Rutlands parallel jaw clamps

[George_N]

Rutlands have arranged to pick up the faulty clamps tomorrow and will refund the cost in full, so well done Rutlands for good customer service (if not a good product). As a replacement I have gone for the Uni-clamp deal at D&M. I was pleasently surprised to find, when I placed my order, that I had £8 worth of loyalty points from my one and only previous order with them, so that covered the delivery charge.

 

[cambournepete]

Like other have reported, they're not sending me my clamps for about 4 weeks, until they get replacements, but at least they've answered emails very promptly and kept me informed.

 

[CHJ]

Just as a matter of interest do these clamps have an ACME Thread as advertised and indicated in the picture captions in the catalog, the close up on page 48 (win2007/2008) certainly isn't acme.

 

[TonyW]

Acme threads!! if I had known that I wouldn't have placed two orders. Wiley Coyote bought Acme stuff and never caught roadrunner did he

Cheers
Tony

sorry just venting my frustration - they are holding on to my missing clamp until my 2nd clamp order complete!!

 

[Lord Nibbo]

In one of my emails to Rutlands I asked if it were possible for them to post me the parts for my two faulty clamps rather than post them back and save them the cost of delivering two new clamps.

I received an email from them yesterday
------------

Thank you for your reply email, I have noted your request and just as soon as the parts arrive here with us I will post out four sets of the plates to you.

Thank you for your patience.

Many thanks

Dawn

-----------

Full marks to Rutlands =D>

 

[TonyW]

I am just trying to understand what the problem is with these clamps as currently I have 3 1200's.
I have tried them out and apart from the stiffness mentioned they seem to work ok.

The fault with the clamps is stated as "plates". An email suggest that a component has not been correctly hardened and can cause the clamps to slip under heavy pressure.

One poster mentioned the fact that the serrations on the bar were not deep enough and even missing in places.

I have briefly examined the serrations on my clamps and notice that they are not particularly deep and there is some uneveness of depth. Certainly the depth is no where near my Axminster F clamps!

So can I ask for some advice of what I should be looking out for from you more experienced "clampers" ?

Cheers
Tony

 

[George_N]

I am just trying to understand what the problem is with these clamps as currently I have 3 1200's.
I have tried them out and apart from the stiffness mentioned they seem to work ok.

The fault with the clamps is stated as "plates". An email suggest that a component has not been correctly hardened and can cause the clamps to slip under heavy pressure.

One poster mentioned the fact that the serrations on the bar were not deep enough and even missing in places.

I have briefly examined the serrations on my clamps and notice that they are not particularly deep and there is some uneveness of depth. Certainly the depth is no where near my Axminster F clamps!

So can I ask for some advice of what I should be looking out for from you more experienced "clampers" ?

Cheers
Tony

Tony, I raised the point about the lack of serrations on the bars of the set I got. I'm not sure how important the serrations are though, because pipe clamps have a similar mechanism with a hardned plate that "digs into" the pipe. My comparison for the serrations was a set of Bessey K-bodies but it's not easy to see the gripping mechanism in those as it is all enclosed in the head of the clamp.

 

[TonyW]

George
Like you I am not sure of the importance of serrations or depth needed to do a good job. Your post prompted me to examine mine briefly and caused me to question if my set could prove troublesome if not now in the future. Hope you did not think my post in any way intended as a criticism of your comments.

Cheers
Tony

 

[patrick]

I got four of these clamps at 600 mm as a trial buy. When they arrived it soon became evident that two of the clamps had the slip experienced by others. I examined the clutch plates from these clamps and it was evident that the material in them is not hard enough. I doubt the grooves on the bar are at fault as these only provide a key for the clutch plates to lock and are not impotant in sustaing clamping pressure.

Has anyone accepted replacement clutch plates from Rutland's with any success?
I may not return them if this remedies the problem as, despite the manufacturnig faults they don't seem to be too bad and I wouldn't mind giving them a proper shake down.

I also noticed sighting down the bars that they were slightly cupped and wavy. at this price I am not surprised by this but I was wondering if this is something that is also found in more expensive models like the Bessy? The bars are cold drawn steel and are probably cut from great lengths which can be easily distorted in manufacture.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I got four of these clamps at 600 mm as a trial buy. When they arrived it soon became evident that two of the clamps had the slip experienced by others. I examined the clutch plates from these clamps and it was evident that the material in them is not hard enough. I doubt the grooves on the bar are at fault as these only provide a key for the clutch plates to lock and are not impotant in sustaing clamping pressure.

Has anyone accepted replacement clutch plates from Rutland's with any success?
I may not return them if this remedies the problem as, despite the manufacturnig faults they don't seem to be too bad and I wouldn't mind giving them a proper shake down.

I also noticed sighting down the bars that they were slightly cupped and wavy. at this price I am not surprised by this but I was wondering if this is something that is also found in more expensive models like the Bessy? The bars are cold drawn steel and are probably cut from great lengths which can be easily distorted in manufacture.

Yes I bought eight, three of which slipped when tightened. Rutlands sent me eight new pairs of the plates. :lol: They took about 30 seconds to change each clamp and every one has worked perfectly, so far.

 

[patrick]

Thanks for the reply Nibbo. I have been looking at my clamps to see if I can remedy the problem but it is clear the clutch plates are far too soft. I shall try replacement plates from Rutland's first, before I returning them.

Out of interest, how many times have you used them since replacing the plates Nibbo? do you think it is a permanent fix or will the problem arise again?

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Out of interest, how many times have you used them since replacing the plates Nibbo? do you think it is a permanent fix or will the problem arise again?

I've got to admit I was quite sceptical when I fitted the parts, I've not actually counted how many times I've used them but I would guess more than a dozen times, so far they are fine.