Parallel Jaw Clamps

[Raymien]

Dear all,

A search has revealed a couple of older threads comparing Rutlands to Bessey clamps, but nothing recent. I'm after some parallels, and also some F Clamps, but am torn between the brands.

Naturally price is a consideration, however I'm wondering if for amateur use the extra for the Axminster/Bessey's is worth it? I make a lot of furniture like radiator covers, built in units/cupboards etc, mostly out of MDF. So clamping up big heavy hardwood isn't something I'll be using them for. For the money I have to spend I'd get 4 Rutlands for 2 Axminster/Bessey...

Advice would be appreciated.

These are the options:

Rutlands

Axminster

Bessey

When it comes to the F clamps too, I'm guessing there isn't so much difference?

 

[Sideways]

A couple of years back, Axminster did a 4 pack of their red and grey clamps - equivalent to the Rutlands deal. Price was somewhere between £80 and £100 so I bought a set. They seem pretty good. Excellent value certainly.
Rutlands don't have a great reputation but you might be waiting a long long time to get a comparable deal on the A or B clamps.

 

[Doug B]

Many years ago I bought a set of the Rutland clamps they worked fine for a while if you define fine as having oil staining the wood being clamped as the reconstituted rubber on the pads bled oil when under pressure.
Then during a particularly stressful glue up the heads decided to to slip on the serrated bar rather than apply force, it was a lot of work to sort out the piece being clamped, since then I’ve only bought Bessey, that’s got to be 10 years ago & I've never had a problem with their clamps. So from my way of thinking the Besseys offer excellent value considering the amount of use they get.

 

[Rorton]

ive been using the Bessey UniKlamps - not tried the revo clamps but they seem ok for me - can be had in bundles of 4 on the great auction site

I noticed some really cheep clamps on said auction site too - branded 'Wellcut' they are orange in colour and look like the revo and rutland units, cheep at £20 per clamp!

 

[Terrytpot]

I noticed some really cheep clamps on said auction site too - branded 'Wellcut'

Thanks for that heads up...just taken a punt on a pair of their copy of the Bessey kliklamps which at £8 a pop seemed very reasonable. I do have some K body revo's but the weight of them makes me reach for either my uniklamps or most of the time the plain old Irwin one handed trigger clamps.

 

[JoshD]

For good heavy strong f clamps try urko. I came across them at the Rowan Atelier woodwork school. Fantastic value, much cheaper than bessey, but good quality. Quite hard to find, I tracked them down at a supplier called tilgear. Iirc they were aimed at school workshops.

 

[bp122]

I have a 1000mm k body set of 4, bought before last xmas on a deal. Use them for any serious glue ups other than tiny things. I wish I could get another set of 600mm.

Yes, they are expensive, but they come with almost zero aggravation. You pay the premium to keep your sanity when things go wrong during a glue up.

On the other hand, you can make your own. Plenty of tutorials about. This can design to what your need and how many you need.

 

[Raymien]

Thanks all for the advice and replies. I think I'm leaning towards the Axminster or Bessey clamps, as it sounds like they'll be the better option in the long term. Probably just pick up a couple to begin with and add to them over time

 

[Raymien]

Duplicate

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Sorry to bump an old thread but interested to hear what you did. I have K body 1000 clamps which think are great. Never missed a beat and I could get more subject to moneys. I cannot fault these clamps. As they are relatively long I am thinking of getting some 600mm parallel bodied clamps instead (I have other 600mm clamps and not the same as the parallel bodied clamps for my flat panel glue ups without multiple cauls etc etc). 600mm would cover the majority of the glue ups but I am thinking I do not actually need 8000 N clamping force of the K body and I may be fine with 600mm UniKlamps capable of just 1500N force (more just not necessary for the smaller size glue ups, typically 300mm or close ? (planer / thicknesses size limitations)). What are peoples thoughts? the cost saving is substantial....my worries are they don't grip well and I have already bought into the K body accessories.

 

[Doug B]

I’ve never had a problem with Uniklamps, they tend to be the ones I use the most & as long as I keep the bars glue free they work a treat.

 

[bp122]

Since I responded on this thread the last time, I have acquired a set of 600mm bessey clamps (used) for £60.

Before that I had ordered a set of bessey uniklamps from ffx. Returned them as soon as they came as they were just not good for the money in my opinion. This could heavily be because I have used the k body revos now so anything less seems or perceived to be inferior even if they aren't. Plenty of people here only use uniklamps and are perfectly happy with them.

I think it was @Petey83 who suggested when I visited him that he reckoned the Axminster lower end parallel clamps (uniklamps equivalent) were better than besseys uniklamps. I haven't compared them side by side.

Alternatively, just before I bought the bessey 600s, I was eyeing the DeWalt range of parallel clamps from Screwfix, which seem the business. I would have bought a set of 6 (works out cheaper per clamp than buying 4 at the time) if I hadn't serendipitously come across the besseys.

Maybe worth a look.