Other lengths are good too. Don't get scammed by websites pretending to be Harbor Freight. Also, excellent point about getting clamps in groups of 4; Ill make sure to mention that to Tom, too. In-depth articles, up-close photography, and detailed illustrations. We guarantee this Tool to be free from defects in material and workmanship for the life of the product. That thick pad might be all right. Look the same and seem like they need the same setup, https://www.harborfreight.com/48-in-aluminum-bar-clamp-60540.html. Limitations apply. No other meaning of "Compare to" should be implied. So it breaks down to what you are building today. I also have a bunch of spring clamps. It will probably be necessary to drill the moving clamp face to attach the block with a screw or two. Sometimes, under pressure, the clamp head will pivot and dig into the bar making it impossible to get clamping pressure. I have a dozen Jorgie 3/4" pipe clamps so they won't be missed. I would only add that it is worth getting a variety to begin with. They are handy for weighing down a glueup. I started out with a ton of them, but only pull them out now when running low on parallel clamps, which are my favorite for panel and carcase glue ups. Bessey UniKlamps are my most used clamps and I have a grip of them. Sold them all and bought twice as many Bessey heavy F clamps. They excel at holding things for work while being themselves clamped to a surface with something like an f-clamp. They are cranky and fickle and loathesome in every way. Don't get scammed by websites pretending to be Harbor Freight. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. Note: Specifications are approximate and subject to change. There are less expensive versions of parallel clamps as well, my son just got some from Tay Tools that look promising at probably 30% less than my Bessey. On the otherhand, I use the HB type and have found them more than adequate once retrofitted. (BTW where are all those missing Bessey pads????). I had a bunch of parallel clamps. They are the same idea as the Pittsburgh Clamps, but executed better. I've not had good luck with any (3-4) HF clamps. PITTSBURGH 48 in. We have invested millions of dollars in our own test labs and factories, so our tools will go toe-to-toe with the top professional brands. So first I would suggest he think long and hard about what he will be building as he learns. F-clamps? I think they go as deep as what, 20, 22 inches? "You ask 'em a question and they shrug their shoulders. Thanks! This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. one can get a little clamp-crazy and snap up good deals as they wander along through life. And yes I would fight you to give up my wood handscrews. PRICES - Although we make every effort to assure that our prices, products and coupons are advertised as accurately as possible, we are only human, and in the event an error is made, we reserve the right to correct it. At Harbor Freight Tools, the "Compare to" price means that the specified comparison, which is an item with the same or similar function, was advertised for sale at or above the "Compare to" price by another additional retailer in the U.S. within the past 90 days. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. I have two bessy parallel clamps that are super but i bought them too short and they near broke the bank 15 years ago. Free tipbe sure to have sturdy racks for your pipe clamps if you park your truck next to the rack. Before you use the bar clamps, remove the head and file the collar b/c they are bad about binding. PERCENT OFF GALLERY | FREE GALLERY | UNDER $5 GALLERY | INSIDE TRACK GALLERY, Get the Chrome Plugin or the Firefox Plugin, 01/14/2022 - $0 Tom laughed, says theyll look good on the wall.). This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Free tip #2if the ridges on the bar on the F clamp wear out and they won't close tight (Bessy, I'm looking at you), use your hack saw to refresh them. If you haven't already, you should post this in r/woodworking too! You'll regret only have two. I like them. Enter now for your chance to win more than $2,000 worth of woodworking equipment from Woodpeckers. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Personally I think pipe clamps are awful and don't own a single one. Prices advertised by others may vary by location. Nice to know such an effective tip is so easy to do. Click for full details. Safety Recall Information - For important safety recall information, click here. [Their pipe clamps with stand off legs are the equivalent of Irwins but usually a buck or three less expensive apiece.] Id attach this block so that it rides against the bar, preventing the sloppy jaw from flopping over and digging into the bar, which is the source of my problems. Lightweight and sturdy, this quick release bar clamp secures your workpieces tightly. For any difficulty using this site with a screen reader or because of a disability, please contact us at 1-800-444-3353 or [emailprotected]. 