Black Friday Clamp Purchase advice please? Bessey or Jorgenson

[MADC]

Hello Folks looking for some advice.  Long-time lurker, absolutely love this site, thank you everyone for sharing.  Never felt I had anything to share and after years of fiddling, I'm trying to get serious about woodworking with a few cabinet projects in the new year and currently have a random collection of old clamps.

My question is:  Are Bessey K body worth the cost over Jorgenson Cabinet masters??
I want to dive in an buy a full compliment of clamps (6 or 8 of each size) and while doing some online shopping looks like the Jorgensons are almost 50% cheaper than the Bessey's of the same size - as in $40 vs $60 for 48".  Not the end of the world but if I'm buying 20-30 or so adds up.  I'm usually of the opinion (pay-up and cry once) but I'm interested in folks opinions

Thank you again everyone- hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
Mike "MADC"

 

[MikeGE]

I don't have easy access to the Jorgenson clamps, so I bought Bessey clamps. The clamps in these photos were bought over time as I needed them for my projects, and eventually I decided to build a wall board and mobile cart to hold them. Most of the clamps were bought during sales, special offers, or store liquidation, but I never paid full price for any of them.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have a bunch of Bessey's.

A couple months ago Lowes had Jorgensons on sale so I bought a long pair. The bars bent so easily I returned them.

Maybe short clamps would be ok but I certainly wouldn't buy any Jorgensons over 2 feet.

 

[MADC]

Its a day of Mike's- always surprised how many people aged 40-60 are named "Mike or Michael"
Thank you for the replies!

MikeGE. The picture of your clamp rack is THE Goal and what I was thinking when I made the decision to buy a full compliment.

Mike K- exactly the feedback I was looking for and the Lowes Black Friday sale on Jorgensons  is what even prompted my question.

Thank you and would welcome any more opinions although I'm definitely leaning Bessey

 

[Cheese]

I started off purchasing Jorgensen because at the time I don't know if Bessey's were even available...think 40+ years ago. The Jorgensen clamps are fine for very light duty work but for serious use I only use the Bessey's.

 

[ChuckM]

I have lots of Bessey clamps or their equivalent, but if I started again, I'd only get 2 pairs of them (72"?) (for the rare situations where I really need the extra lengths and force). I'd instead have the Dubuque aluminum clamps (which I also have a lot right now). They're strong, super-light weight and a joy to use. Don't settle for the imported ones.

Properly cut joints don't need a lot of force to close them.

 

[Max Fracas]

I have lots of Bessey Revo clamps. They’ve been great, but as I get older and my arthritis gets worse, I find I reach for them as a last option. My most-used clamps are Bessey Uniklamps. They are a great lightweight alternative to the Revo clamps. They have enough clamping power for nearly all the work I do. If I’ve made errors I may reach for the power of the Revos. When I do, I’m reminded of the point [member=57948]ChuckS[/member] made. 

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Other than track clamps, all of mine are Bessey. I started collecting them years ago and lost them all in a fire. When I started again, I went for what I knew. I got a screaming deal on a bunch of the longest ones, from a place that was closing, and a quite a few more from Amazon.
Then I discovered the smaller/lighter Uni-clamps, for those times when the big ones are just overkill.
The Junior model is somewhere between. I have a pair of those in 18" and could probably use a few more.

 

[Drich]

I like the Jet ones. I like how they slide easier than the bessy to me. Plus they are buy one get one free at a lot of stores. I just picked up 4 more yesterday

 

[rvieceli]

I have a bunch of Bessey REVO clamps and the regular Cast head clamps as well for small to large. The new version of the Bessey REVO has a 6mm hex socket built into the end of the handle. For us old folks with arthritis, the extra leverage of a  L hex key is greatly appreciated.

As far as the flexing of the bar goes, pretty much any clamp will do that if you put enough pressure on the clamp even under normal circumstances.

Ron

 

[ChuckM]

Snip

As far as the flexing of the bar goes, pretty much any clamp will do that if you put enough pressure on the clamp even under normal circumstances.

Ron

That's true, though to a less extent with the pipe clamps.

Even when flexing happens, it hardly affects the clamping effectiveness.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Snip

As far as the flexing of the bar goes, pretty much any clamp will do that if you put enough pressure on the clamp even under normal circumstances.

Ron

That's true, though to a less extent with the pipe clamps.

Even when flexing happens, it hardly affects the clamping effectiveness.

Depends on how much they flex. The long Chinese Jorgeson’s I had (temporarily) couldn’t even stand up straight.

 

[ChuckM]

I have had no experience with the Chinese clamps you referred to, but my Bessey 92" (?) length clamps flex easily under pressure and I never notice any abnormality in the outcome of the joints when using them.

 

[smorgasbord]

I wrote about my 30 year Bessey warranty experience here:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/bessey-warranty/msg705168/#msg705168

I will continue to prefer Bessey clamps if they make the type of clamp I want. Good clamps, great support, even decades later.

 

[Cheese]

I will continue to prefer Bessey clamps if they make the type of clamp I want. Good clamps, great support, even decades later.

Ya, it's the old "buy once cry once" philosophy that I adhere to. I'm sure it's cost me more money but it's never let me down....and that's way more important to me and becomes even more important the older I get.