Clampzilla Woodpeckers OTT

[ear3]

This looks really tempting, though they are quite expensive:
https://www.woodpeck.com/ott-clampzilla-4-way-panel-clamp-2019.html

Really impressive that they can generate over 6000 lbs of force, which almost equals what you can do with a Bessey I-Beam.

The only downside is that max width is 38".  Wish they had taken that up to 48, as I've had to do a number of panel glue ups in the last year in excess of 40", but that would have meant almost 5 ft. long clamps.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

What a great concept, I wouldn’t mind a set, even though as you say, quite expensive.

 

[rmwarren]

The concept has been around for at least 25-30 years. Leave it to WP to pretty it up and boost the price significantly. I had a set that I sold when we moved to the shore 10 years ago.

[attachimg=1]

A person so-inclined could start with the kit and, using 80/20, make up an adjustable set of any length.

RMW

 

[mike_aa]

Shopsmith has a version that has been available for a long time.  They have three sizes, including 48 inches.

Mike A.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Basically the same thing Richard posted from WoodRiver. I have these and love them for how quickly I can change out the caul board for different panel sizes. The side pusher thingy isn't as robust as the one WP offers, but you can easily replace the narrow hard rubber piece with an accurately-sized caul board, too.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/woodriver-clamping-system

 

[rst]

Expensive?...hold my beer.  Plano PC-2L 49-Inch Clamp Vertical Glue Press.  Bought mine years ago, I have a six clamp system.

 

[ear3]

The key is the side pressure of the WP clamps. I got another brand a while back, forget the name, but they were basically worthless to clamp up anything that was edge joined with dominoes because they didn't produce enough force.

 

[egmiii]

Expensive?...hold my beer.  Plano PC-2L 49-Inch Clamp Vertical Glue Press.  Bought mine years ago, I have a six clamp system.

The Plano seems like a nice unit at a reasonable price. Not much more than Woodpeckers for a similar setup. How do you like yours vs using parallel clamps?

 

[junk731]

This clamp like most Woodpecker stuff is overpriced and designed for the tool collecting hobby guys. Really only good for a small selection of clamping needs. 6000 PSI pressure is not needed unless you are straightening improperly prepared material.

I had the 49" Plano system that could do upto 10' long glueups for 6 years and rarely found it helpful. Painful to load and unload. I went back to parallel clamps on a bench. Making sure your pieces are cut at a perfect 90 degrees, using dominos for alignment and on large projects using slower cure epoxy instead of water based PVA glues helps with no bow units.

A good set of quality parallel clamps is a better investment and far more useful for do a wider variety of panel sizes then this specialty item, IMHO. Guys that run a small shop and do this on daily basis to make a living have a tendency to dismiss a lot of this stuff from Woodpecker.

 

[ChuckM]

The video is irresponsible to new woodworkers in suggesting that the clamping system can get flat glue-ups from ill-prepared boards. That is a misleading way of promoting a product.

I visited a small shop (owner couple plus 4 employees) producing lots of solid wood panel tops (for tables and doors) last Sunday to buy some lumber. The owner uses pipe clamps, clamping cauls and marine epoxy and nothing else. No biscuits, no dominoes. No jointers, only a Festool track saw to rip and joint edges. He does have a huge circular saw16", 18"?.

This shop practice from someone who makes flat panels, large and small, for a living for over 10 years.

 

[zapdafish]

I am tempted to get a pair as I think it would work great with cauls (my bowclamps) but  the price and the width issue.

 

[egmiii]

Guys that run a small shop and do this on daily basis to make a living have a tendency to dismiss a lot of this stuff from Woodpecker.

I have a feeling that most Woodpecker tools go to DIY weekend warriors with sufficient disposable income. Nothing wrong with that. They produce unique tools that solve problems likely encountered by people who don't do woodworking for a living. Either lack of experience or lack of quality tools is the main cause of problems.

Production guys with deep pockets would likely be better served by a Barth RP or something similar. Very versatile, powerful, fast, and it can square up panels.

 

[grbmds]

They do look great. However, several years ago I bough 4 Damstom 38" panel clamps and they work great; perfect for any glue ups which are 38" or less. They now sell for $65 apiece at either Rockler or Woodcraft. If you wait for a Rockler 15% off sale and free shipping they would be $55 apiece; four for $220.

They don't exert the same top/bottom pressure, but they line the boards up perfectly and, when clamped together give virtually perfect glue joint line up of the boards.

I always love Woodpeckers stuff because it looks so great! However, in this case, I doubt I'd be gaining anything over the Damstom clamps.

