Parallel Clamps

[Mike Henderson]

I used Bessey K-Body for years but recently bought some of the Bessey Revo clamps. I really like the new Besseys.

Mike

[George Yetka]

I have mostly besseys and a couple jets I love the besseys(I dont often use the jets theyre 60s.)

I havent seen them mentioned but people seem to like the rockler beam clamps. At least I see them alot on youtube. May be paid advertizing, I dont know for sure but they seem to be priced right when you get them on sale.

https://www.rockler.com/surefoot-aluminum-bar-clamps Now its 24" ones

Also depending on the intended use pipe clamps are always a good option

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I like the Jets, mainly for the ruler that's marked on them. I am one of the stupid people that managed to smash my fingers with the Bessys that slide around. While the Jets are indeed finicky to move about, you get used to it.

[Jim Becker]

@Jacob Atwel

I tried to send you a pri

Only Contributors have access to private messaging.

Jim
Forum Moderator

[Mike Kees]

My happiest experience with parallel clamps was the day that someone paid me what I had spent to buy them and hauled them away. I had ten of the original Jorgesons and tried to like them and use them for about 8 years. Never happened. Now I have about 40 Pony pipe clamps with heavy black pipe that do what clamps are supposed to do without being bulky and expensive. Not trying to change the world here,just my experience. YMMV

[Jacob Atwell]

The grizzly sale looks pretty good. Now another completely subjective question. What size do you all find the be the most handy? I’m mostly looking for something for relatively small panel glue ups, and would like to get something I could use for a wide range of sizes but I don’t want to go so big that they are unwieldy for the smaller stuff.

[Jim Becker]

Jacob, I have a split of largely 24" and 40" with a few 60" and four 30". I actually want more of the 30", but they are hard to come by. I've been using that size more lately for certain kinds of projects. Yes, I can use the 40", but at the expense of a lot of extra clamp hanging off the bench. Many folks start off with the kits that have a couple of 24" and a couple of 40" which is good for general purposes. I believe those combinations are on sale, too.

[Matthew Curtis]

I am with Jim. 24" and 40". A few longer.

[glenn bradley]

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Jim
Forum Moderator

Thanks Jim. My bad.

As to sizes, this varies with your work. Although I've got some 50"-ish parallel clamps I tend to reach for pipe clamps for longer stuff. Pipe clamps don't get used much in my shop but, when that's what you need it is great to have them. For me longer clamping is few and far between; one stage of a dresser or table frame glue up for instance. The bulk of my parallel clamp requirement is 36" and under; carcass sub assemblies, shelves, tops, frames, etc..

When I was originally doing the hunter/gatherer thing on clamps I would run out of 24" parallel clamps most often. I just kept buying another pair here and there as they showed up on sale until I stopped running out. Doing it this way will help you meet your required levels without ending up with a pile of unused clamps in the corner. The 31" are my next most used during parallel clamp type work. The balance of my carcass and cabinet work is done with 6", 12" and 18" Uni-Klamps and I have a couple dozen Bessey Mighty Mini 4" bar clamps that get used for everything.

I also have all sorts of f-style, Quick-Grip, aluminum bar, spring and specialty clamps. All of those types of things will come as you need them. FWIW I bought the 2" spring clamps at Home Depot that go for about $1 each in 2 or 3 bursts and am still using them nearly 20 years later. Harbor Freight used to be good for all sorts of odd-ball clamps but, in the last decade or so have settled into a standard fare that doesn't meet much in the way of my needs.

[Mike Henderson]

For my clamps, the ones with the most glue residue on them are my 12" and 24" so I suppose those are the ones I use the most

Mike

[Jacob Atwell]

Looks like shipping from the grizzly sale is $15.99. Kind of makes me want to keep looking.

[Jeff Ranck]

I absolutely hate my Jorgensen cabinet master clamps. All my jorgensen clamps really. The cabinet master clamps are heavy and I always seem to have a hard time getting them positioned correctly. On the other hand, the mechanism is smooth. The plastic jorgensen uses can leave an oily mark that is pressed into the wood and impossible to get out (particularly on their f-style clamps), so I always have to use cauls, which defeats the whole purpose of a parallel clamp for me. So although they are really heavy duty, they are always my clamp of last resort. Seriously, if someone comes to my shop, they can haul all my jorgensen clamps away for free.

[Mike Kees]

Jeff the first sentence of your post sums up my feelings exactly.I would have given them away as well. However I placed them on Kijiji and sold them in about 2 hours for basically what I had paid for them . That was a seriously good day.

[Jeff Ranck]

Yah, once I get through a major shop overhaul and get things put back, I'm going to work on my clamp situation. All the Jorgensens are going to go and I'll replace them with others. I definitely am not looking forward to the cost of replacement, however.

[Izzy Camire]

I have Jets and I like them but I also have a few Ehoma sold by Woodcraft. You said you are looking for the best bang for a buck. I found these to be good clamps for less money than others. Just search on Woodcraft for them.