Which length of clamps get most used in your shop?

[RC]

I'm thinking about investing on a set of Bessey K-body Revo clamps, but I'm wondering which lenght would be a sweet spot to get first for general all-around clamping? I have some 1500mm profile clamps, shorter 300mm single hand quick clamps and a couple of Festools quick clamps, but I don't own proper wide clamps like the Besseys.

I'm wondering what length of a clamp would be the maximum length reasonably used on a single MFT/3 for glue-ups and general holding of work pieces during dry fitting without then being unreasonably unwieldy in length or so long as to become unbalanced with over the edge part.  [scratch chin]

I'm a bit divided between the 1500mm and the 2000mm ones - the 2500mm ones don't fit vertically in any of my rooms and I don't have reasonable horizontal storage space either so that's out by default.

• So which longer (>1000mm) clamps get the most use in your shop?
• How many clamps of a given size would you suggest as a good starter set? 2-4-8-10+?
• Which ones are a breeze to use and which ones are too long to be fun to handle unless forced to?
• Any other manufacturers I should consider outside of Bessey & Jet (that is unavailable in the EU as far as I can tell)?

 

[davee]

I have both Bessey and Jet clamps and like the Jet better.  The Jet have a secondary lever that hold the clamp head in place until released (the Bessey heads tend to free fall when stood upright). 

I have four each of the Jet 1000 and 1500 (and smaller) with some older bar clamps that I use for longer applications.  The Bessey are pulled out when I don't have enough Jets.  The old saying that you can't have enough clamps tends to fulfill itself pretty frequently.  Clamps are always on my gift list.

 

[Kev]

I think Davee is right in saying you can't have enough.

Assuming you're going to make some of those garden seat / storage pieces, it comes down to how much parallel assembly you're doing. Four long (enough for the biggest item you'd assemble - 2500?) and a good collection of maybe 800's and 1200's would be the minimum.

I have invested in the Bessey K-Body clamps - but then I haven't seen the Jet clamps locally.

I have a few old long sash clamps and quite a few cheaper quick lock clamps and they just don't get used now.

 

[Alan m]

it depends on what you are making.
id say get 4 of each and see how you get on. see which ones you go for most. then stock up).
ideally in a general shop you want loads of each size as the projects change so much.

 

[dltflt]

There is no such thing as to many clamps.  Buy a couple of the kits where you get 2-24" and either 2-40" or 2-50" plus the KP blocks.  I use my 12" quite often so you may want to toss in 4 of those also.

 

[fritter63]

I was (recently) making plans to replace all clamps using Bessey's and get the 48" length and the joiners to put two together if I needed more length. I've got a few 8' bar clamps (Pony) which I only used once and that was a rare big project.

I'd do like 8 of the 48" (1500 mm?) and then get smaller ones as well.

 

[jacko9]

The old saying that you can never have enough clamps is never more evident when you have a large project with multiple sub-assemblies.

I have lots of bar clamps in all sizes that I have been replacing.  A few clamps that I would avoid buying are the Jorgenson Aluminum Deep Reach ones, they are absolutely junk.

I find myself reaching for the 24 inch variety a lot more often than the others.  I have 6 each Bessey 24" clamps, 6 each Bessey 48" clamps, a whole assortment of steel I-Bar clamps which I reach for if I need to really pull together a tough glue up (bey they weight a lot).  Recently I included 4 each of the 24" International aluminum bar clamps and 4 each of the 48" International bar clamps that I bought at Highland Woodworker for a good price.  I have an assortment of 6" 12" 18" small clamps and no matter how much you plan,  at some point you'll wish you had purchased a few more of some.

Look for clamps that stay square when applying pressure.

 

[Jason Kehl]

To the OP's question, I find that the 24" and 31" get the most use in my shop. I have most sizes of Bessey clamps but these 2 sizes are usually the go to clamps for me. I tend to buy clamps in multiples of 4. Start with that and buy more as projects dictate and budget allows.

J

 

[waho6o9]

http://www.bowclamp.com/

Hopefully you'll have a bow clamp dealer in Finland, or an on line source. These help in glue-ups and reduces the need for clamps.