24 inch will do 24 in. You cannot opt-out of our Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). https://www.bessey.de/en-US/BESSEY-Tools-North-America/Products/Clamping-Tools/K-Body-Parallel-and-case-clamps. .). Strap Clamps on Box Joints - Got Tips & Tricks ? Secure workpieces for edge gluing with this lightweight bar clamp. The main difference is the Harbor freight ones are blue, usually. This cookie is set by Google Analytics and is used to distinguish users and sessions. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. I started with a half dozen F-Clamps in 6", 12", 18", 24" and 36" apiece and then doubled up on those as I went along. The first clamps i got from hf were pretty good then paul happened and they started to make em faster and looser 60540 Expired: 2/29/20 - $8.99 Coupon Code: '54927457', ITC PITTSBURGH 48" ALUMINUM BAR CLAMP Lot No. Get 10% Off Your Entire Purchase When You Open a New Account, Get our best deals and latest news delivered straight to you. For California consumers: more information about our privacy practices. So, when you make that project video, is it going to be "The 'Hard-Hatted', or the 'Hard-Headed' Woodworker"? They make excellent stops for machines. Super subject with a bunch of right answers. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. The one I have is the only tool/device I have from my grandfathers farm, and I use it now and again just cause of that, though I know hed tell me to throw the dang thing out and use a better/easier clamp. Then insert a section of hardwood in the channel to stiffen up the bar. It does make a huge difference! The bar clamp has carbon steel jaws for a tight grip and has adjustable stops approximately every inch. I have some of those [the five footers] and that's a good tip. Find a deal, and they are cheap. The clamps I gathered as I needed them are the ones I use the most. I would start there, in whatever combination makes the most sense for the next project in mind, and maybe throw in a couple 6-12" quick clamps for basic shop things. Editor's Letter: Technology and the future of woodworking. I like my parallel jaw clamps but they are expensive. I personally hate bar clamps and consider the few I have a waste of money. It makes them way stiffer. UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month. Almost all of my clamps are stored in between the joists, or, in the case of quick clamps, clamped to the joists themselves. It takes a pretty crappy, flimsy clamp, and turns it into a lightweight strong clamp. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. I also keep some full pipes and couplers on had I'd I need something longer. Home Depot had them for $1 each a few years ago and I stocked up. I haven't owned a spring clamp in decades but have come to see value in quick acting clamps sold by Armor, they self adjust and can put a pretty good amount of clamping pressure on if you can squeeze them one handed. What are we forgetting? The clamp features a durable carbon steel bar for a sure grip and a quick release lever for added convenience. Welcome! I use them all the time. Mostly thme hf ones get grabbed first. They work good for cheap clamps. Interesting that you mention that right off the bat. My second most used clamp are the F-bodies which I have numerous sizes of from 8" to 48". It's just that simple! Ive tried modifying them in various ways, but they have never been reliable. Casework, bookshelves, dressers, etc have entirely different clamping need than jewelry boxes. It is a way to take you clamp money and spread it out a bit further. bar clamp is constructed of sturdy aluminum for light weight and stability. (One of those: "Hunched shoulders and slopping foreheads" ones. I use 6 inch and deep 12 inch. Square cast-aluminum bar gives you plenty of stability for edge gluing, Quick adjustments approximately every inch. I'll chime in again because I think it is important to keep in mind the OP's friend plan to build mostly casework. Paul has a 2011 post called Aluminum Clamps- retrofit makes perfect clamp.. C clamps are nice but I use them more for metal than wood. These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. Jonathan Katz Moses is not going to be up voting this comment. 10/01/2020 - $19.99 60540 Expired: 12/31/19 - $8.99 Coupon Code: '15552462', ITC PITTSBURGH 48" ALUMINUM BAR CLAMP Lot No. This cookie is set by websites that run on Windows Azure cloud platform. Pipe clapms are good too. They do everything from 3rd hand service to edge strip and trim clamping. The cookie is created when the JavaScript library executes and there are no existing __utma cookies. