K-Body Clamps............?

Stuart Ablett

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Just wondering, I need to get some more clamps :eek:

I really don't want any cheap one, I have enough of those, and they suck.:(

I'm looking at the Bessy K-body clamps, or the GREEN Woodcraft ones (same thing I'm told...?)

The other thing that has come up is these Jet clamps............

http://www.rockler.com/Retail/flyer/April07/1.cfm

$49 for TWO 50" clamps, sounds good to me...?

So, I&m looking for some help here, I have four 6' long pipe clamps, and a mess of 12" clamps, so I am looking between these sizes.

I am thinking a bunch of 24" and 36" clamps, maybe 8 of the 24" ones and 4 of the 36" ones?

With the Bessys, I can get the connector thing to put two clamps together, right?

Got to buys some stuff so I can make some money making stuff (got a couple orders).........does it never end :doh:

Cheers!
 
Stuart -- I have mostly bessey's and two Jorgy's. I ONLY buy them when they are on sale. My only issue w/ the bessey's (red or green) is that the handle is a little small for my hand and hard to grasp to tighten down. The jorgy's are bigger and easier for me. Both are extremely fine clamps.

I saw the Jet's at the WW Show last weekend -- VERY IMPRESSED !! Larger, beefier, heavier, and bigger (head and handle, also the pipe appeared thicker but I could be wrong).

Two 50's for $50 is a good deal...... I just may have to order some :thumb: :thumb:

Tony.
 
I have a total of 12 Besseys. Every time I wish I had a bigger handle, I get into a multiple clamp situation where the handles are in the way, so I stopped fussing.

I have 6 24 inch that I use for small jobs even down to an inch or two.
I have 4 50 inch that I use for ... duh... bigger jobs
I have 2 36 inch because that was what was available when there was a sale. I would probably skip the 36 and go for 50 if I were doing it again.

I occasionally put two Bessey's together by just hooking the jaws together. Not perfectly square etc., a little tricky to tighten (both jaws have to be engaged) but quick and easy and no accessories to store.

I have a couple very long pipe clamps that I use for making beds (80+ inch) but I hate them so that I don't use them for anything else.

And, unlike the "never have enough clamps" saying, I don't wish for more (given my limited shop space).
 
Which Jorgys Tony?
163515.jpg

This one?




And what about these........

web5201big.jpg

GROSS STABIL Parallel Clamps
They have these on close out 40" for $29.99... :huh:
 
Hi Stu.

I have many Besseys, but if I were to do it again I would go with the Gross Stabil clamps. They are built better than the Besseys, IMO. I have about 12 GS, and about 20 plus Besseys and the next clamps I buy will be GS unless they are giving Besseys away....

Also the price spread on GS is not as wide as the Besseys. Ex: GS 80" clamp is $47.00 at All Pro Tools, while a Bessey 50" at Amazon is $86.

From time to time All Pro Tools has a sale on GS.
 
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My Jorgy's look like orange bessey's on steriods .........

Couldn't find the Jets on Rockler's website, but the fine print on the last page of the flyer says Offers good at retail locations only. Guess I'm out of luck this time.
 

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I have Besseys and Gross-Stabils, and I like Kevin Brown, prefer the Gross-Stabils. The Jet is also a good-feeling clamp, a bit beefier than the Bessey...on par with the Gross-Stabil models, but I don't own any if them. The Rockler sale looks like a good way to try out the Jets, but then again the 40" G-S for $29.99 is also a very good deal.
 
I have jorgenson cabinet masters.
I had some besseys. Sold them

If I had it to do over again, I would not have any cabinet masters.
I would have all Jorgenson I-beam clamps.
More iron, better clamp, cheaper in cost than the cabinet master clamps.

I tried using the cabinet master, besseys, for cabinet door glue ups.
I could not get used to the extra bar hanging out, sticking me in the stomach.
So I went back to plain old pipe clamps for door glue ups.

I never have figured out why the besseys, cabinet masters, are made to reverse the heads for pushing. Who pushes wood apart:huh:
If they were made like pipe clamps, with the screw head fixed, I would like them a whole lot better.
 
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I have 18 K body clamps and they are all great! :) So much better than the pipe clamps that I used to struggle with. My inventory is:
-four 12 inch Besseys

-eight 24 inch Besseys

-four 40 inch Besseys

-two 60 inch Gros Stabils​
I bought them all and sale and am waiting for another to pick up 4 more 12 inchers.

I don't have any connectors (yet) but have connected them just by interlocking the ends. That works OK but I want to try the connectors..
 
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I would say that unless you're using the 50" length, it's more of an annoyance than a benifit. I more often than not want shorter clamps. It seems I use my 24" K-Bodys more than any of the others, and if I had 12" I would most likely use those a good majority of the time. It really depends on what you're gluing up, IMO.
 
Thanks guys!

Tony, that place you linked to has good prices but.............

[SIZE=-1]Do you ship outside the US?
As per our shipping policy, we do not currently ship outside of the United States. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We are looking into options with customs, etc for the future, but that option is unavailable at this time.[/SIZE]

I'll never understand, what is it with companies in the US?? :huh:

Options for customs, all they have to do is fill out a customs form, takes all of 3 minutes, and it is out the door, they do not pay anything or deal with "Customs".

I deal with customs on my end...........:dunno:

LV does it, Woodcraft, Rockler..... Oh well.

Cheers!
 
Stu I know you were checking out my Bessey's when you were down over Christmas. I tell you I discovered them. That is in the sense that when I first bought clamps (when I didn't belong to any forums and had no prior knowledge about anything:() I checked around for what was available and decided that Besseys were the way to go. I bought them from Coastal Tools. Since then I have bought Besseys from Lee Valley and Woodworkers Suppy. Shipping as you know is a killer but there is no way around it. There is a guy that is selling the K Lite (grey body) Besseys and I bought 8 from him but for furniture you want the regular Red body ones.
 
Thanks Alex, I'm waiting to hear back from Woodcraft and International tools, they have a good deal on the Bessys, but I want to know if they will take a postal money order (won't take CC from outside the US).

Gonna hurt the Dungeon budget, but only once.......... right? :huh:
 
I've got mostly Jorgy Cab Masters in this class of clamp, and some Besseys. They both work great. I have only looked at the GS clamps and they looked very well built. Other than the larger handles I also like the smooth bar vs. the Bessey's slit/racked/jagged???? edge. Much easier to clean glue off the Jorgys, and the GS looks smooth as well. I can appreciate why Bessey does that for maybe marginally better clamping power, but if you are using that much clamping pressure for woodworking then something is wrong with the prep steps leading up to glue up. I haven't reversed the pads for spreading but once, but I have reversed them many times to get longer clamps by ganging a 48 with a 36, say, or two 48's. Can't do that with the Besseys I have, but I think you may be able to do it on newer ones.
 
Stu, forgot to tell you I also use 3/4" pipe clamps with Jorgenson Pony clamps on them. These are excellent for clamp pressure and the length handles most of my big projects. I have several sizes of Besseys but the biggest are 1500mm. You can get 3/4" pipe from Joyful I'm sure and the clamp set I by from Yahoo Auction for about 2000yen. So the cost of one 2meter 3/4" pipe clamp is around 4500 yen (no shipping). :thumb:
 
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