuff and comes in a variety of colours ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=self...3sWe59EezJ1coM
Regards from Perth
Derek
Hands not as strong as they once were - and Bessey parallel handles don't help - mostly use pipe clamps now
I have extremely dry skin on my hands especially in the winter. I wrap slick handles with hockey tape. Also have some of the soft knit gloves with rubber coated palms that I really am starting to like when jointing rough lumber ,gives me more grip and reduces splinters dramatically. And yes pipe clamps excel at higher force needed jobs.
Hockey tape.
Hockey Tape.jpg
Wrap them like a hockey stick for play.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...XLFXaHlRnh2Upq
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
I got a deal on a box of thick rubber bands I use for clamping and all kinds of other general tasks. I wrapped a bunch of clamp handles with them and they grip surprisingly well.
The hockey tape looks more professional though, so if you're high class, that might be the better way to go.
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Edwin ,you obviously have not seen my tape jobs.