Shadowfax
Established Member
Today I was making some kitchen doors that all require hardwood lipping. The job involves the use of a lot of clamps and I found myself using three kinds of parallel jaw clamps on a single door.
There were Bessey K Bodies, Bessey UniKlamps and some Axminster “K Body look-alikes”.
The K Bodies were heavy. However they were very easy to use because the heads slide well on the bars and they are quick to set to length. They tighten up quickly and easily, the handles are comfortable and there always seems to be a lot of ability to tighten some more, even when there is a fair amount of pressure already applied. A joy to use, in fact.
The UniKlamps are lightweight in comparison but, although I have had some trouble getting the heads on mine to slide well on the bars they tighten up well and the handles are comfortable in the hand. Again, they seem to have a reserve of tightening ability, even when a fair amount of pressure has already been exerted.
The Axminsters are heavy and the heads slide fairly well on the bars but nowhere near as smoothly as the K Bodies. I am not too sure if they are all perfectly square either. I am basing that on just one this afternoon that seemed to be out of square as I started to tighten it but when I repositioned it on the work it seemed OK again. They do not have nice handles. They are cheap and nasty and quite plasticy affairs that are not pleasant to grip The bad thing is that they do not turn smoothly and as a result tend to lock when tight, but you cannot tell if that is because they are jammed or because they just can’t go any further. There is no “feel” to the mechanism.
The Axminsters do not have any reserve, therefore, of ability to tighten more. This may be a good thing for some but to me it just feels wrong. (The wooden handles on both Bessey types are much more pleasant to use and easier and more positive to grip in the hand).
As I put the door/clamp combination aside for the glue to dry I thought I noticed one of the clamps seemed to no longer look right.
It wasn’t! The head casting on one of the Axminsters had sheared in two. I will be making a ‘phone call about that tomorrow.
I don’t think I will be buying any more of these. I already sent back two of them because the bars were not straight and now I have a broken 300mm one!
I have no problem with any of this but I thought some of you might be interested in my experience today. Especially if you are in the market for some new clamps.
Cheers.
SF
There were Bessey K Bodies, Bessey UniKlamps and some Axminster “K Body look-alikes”.
The K Bodies were heavy. However they were very easy to use because the heads slide well on the bars and they are quick to set to length. They tighten up quickly and easily, the handles are comfortable and there always seems to be a lot of ability to tighten some more, even when there is a fair amount of pressure already applied. A joy to use, in fact.
The UniKlamps are lightweight in comparison but, although I have had some trouble getting the heads on mine to slide well on the bars they tighten up well and the handles are comfortable in the hand. Again, they seem to have a reserve of tightening ability, even when a fair amount of pressure has already been exerted.
The Axminsters are heavy and the heads slide fairly well on the bars but nowhere near as smoothly as the K Bodies. I am not too sure if they are all perfectly square either. I am basing that on just one this afternoon that seemed to be out of square as I started to tighten it but when I repositioned it on the work it seemed OK again. They do not have nice handles. They are cheap and nasty and quite plasticy affairs that are not pleasant to grip The bad thing is that they do not turn smoothly and as a result tend to lock when tight, but you cannot tell if that is because they are jammed or because they just can’t go any further. There is no “feel” to the mechanism.
The Axminsters do not have any reserve, therefore, of ability to tighten more. This may be a good thing for some but to me it just feels wrong. (The wooden handles on both Bessey types are much more pleasant to use and easier and more positive to grip in the hand).
As I put the door/clamp combination aside for the glue to dry I thought I noticed one of the clamps seemed to no longer look right.
It wasn’t! The head casting on one of the Axminsters had sheared in two. I will be making a ‘phone call about that tomorrow.
I don’t think I will be buying any more of these. I already sent back two of them because the bars were not straight and now I have a broken 300mm one!
I have no problem with any of this but I thought some of you might be interested in my experience today. Especially if you are in the market for some new clamps.
Cheers.
SF
