What is your most used clamp?

Allen Bookout

Member
Messages
902
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida
What is your most used clamp? I ask this question because I was working on a project and realized that I use one clamp much more than any of the others that I have. I alway reach for this clamp first if it will work for whatever I am doing. It is the Jorgensen ISD 12" bar/spreader clamp. It is followed closely by the ISD 24" and then the Jorgensen 12" heavy duty bar clamp. Maybe it is because they are small clamps. I have a couple of other brands of "one hand activated" clamps but they are light duty and do not come even close to the ISDs.
clamps.jpg
 
An 8" F-clamp from LV. I use it for clamping jigs, holding things for pinning or just keeping things together. For case work, K-bodies. I had some fast acting Irwin type clamps, but since I got the K-bodies, they just take up space on the wall.
 
The most versital and bestest is my Jorgensen Wood Hand Screws, By far my favorite. All the way from my 4" to the 12" . My favorite. Narry a project gets done lest the Hand screw plays a part some way or how or else....
 
Last edited:
3706 Jorgensen 6" bar clamp & the Harbor Freight look alike which also works great. But like all Harbor Freight items you should hold it in your hand & examine it before purchase. I very seldom buy Harbor Freight accept at a local store.

With this style bar clamp the Harbor Freight knock off has the problem of the fixed end not being square to the bar. Many-times it is twisted just a little. I was taking them out of the box to look at them & the sales lady came up & asked what I was doing so I showed her & she was amazed at how many were not square. But the few minutes of looking allowed me to buy at least 2 for 1 of the Jorgy's & they work just as well. I have about a dozen in the 6" size a few 18" & 24".

I also like the light duty aluminum tube style bar clamps & 3/4" pipe clamps:eek: :eek: did I really say that? I do have several Irwin quick grip clamps too, as well as wooden hand screw clamps.
 

Attachments

  • Pipe Clamps (381 x 508).jpg
    Pipe Clamps (381 x 508).jpg
    13.2 KB · Views: 29
  • Quick Grip Clamps.jpg
    Quick Grip Clamps.jpg
    73.4 KB · Views: 23
I would have to say that my most used clamp is a ~12" vise grip quick action. I have many of them in various sizes and use them often.

I also find myself using some basic 3 or 4 inch spring clamps fairly often to hold things while pinning or during a glue-up.

Regards,
 
For assembly work, it would be the Bessey 24 incher, 48 incher or pipe clamps depending on the size of the project.

For holddown, I go to the Festool table. It has a grid of holes all over the table, so you can basically clamp anywhere. They have clever clamps with an L-shaped bottom that will slide through the hole at an angle, and then screw tight to your workpiece.
 
For quick holding (but seldom for gluing) I'll grab the 6" Irwin Quick Grips or the 6" Jorgensen ISD clamps. I've also got a couple bigger non-name one-handed clamps that get used a lot, too.

For glue-ups (cutting boards, mostly), I prefer my Gross Stabil parallel clamps, mixed with K-Bodies if I need them. To hold the cauls I use to keep the faces relatively flat during this type of glue-up, I tend to grab my C-clamps. I've also got several of the wood screw clamps that Bill mentioned, and they come in handy for quite a bit of stuff, too.
 
5" x 18" Wetzlers, best clamps I've ever owned.

I've got a couple of older wood handscrews that I like too, but
the newer ones I bought in '95 are junk, won't stay tight. Bad
batch maybe.
 
The ones I use the most are some off brand 6" clamps that I got from PSI. It seems like I'm always gluing something fairly small that those work well for. And if the 6" don't fit, I have some 12" of the same brand that I use next most often.

For other glue-ups, I find that I use my 12" and 24" Bessey clamps the most.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • Clamps 001 (1000 x 530).jpg
    Clamps 001 (1000 x 530).jpg
    37.5 KB · Views: 20
Top