For Those Who Love Original Bessey K-Body Clamps - An Alternative?

glenn bradley

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No, they're not K-body clamps. They are an Indian / Groz clone. I assume these are the same ones that Woodcraft sold in green as their house brand parallel clamps. I picked up two sets last time they were on sale and have been satisfied with them in the absence of actual origianl K-body clamps. If you love your K-bodies like I do and want something kinda close for a good price.

A pair of 24" and a pair of 40" with blocks for $99.
 
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Thanks for the heads-up, Glenn. I'll have to think about it. If I didn't already have six 24", four 40" and four 50" K-Body clamps, I'd jump on this deal. What I'd really like to have is a few 12" K-Body type clamps, but not at the usual price I see!
 
Thanks for the heads-up, Glenn. I'll have to think about it. If I didn't already have six 24", four 40" and four 50" K-Body clamps, I'd jump on this deal. What I'd really like to have is a few 12" K-Body type clamps, but not at the usual price I see!

I once got a deal on a bunch of 24" UniKlamps. Now 24" is a bit long for a light duty clamp like a UniKlamp but, the price was good enough that I bought them and cut them off.
 
I have to say, I had tried the Woodcraft version and found them to be a little lacking.

They worked great at first, but depend on some kind of a set screw to mesh with the ridges on the bar to provide a good clamping action.

On a couple of the ones I have, out of a set of 4, that set screw has worn and will no longer provide an adequate clamping action.

I've tried to figure out how to turn or adjust the set screw to no avail.

I can take pictures later if anyone is interested.
 
Well, That's awkward. I know for a fact I've tried a few times to remove that set screw before and it's always been stuck in there as solidly as if it was put in there with permanent thread locker.

Put my tiniest screwdriver in and was able just now to back it out without any issue what soever.

Anywho, Here are the pictures.

You can see where that dark looking set screw is in the clamp in this picture.

20140127-IMG_0414.jpg

And here is a close up. You can see that some how it got ground down. Perhaps from user error and careless clamp use.


20140127-IMG_0415.jpg

The issue I had is that no matter what you did, it would not grip tight enough to do the clamping job.

I've since rotated the set screw slightly and find it works better now.

I'm tempted to run a tap in the groove where the set screw goes to see if I can clean that up and get the set screw to go a little farther up, where I think it might do a better job of getting a grip.

Well, that's the way it goes sometimes. At least its working better now.

I guess next time I have one of these that I can't get the set screw out, I'll put the clamp head in the freezer for a few days... :dunno:
 
Yeah, that screw design is taken from the Besseys. Here they are in an original K-body, There are two; upper and lower, that work as a team.

K-body-screw-1.jpg K-body-screw-2.jpg

They are designed so that if they should ever wear you simply turn them a few degrees and you get new teeth. Without the teeth there to engage I imagine the clamp would slip. I have never had to turn the Besseys but, I imagine a lower quality screw might be where you could save some money if you were building a clone :(. I would just replace it with a decent set screw and rock on. 8mm I think(?). I do believe the path is slanted so that the screw can be driven in farther . . . Oops, I just checked the threads do not continue and that made the path appear slanted, I do not believe it actually is.

Here they are in the Groz:

Groz clamp screw.jpg


Ooops again, (what is with me tonight?), I obviously have posted about this before because when I went to store the pictures I found I already had these :eek:.


K-body-teeth-002.jpgK-body-teeth-003.jpgK-body-teeth-004.jpg
 
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A hex keyed set screw would have been nice! The flat screwdriver one was very hard to get a grip on, and I do believe it bottoms our as well.

Guess I'll see if I can get some new set screws, and get the old ones out while the world is still frozen!

Thanks Glenn!
 
i can attest to the new idea of handles, at firt i didnt like them changing them but after using them i prefer them over the wood ones without hockey tape.. hockey tape makes the old ones better than the revo style.. now on this set crews stuff how do they act when you are having trouble with them? i have a couple that come tight but dont seem to tighten down TITE.. is that where the set screw comes in?
 
i can attest to the new idea of handles, at firt i didnt like them changing them but after using them i prefer them over the wood ones without hockey tape.. hockey tape makes the old ones better than the revo style.. now on this set crews stuff how do they act when you are having trouble with them? i have a couple that come tight but dont seem to tighten down TITE.. is that where the set screw comes in?

The screws just catch in the little ribs on the bar. If they fail to catch or slip once you start tightening, I would check the screw's teeth. If they are locked solid and will not tighten anymore, you may have just reached the clamp's capacity which is not all that high. I know the marketing fluff puts a lot of parallel clamps at 1000lbs plus but, most reviews I've read show them to reasonably apply around half that. This is still plenty for most tasks. We're clamping here, not crushing :D.
 
yeah but on the ugly cabinet i had dowels for some help in alignment of the top panel and when the glue gets sticky and the boards need to be persuaded to close the bessys didnt get it every where so broke out the orange jorgy bar clamp and things moved together then.. switched to normal bessy after it came together. if ihadnt had them i would have going down stream without a paddel
 
On mine, the when the set screws don't catch, the clamp just doesn't tighten up. You keep twisting the handle and it just doesnt grip, or provide any clamping pressure. So if it's holding, it's working.
 
yeah but on the ugly cabinet i had dowels for some help in alignment of the top panel and when the glue gets sticky and the boards need to be persuaded to close the bessys didnt get it every where so broke out the orange jorgy bar clamp and things moved together then.. switched to normal bessy after it came together. if ihadnt had them i would have going down stream without a paddel

BTDT. For "persuasion", nothing beats a pipe or an I-beam clamp :D.
 
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