As others have stated, purchase what you'll need and you can't have too many clamps.  [big grin]

 

[Mauri Motti]

Hi Reiska,

I have been using the Bessey clamps and am very, very much satisfied with them. I haven't found the Jet clamps in Europe either.. I liked the idea of the quick adjustment thingy but honestly I don't think I really miss it either. Also the opening distance reading may be useful on the Jet's if you make a lot of board glue ups like I do. But with a little fiddling before clamping long boards I really do manage with the Bessey's, not an issue at all. You could add those readings yourself with a sharpy if you'd want to (something I will do next time I make long glue ups using eight or so clamps) . What I can say about the Bessey's is that I like the "tightening touch" so to speak. You can totally in finesse adjust your clamping pressure with them. (and with lots of it if wanted)  I ordered mine from http://www.handwerkzeuge-online.de/index.php?k=901. If you order many like I did, this address is worth considering, cheapest I found. Even my local dealer couldn't buy them in stock even for this price! The first time I ordered eight 60 cm clamps, which I really use most, and it took about two months before they arrived. (me pi**ed but happy when they came but gave them feedback and they exused not having stock) The second time I ordered from them I ordered 150 cm, 100 cm body  and 40(I think) and 60 quick clamps) centimeter clamps and the "extension adaptor attachments" and the "widener clamping attachments mouths" for the body clamps and they came in a week or maybe a week and a half or so after ordering and I was/ am very happy. Can't beat their prices!
Anyway, to answer your question for cabinet making I personally mostly use the 60 cm body clamps but have used the 150 cm plus extension parts to get up to over 180 cm to glue up a bench top with breadboards for in my sauna ( dressing room) using the 150 plus 60 cm clamps. These extension parts are worth considering in my opinion! It'll give you a much wider use of your clamps and you don't end up clamping down boards with way too long clamps. ( I'm speaking as being a hobbyist though!)

Hope this helps,

Mauri

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[Mauri Motti]

And oh yeah,

If you have a cheaper supplier I'd love to hear from you! though I don't think I need anymore soon.
I ordered my second batch body clamps mid winter and think therefore , due to the cold, on two of the clamps the black slide plastic attachments mouth ( if you know what i mean) were broken during shipment.
I haven't found any replacements for them yet but I use the upper ones as a replacement as I don't use the clamps in push action at all. ( hope this makes sense, I can upload pictures if wanted.)

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Big fan of the 60cm (24") k body revos and Jets.  I too think the Jets are better clamps, but i still reach for the Revos just as often.I use bigger ones when I have to but often that is because I have used up all the 60cm ones.  I have some 120cm ones, but they are pretty heavy. 

You would be pretty set with 4 60cm, 2 78cm?, and 2 120cm with a set of the bar extenders.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Reiska

I really liked Mauri's reply, a bit like my experience.

I make a lot of small boxes and have 4x300mm which are also very useful if you need to hold something really tight. I use my 4x600mm quite a lot and always regret only getting 2x800mm. I use my 4x1000mm a reasonable amount but often because I only have 2x800mm. I bought just 3x1500mm (as it was a special deal and I got the last three) and these are great for benches, table frames and wider door/gates. I also have some of the Bessey strap clamps. I do not use them very often but when I do they tend to be the only sensible clamping option for the task in hand - I used lock mitre joints for my drop box for the Dust Deputy and the strap clamps were perfect for the glue-up.

Some of you may not be surprised but I first saw Bessey clamps in Norm's shop and then just had to have some. They are yet another great bit of German engineering and if you look closely at the Bessey speed clamp and the Festool one they seem to be be related - perhaps siblings!

Peter

 

[RC]

Thanks all for your comments - I finally bit the bullet and opened another can of worms by buying into the next 'system' out there - ordered 4x Bessey 1500mm Vario K-bodies + extension connectors, angle faces and frame blocks and two 7m band clamps to boot...

Hurts the credit card just like purchasing Festools - I hope the pain mitigation effect with these products is as good as with using most Festools [unsure]