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Thread: Returning my Bessey K-Body Revo Junior clamps

  1. #16
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    The Dubuque's look like a square pipe clamp..

    What's the difference that everyone likes about them vs a regular old pipe clamp?

  2. #17
    They are much, much lighter and “cleaner” as there’s not a chance of black iron pipe smudge transferring onto something like a panel glue up. I like good old pipe clamps as well.

    I find almost all styles of clamps to be useful in different situations. The Dubuque’s are nice, though I wish the jaws were a bit deeper sometimes.
    Still waters run deep.

  3. #18
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    Fair. I spent a lot of time cleaning the pipes before using them and by now they are pretty darn clean. They are heavy, but I refuse to become an old man that can't lift a pipe clamp. : )

    I will say the Dubuque's look like they may be sensitive to glue droppings... I like that I can just run my carpenter's knife down the pipe clamps to get off old glue.

    I like pipe clamps and K body's (parallel) and sliding C clamps (J clamps?). Those are my go to's.

    Those K body Jrs look like a marketing scheme. The screws on those look like they can put down way more stress than the backbone can handle. Like those silly bar clamps that we all have. They do work pretty well, but you can't actually use the screw power or else you'll bend the backbone.

    I don't think every woodworking project requires a million pounds of force anyway.

  4. #19
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    Thanks for the inputs!


    Around the 'keeping clean' topic, the only experience I have thus far is with the harbor freight version of this sort of clamp... I have abused those clamps for years now, and have never once cleaned or protected them... And they're totally fine still. For the nicer Dubuque's that are on the way, I plan to take a bit more care of course, but feel like the previous experience gives me some confidence that glue build up isn't a prevalent issue.


    On pipe clamps... I love my pipe clamps and plan to continue to use those for many projects. I inherited my pipes from a retiring woodworker that sold them to me for a really good price many years ago. They are galvanized (I think?) rather than black pipe, so the mess issue has never been a problem. And even with black pipe, I've heard (like Andrew mentions) that cleaning the pipes at the start does a world of good.


    Bowing pipes... I've bowed some pipe clamps before when connecting them together to make really long setups, but otherwise they haven't flexed much during projects. The HF aluminum bar clamps are easy to bow, but I have inserted wood cores into them and that helps a lot. For the Dubuque clamps that are on the way, I plan to add a core to them as well because it's so easy/fast to do, and it doesn't seem it could possibly hurt.


    All in, I try to build carefully so that enormous amounts of clamping pressure aren't required. I dry fit (including practicing clamps placement) on anything that is even remotely more complicated than a basic panel setup, and find this helps a lot. So I'm very optimistic that the Dubuque clamps will be a welcomed upgrade to my pipe clamps & harbor freight clamps.
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

  5. #20
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    I'm a few weeks in with the Dubuques and am very happy with their performance for my needs. Some first impressions:

    Comparing to HF knock offs:

    - The close spacing of the indents that catch the sliding stop is very useful to quickly get snug before tightening down
    - The butterfly shaped handle is much less fiddly, and gives your hands a very natural spot to apply good twisting pressure
    - That handle is positioned such that it doesn't touch your assembly table when you're tightening (i.e., you don't have to leave the end of the clamp hanging off edge of your work table)
    - The fit and finish is very satisfying... it's clear that you have a nice tool as soon as you pick one of these clamps up
    - Out of the box, Dubuques are much stiffer in all directions than my HF equivalents... and my HF clamps have been outfitted with a wood core and are still nowhere near as strong

    And in general:

    - Plenty of power for my typical projects at this stage of my learning curve. Panels are no problem, and furniture assembly is a breeze.
    - I knew the weight would be easy to handle... and it is.
    - 20 high quality clamps for the price paid feels very fair
    - The miter / corner clamp attachment is a cool accessory
    - Easy to hang/store with some shop-made clamp racks


    I hope this thread is helpful to some future reader. I had been a little lost in analysis mode and thought "strongest clamping pressure" was my primary need... what I realized is that slightly less power is still more than adequate. When coupled with ease of use and price point, the Dubuques are a great option to consider in my opinion.

    Here's half of the new additions hanging near my assembly table.

    dubuque clamps.jpg
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

  6. #21
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    Bessey clamps are ok, they have advantages for certain things but overall I think a steel or aluminum bar clamp is much better for glue ups. Bessey’s can sit on the foot of the clamp, so when I’m gluing up doors I find that helpful since I can leave them on edge. They bend, so I have to balance them on either side of the assembly.