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests. Used by sites written in JSP. The cookie is set by Google Analytics. This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. Its one of the reasons I really like the one-handed clamps. Those awful wood screw clamps you have that I dont know how to use? However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. Get 10% Off Your Entire Purchase When You Open a New Account, Get our best deals and latest news delivered straight to you. The Irwin ones are popular. They don't have a deep reach like parallel clamps, but I simply clamp from both sides when I glue up a panel. Never used em much until acquiring some recently, and theyre surprising me fairly frequently with what one can do with em. It's just that simple! | Customer Service | Download the Harbor Freight App | Harbor Freight Newsroom| Security & Privacy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Terms & Conditions | CA Transparency in Supply Chains Act | Supplier Code of Conduct | Jobs at Harbor Freight, Copyright 2022 Harbor Freight Tools | 26677 Agoura Road | Calabasas, CA 91302 | 1-800-444-3353. Thanks for the tip on Taylor Toolwork. For California consumers: more information about our privacy practices. It does not store any personal data. It and it's brother hit the recycle bin. Look, I know Im gonna need clamps, and I could just come steal some of yours when I need em, but I dont wanna be waiting for them to arrive or whatever when Ive got a free weekend and all thats slowing me down is not having the right clamps., 2 each, Quick Clamps, in 12, 24, 36 inches.Four 4 hand spring clampsTwo 3/4 pipe clamp assemblies and 2 each of 4-and 6-foot lengths of pipeTwo 48 parallel clamps2 each, F-style deep-throated bar clamps, 12, 24, 36 inches, I didnt try to price it all out, but I figure weve gotta be getting close to that $300 mark with a list like that, and it seemed like a good list. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Search for Michael Fortunes article on glue ups. Like router bits, buying a set without actually knowing how you might use them often results in things bought but, not used. Get 10% Off Your Entire Purchase When You Open a New Account, Get our best deals and latest news delivered straight to you. Casework requires larger and usually heavier clamps. Lifetime Warranty. And we can sell them for a fraction of the price because we cut out the middleman and pass the savings on to you. I use the clutch style a lot, but don't love them, and could use some >12" anyway. Thanks to all who posted comments for the genuine help provided. The downside is that you have to store them. A sub-reddit dedicated to Harbor Freight and reviewing their tools. And we can sell them for a fraction of the price because we cut out the middleman and pass the savings on to you. I'm curious, GDB, what, exactly, went wrong with your HFT pipe clamp(s)? The cookie is not used by ga.js. Theyve done a lot to ameliorate my stress during glue ups. Not really affecting function yet, but Im thinking the rivets are going to fail eventually. I love the quick clamps, but use mostly 6 inch, and some 12. Save 47% by shopping at Harbor Freight. I would have no use for longer versions, if you have parallel and bar clamps. Theyre cheap, you tell me, but do the job. Indeed, Id kinda forgotten about the super-deep-throated Besseys, so Im glad you mentioned em. up to about 36though not for glue-ups or holding for work, more for testing fit/size. I rarely use the quick clamps I have. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our Site. Our biweekly podcast allows editors, authors, and special guests to answer your woodworking questions and connect with the online woodworking community. I also recommend buying clamps in groups of 4's especially for case work 2 clamps are seldom sufficient. The F clamps I use, Ill admit, are mostly the Besseys with the clutches; I dont like em, but Ive got em, and they work, though I dont have any with a 12 or more throat, and I wish I did. bar clamp is constructed of sturdy aluminum for light weight and stability. LOL!!! By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. I have several bar clamps but honestly the pipe clamps are just as good although a bit lighter (price is not worth it for me). The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. I have 3 dozen Bessey mighty-minis in 4" and they are probably my second most used clamp in terms of frequency. Personally the quick clamps are more of a luxury and are easily replaced by my f-body clamps which I feel are more versatile. I use pipe clamps for larger assemblies. I finally managed to give all but a few of my quick grip clamps away as I find them essentially useless. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". I use spring clamps a lot. I bought HF parallel clamps when they still had them and they work fine. Lifetime Warranty. I like the 3/4 ones and my favorites I have a 36 in ish pipe on it but usually 60 in. A couple decades ago if I ever ran out of 24" k-bodys I bought more at the next sale. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. Here is the link to the Harbor Freight Clamp he is talking about: https://www.harborfreight.com/36-in-aluminum-bar-clamp-60539.html. For more information, go to HarborFreight.com or see a Harbor Freight store associate. Nobody has mentioned good old-fashioned, but less-and-less-known, wooden hand clamps. I use em mostly in conjunction with my parallel clamps when Im running short on a large carcase or multiple panels, etc. they've greatly improved over the years. I learned that the hard way. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to provide you the best experience possible.