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A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

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6K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  whitewulf 
#1 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
 

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#2 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
I have one. I didn't pay near that much for it. I find it is useful to carry to a worksite when away from the bench. I can be used on a tailgate with a board as bench and the board held to tailgate with c-clamps. I also occasionally use it in the garage for a quick grip on something I want to hold stable away from the bench. It works much better than my knee, but it certainly has limitations. I think it is still sold as a Zyliss.
 

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#3 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
Hi MTMan2. Thanks for the info… that lead me to this forum post. Reading that, I remembered my was the GripMaster.

Thanks!
 

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#4 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
It is a Swiss rex or a Zyliss - sold on Amazon.com as well as shows.
And yes they are sold using high pressure salemen at shows. Some people would say they are worth $4.00 a pound (scrap aluminum value) and others just love them.
 

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#5 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
The original Zyliss Vise is worth its weight in gold !
Looks like you got one of the cheap imitations here : (
 

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#6 ·
A Rediscovered Tool: Bench Clamp

I would do a proper review on this tool, but I have no idea who the manufacturer is or if it can be purchased currently.

Quite some time ago I was at a home show at Pheasant Run Resort and there wan an infomercial style booth set up where a guy was selling a bench clamp. I got caught up in the sales pitch and shelled out about $100 bucks for this thing:

Wood Machine tool Tool Saw Machine


At the time, I was living in a townhouse, and believe it or not, the two car garage was bigger than the one in our current single family. I had a dedicated bench do clamp this thing on. When we moved into this house about 13 years ago, I lost the bench space and this clamp has been in a box since.

Well, I have a bench again, and yesterday I pulled out the clamp and started reevaluating it and rediscovered that it's not worth anywhere near the amount I paid for it.

It's cast aluminum which makes it light weight, but it also flexes quite a lot. In the above picture, the amount of force required to secure the block in the vise made me think the jaws were going to snap.

Used in this configuration, it seems the most stable, and perhaps the most useful:

Table Wood Flooring Engineering Machine tool


Wood Beam Building Gas Ceiling


I can also be rotated using a different attachment:

Wood Machine tool Engineering Gas Machine


So, it is a pretty good device, worthy of 3 stars. But is it worth the amount of money I paid for it? No way.

Anyone else have one of these? What are your thoughts?
Doubt they were Aliminum!
 

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