Bessey Parallel Clamp Grip/Handle Replacements

[orren countin]

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!

[John Lanciani]

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.

[orren countin]

yea, Im afraid of the backlash... sometimes I use pliers on the wood bessey handels to get enough torque and tighten like I want.

[Mike Kees]

Pipe clamps....

[Jim Becker]

yea, Im afraid of the backlash... sometimes I use pliers on the wood bessey handels to get enough torque and tighten like I want.

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.

[Myles Moran]

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.

[Steve Eure]

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.

[Larry Edgerton]

yea, Im afraid of the backlash... sometimes I use pliers on the wood bessey handles to get enough torque and tighten like I want.

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.

[Derek Cohen]

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

[orren countin]

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.

yea good insight. Thats a lot of it. Even just today the handle was difficult to get my hand on and I used the robogrips to turn in small increments. It helped and I could see the glue squeeze out of the joint.

[John Gornall]

Hands not as strong as they once were - and Bessey parallel handles don't help - mostly use pipe clamps now

[Mike Kees]

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.

[glenn bradley]

Hockey tape.

Hockey Tape.jpg

Wrap them like a hockey stick for play.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...XLFXaHlRnh2Upq

[Edwin Santos]

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.

image0.jpegimage2.jpeg

[Mike Kees]

Edwin ,you obviously have not seen my tape jobs.