4" Bessey clamps

I have 24 of these and just ordered another dozen, 'pick up in store'. This is the best price I have seen since Lowe's blew them out when they dropped them for the Irwin clamps they now carry.
 
Not in Canada.... :(

In fact, if I look at the home depot website there is no sign of Bessey, but there is on the lowes.ca website. Which is weird, as Glenn mentioned that Lowes on your side of the border dropped Bessey.
 
Could't pass up the deal. I ordered a dozen to be shipped to me. HD is about 30 miles from me. I added a small set of small drill bits to make it $45 for free shipping.
 
These seem to work OK but, I wonder if the shallow and narrow threads on the bar are special for Home Depot?

Lowe's on the left, Home depot on the right.

Mighty Mini Comparison.jpg

The bar teeth are shallow and a bit mashed on the HD version when compared the the ones I got at Lowe's just a short time ago. The ones that Peachtree was selling at 'the Woodworking Shows' were as expected too. Just as something to occupy my twisted mind I will check some out when I find them at other sources in the future :huh:
 
Just out of curiosity, I stopped at the Lowe's across the street from our HD to check out what they had for 4" clamps. Lowe's stocks the Irwin brand. In addition to what Glenn pointed out, here's a further comparison, Bessy vs Irwin:

Price: Bessey - $2.97; Irwin - $3.98
Handle: Bessey - Painted Wood; Irwin - Molded non slip plastic?
Weight: Bessey - 8.5 oz; Irwin - 10.5oz
clamps 003.jpg

Max clamping size: Bessey - a tad over 4" x 2"; Irwin - a tad over 4 1/4" x 2"
clamps 010.jpg
Length of available adjustment screw: Bessey - 1 1/8"; Irwin - 1 5/8"
clamps 008.jpg
Protective Clamp pads: Bessey - Pad on screw head only; Irwin Pads on both clamping surfaces
clamps 012.jpg clamps 011.jpg
Are these differences worth another dollar?

To me the Irwin's felt and operated like a more substantial clamp, the fit and finish was better, the handle easier to grip, the bar itself was bigger and better machined and I like the protective pads, extra 1/2" screw length and the additional 1/4" of clamping depth. Are these differences worth another dollar? Your call. I bought ten of the Irwin's to go along with the Besseys from HD.
 
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I bought ten of the Irwin's to go along with the Besseys from HD.

It will be cool to see which you reach for first after a few months. I have some Gros-Stabil versions of the Bessey format minis which I use interchangeably without preference but, tend to avoid my 4" Jorgies with the ratchet plates. I have been eye-balling the little Irwins for awhile and they do seem like a nice little clamp. when I had a dozen several years ago I thought I had plenty. I picked up another 6 and then another 6 as time went on and I kept running out. I'm hoping these 12 will finish me off :D. I used the same approach on 24" K-bodys. Every time I would run out I would pick up 4 more when I caught a sale. I finally got enough :eek:.
 
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They are made from 1/8" luan play and notched for a friction fit. I have these built in cauls on most of my F-style clamps:

Bessy mini cauls (1).jpg . Bessy mini cauls (2).jpg

I originally made them to overcome the infamous stains left by Jorgie f-style clamp pads. They worked quite well at grabbing non-flat items so I made a bunch for the other clamps.
 
Glenn, I feel sometimes you're really just feeding us morsels of what you're shop really holds with these little ideas. That is genius, looks like they probably hold the clamp square to the work too. :thumb:
 
These seem to work OK but, I wonder if the shallow and narrow threads on the bar are special for Home Depot?

Lowe's on the left, Home depot on the right.

View attachment 87778

The bar teeth are shallow and a bit mashed on the HD version when compared the the ones I got at Lowe's just a short time ago. The ones that Peachtree was selling at 'the Woodworking Shows' were as expected too. Just as something to occupy my twisted mind I will check some out when I find them at other sources in the future :huh:

Is this the beginning of the end of Bessey as they slide down the proverbial maximizing profit value engineering slope. Me thinks you onto something or Home Depot got suckered with a bunch of pirate Bessey clamps. I see differences which indicate the process methods have changed. Take a careful look at cut of those acme threads between the irwin and bessey.

Around here these 4" clamps are $8.99 then add our hst = $10.15 Canadian $

http://www.lowes.ca/vises-clamps/bessey-4-in-mighty-mini-clamp_g1191089.html

And they say we not being gouged.:huh:

The non sale price at US home depot is $4.97 still a bargain for us Canucks. @ current exchange rate = $5.18 plus hst $6.57 Canadian..... go figure our news reports say 10 to 25% by my calculation the converted base price difference is 73% higher than what the clamp goes for in the US. :bang::mad:

As long as this persists my personal protest will be to order online in the USA ship to Niagara and from time to time make the drive (amortize the cost of the drive over many purchases which will dilute it to nothing) and make my tool budget go further.
Its not as if Home depot or Bessey have a factory in my neck of the woods where i am doing anyone out of work and its not as if home depot or lowes pays a living wage one can raise a family on.

I would love to get an ex China FOB price for this type of clamp purchase dozens of containers of the whole range and flood the market. Surely there was a message in the response Jet got to the thanksgiving promo that relates to the price of clamps. Its not rocket science making these things.
 
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