    Bar clamps like the Dubuque are a lot stiffer, so they are better for panels in my opinion.

    Bessey makes some nice clamps for odd operations which are handy, like deep reach clamps which are still made in Germany and are nice quality.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  7. #22
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    Paul Sellers has a nice Dubuque clamp improvement that I used and really like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKiGmRq3wY

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Necaise View Post
    Paul Sellers has a nice Dubuque clamp improvement that I used and really like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKiGmRq3wY
    What Mr. Sellars is showing looks like a hack I've seen used on Harbor Freight and other knockoffs.

    I might be missing something, but the clamps in Sellars video don't look like the Dubuque Clamps that I own.

    Are yours actually Dubuque or some other brand? I ask because I've had mine 3-4 years and never saw a need to stiffen them or to take them apart and polish-up a rough edge. In my experience, they're an excellent product right out of the box. (Now, they aren't the universal answer to all clamping needs - I have many other types. But they have been a good product for me.)

    I'm a little surprised you needed to beef them up.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Necaise View Post
    Paul Sellers has a nice Dubuque clamp improvement that I used and really like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKiGmRq3wY
    those are NOT Dubuque, just a cheap imitation.
    Dubuque don't need what he shows, and the handles are much better.

    Ron

  10. #25
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    Agreed that Paul's vid is about how to strengthen knock-off aluminum bar clamps. I followed this exact video with my dozen harbor freight clamps of this style, and it definitely improves their performance a lot.

    As noted above, the Dubuque's withOUT that improvement are FAR more sturdy compared to the HF's WITH that improvement... truly a dramatic difference. (Note... I may install cores in my Dubuque's anyways... such a simple modification, why not?)


    Also, while this isn't intended to be a this vs. that thread (more of a 'typical woodworker learning journey about clamps' discussion) I will say that if budget limitations are a factor, the HF clamps served me very well for nearly a decade already, and will remain in my shop indefinitely. I will not reach for them first at this point, but totally suitable for many operations, and they were able to fit my wallet years ago. Same thing with pipe clamps - they work great and I will keep those around too.
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

  11. #26
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    Dubuque’s are nice in their own right, but it’s very easy to bow the 48” lengths being that long and light aluminum.

    My experience has been that if my clamps (any type) are bowing on woodworking projects - my joinery just isn't good enough/ doesn't fit well. They're really just there to keep stuff from moving around , not muscle stuff into submission. I often use tape as a clamp with excellent results.

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sabo View Post
    My experience has been that if my clamps (any type) are bowing on woodworking projects - my joinery just isn't good enough/ doesn't fit well. They're really just there to keep stuff from moving around , not muscle stuff into submission. I often use tape as a clamp with excellent results.
    That is one use case - keeping stuff from moving around. There are so many different jobs within the scope of woodworking that could be asked of a clamp and some of them require more force than tape.

    I was mainly referencing something like a wider solid panel glue up or the like, and how surprisingly easy it is to bow most clamps in wider width glue ups, including Dubuque’s and Bessey Kbody approaching that length. Solid panel glue ups with PVA glue is one application where I typically use a lot of pressure and am also very concerned with keeping the clamps from bowing and keeping the panel as flat as possible...way more pressure than pulling joinery together and holding it tight, which is a totally different kettle of fish.

    It takes all types of clamps in my experience, if you do a wide range of work and want to use the ones optimal for each application. This is obviously a matter of preference and opinion to some degree.
    Still waters run deep.

  13. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by andrew whicker View Post
    The Dubuque's look like a square pipe clamp..

    What's the difference that everyone likes about them vs a regular old pipe clamp?
    They're light and stiff. Pipe clamps have their place for extra long reach but I don't use mine unless I have to - my old Ponies like to roll and tip on the bench, the head and tailpieces roll around the bar when I want them to stay put, and they stain acidic woods. I do have some 2 1/2" throat Pony pipe fixtures that come in handy at times, but my go-tos for panel work are a mix of Jorgensen and Dubuque aluminum bar clamps with Jorgie I-bars for backup when I need the extra screw length and stiffness to really put the squeeze on. When I'm doing multiple assemblies, moving panels and doors from bench to floor and back, the lighter clamps are a real back-saver.
    Last edited by Kevin Jenness; 11-26-2022 at 3:24 PM.

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