 

[junk731]

Guys that run a small shop and do this on daily basis to make a living have a tendency to dismiss a lot of this stuff from Woodpecker.

I have a feeling that most Woodpecker tools go to DIY weekend warriors with sufficient disposable income. Nothing wrong with that. They produce unique tools that solve problems likely encountered by people who don't do woodworking for a living. Either lack of experience or lack of quality tools is the main cause of problems.

Hey got no problem with people buying this stuff with their hard earned money but at the end of day its fluff for the most part

Production guys with deep pockets would likely be better served by a Barth RP or something similar. Very versatile, powerful, fast, and it can square up panels.

Production guys and deep pockets is rare, hobby guys with great severance packages that don't have to make a living is a better statement. With the price of Barth stuff in NA I put it in the same category as Woodpecker stuff. I've looked at Barth stuff since about 2011 and could never figure out how to recover the investment of at least $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 for a manual unit that could actually do something.

 

[jeh]

The concept has been around for at least 25-30 years. Leave it to WP to pretty it up and boost the price significantly. I had a set that I sold when we moved to the shore 10 years ago.

[attachimg=1]

A person so-inclined could start with the kit and, using 80/20, make up an adjustable set of any length.

RMW

I had this kit (you supply the wood and they supply the plastic and metal components). All I can say is that it was not all it was cooked up the be. I ended up tossing it and buying some more Bessey clamps. I have not looked at the Woodpecker's one, but I can guess it is a better implementation.

Update: The kit I am referring to was made by Rockler (I think) and I bought it about 10 years ago. It was marginal and best and I am certain the Woodpeckers version blows it away.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

I know the actual clamping mechanism is nothing new, I was more impressed by the things Chuck mentioned, which apparently was a sales tactic. So not so good after all.

 

[rmwarren]

The concept has been around for at least 25-30 years. Leave it to WP to pretty it up and boost the price significantly. I had a set that I sold when we moved to the shore 10 years ago.

[attachimg=1]

A person so-inclined could start with the kit and, using 80/20, make up an adjustable set of any length.

RMW

I had this kit (you supply the wood and they supply the plastic and metal components). All I can say is that it was not all it was cooked up the be. I ended up tossing it and buying some more Bessey clamps. I have not looked at the Woodpecker's one, but I can guess it is a better implementation.

Yep, my limited experience with them 10+ years ago was underwhelming, which is why they didn't make the cut when I downsized. IIRC they didn't totally force everything into perfect alignment, still had to fiddle around to get the edge joints adjusted.

I agree with [member=57948]ChuckM[/member] comment below. I wasn't thinking about newbies not realizing it but the video does lead you to believe that the outcome of gluing up twisted material with the clamps will be a flat panel rather than a large propeller. 

I don't know if the heavier WP model will do a better job or not. For my very limited need to do panel glue-ups I just use cauls and K clamps.

RMW 

 

[zapdafish]

Looks like the 50" bars are an add on, cant just get the clamp in 50"

The product page has been updated to include a 50 inch bar.

 

[threesixright]

The concept has been around for at least 25-30 years. Leave it to WP to pretty it up and boost the price significantly. I had a set that I sold when we moved to the shore 10 years ago.

[attachimg=1]

A person so-inclined could start with the kit and, using 80/20, make up an adjustable set of any length.

RMW

I had this kit (you supply the wood and they supply the plastic and metal components). All I can say is that it was not all it was cooked up the be. I ended up tossing it and buying some more Bessey clamps. I have not looked at the Woodpecker's one, but I can guess it is a better implementation.

What was the problem? The plastic? I thought a 80/20, should work pretty good? Wishful thinking?

Sent from my X using Tapatalk

 

[jeh]

The concept has been around for at least 25-30 years. Leave it to WP to pretty it up and boost the price significantly. I had a set that I sold when we moved to the shore 10 years ago.

[attachimg=1]

A person so-inclined could start with the kit and, using 80/20, make up an adjustable set of any length.

RMW

I had this kit (you supply the wood and they supply the plastic and metal components). All I can say is that it was not all it was cooked up the be. I ended up tossing it and buying some more Bessey clamps. I have not looked at the Woodpecker's one, but I can guess it is a better implementation.

What was the problem? The plastic? I thought a 80/20, should work pretty good? Wishful thinking?

Sent from my X using Tapatalk

I updated my original post to note the one I had was not made by Woodpeckers. This one was sold by Rockler (I think) about 10 years ago. Nothing to compare between the two other than the one I had was junk.