Over on the Burl somebody is crabbing over the failure of his Bessey clamps. I haven’t had that problem, but to be honest, I don’t like the shallow detents in the spine and suspect this will be only a matter of time. Really like the square jaws on the Bessey K models, but I can’t ignore practical experience by others.
I also have a few Jet clamps. On a purely anecdotal observation, at least to date I really prefer the Jet bar clamps.
FWW did a “scientific test” of clamps where deflection under load was a significant issue judged. As with many “objective” measurements, time and intuition fall into oblivion.
I’m about to go to the WW show in Somerset, NJ and will have my eyes open for clamps. Prices are often attractive at these events.
Anybody have difficulty with Bessey? Are any of you offering suggestions on your preference???
Replies
I have always had a preference for the various models of Jorgensen clamps.
I got a hodge-podge of all makes. I'm only a hobbyist, however, I figured out a long time ago that if I needed that much pressure on my clamps, that I could damage them, I was doing something wrong with the joinery.
Suspect abuse
I have been using Jorgie cabinet masters for a long time and really like them. I also really like the Jet parallel clamps, with their finger slamming prevention. But their price jump killed it for me. The Bessy clamps are good too and work fine but the handles are a bit small in diameter for me, but they also prevent you from over tightening. Many people waaaay over tighten their clamps, thus failure of the clamp.
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