Wetzler gone? Quick action clamp choices
I don’t know if anyone is familiar with Wetzler, (make a good quick action clamp) but I have tried contacting them MANY times with no luck, and their site was finally taken down. I suspect out-of-business, but I don’t want to start rumors. Anyone in the know?
So i’m in the market for clamps (hence my discovering Wetzler under water) and was hoping for some input. Particularly on quick action / F style.
The two choices top running for me are Jorgenson and Bessey. Jorgensons seem a bit more pricey, but I’m thinking I will want a clamp that can handle tough jobs like laminations. No sense getting quick action clamps AND a set of rugged clamps for lams if I can get away with one set of fairly ruggeds. Any suggestions? Price and quality are both pertinent. Lightness would be nice but not as necessary.
Replies
I sure hope you are wrong about Wetzler, no other clamps compare. I could never understand why they didn't advertise more and get involved with the DIY market. Commercial users were well aware of their products but those clamps last forever and many times commercial shops buy out closing shops rather than purcase new.
I have both Besseys and Jorgensens. The Besseys are awful, They have a serrated back on the bar that can lock in place. If you don't have enough screw length to back off and release from the serrations, you'll be beating them off, the screws and swivels are light weight and no where near Wetzlers, paint on the handles wears off easily. I don't trust their holding power when using them for machinery jigs, they have vibrated loose on me.
The Jorgensens have the clutch on the moving head, similar to their pipe and other clamps. This is nice since you don't have a loose head dropping on your fingers and it holds a preset position. Not quite as heavy as Wetzlers but still good quality. They also make a light and medium weight F style but these aren't heavy duty at all. The larger HD ones are nice clamps, quality Acme screws, heavy bar.
I have had the " f " style jorgensons for over 25 years in my small professional shop. Quite durable and plenty of claming pressure for their size. I modified the handles recently by sanding 3 equal flats on the wood using my oscillating belt sander. This simple change to the handles makes it easier to tighten and remove the clamps in tight places where fingers don't fit around the handle. I get more clamping pressure as well.
The large size ones are absolute brutes when you need major pressure and a deep reach.
Bessy "K body" as well as Jet and a few others are best for assembling casework, but the little jorgensons are a great place to start your clamp collection. You can never have too many clamps.
Steve
http://www.steveduncan.com
thanks
Thanks for the tips.
I also hope I am wrong about Wetzler. Maybe it's at least temporary...
I ordered some besse k-bodies, I've used those before, they're great; and I think i'll try out some Jorgenson F styles if I can't work it out with Wetzler.
Been looking for these for my father, after lots of searching (their site says theyve blocked my IP, but proxy gives the same thing), i finally found what appears to be their website @ http://www.enter.net/~wetzler/index.html
Since it took me so long to find this site, i decided to register and help you guys out over here.
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