Great Little Clamp, Still Made in Germany

Just got one of these at Lowes. I agree with your assessment of the quality and construction.

One annoying characteristic, for me, is the ease at which they slide. It is almost impossible to preset the clamping distance then one handed try to position the clamp without it changing the distance. This is especially true if the clamp is used vertically.

Other than that, I like the unit.

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

I haven’t found the sliding to be an issue yet, but I mostly use them horizontally.
They took some getting used to compared to clutch clamps though.

Also, I added a small peeve in my review.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

I have one of these and would never buy another one. The lack of a locking mechanism to stop the one arm from moving drives me nuts not to mention how weak I find it. Mine is also bent warped although I use another clamp of the same strength and size from another brand that has held up a lot better.

-- --Rev. Russ in NY-- A posse ad esse

Russ, I don’t find them all that weak in use. They apply a lot more pressure than the spring clamps I used, and more than the 6” quick grips I use too.

What is the other brand clamp you use? I found the light duty jorgensens that use the clutch but they were more expensive than the besseys by about $2/clamp. Woodcraft has some small 4 inch clamps I thought about too, but the besseys were only about $.60 more/clamp and have a lifetime warranty.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

I have some of those too and they are great little clamps. I usually buy them when there is a sale.

I also have a couple of these that I find very useful.

-- "I never met a board I didn't like!"

@NiteWalker—I hear you about the adhesive residue. I use a product called GooGone to remove residue. Never seen it damage a finish, and it smells good :) You can get it at almost any hardware store.

http://www.amazon.com/Homax-Oz-Goo-Gone-GG12/dp/B00006IBNJ/

-- Matthew, from beautiful Wisconsin USA

I use the jorg light duties that you mention, woodworkingshop.com sells them for the same price as Lowes or Woodcraft sell the bessey, if you’ve found them cheaper then these two places by 2.00 then I’d agree they are a bargain.

-- --Rev. Russ in NY-- A posse ad esse

Matthew, I don’t have goo gone but really need to get a bottle…
It may have still rubbed the ink on the handle off though; it didn’t take much at all to rub it off. I have more of the mighty minis arriving tomorrow so I’ll grab a bottle and see how it goes.

Russ, that’s one of the places I found the jorgies; with a free shipping code they’d be $5.95 each. I was able to end up paying $4.64 shipped for each of the besseys I got; closer in price, but over 24 clamps the extra $1.31 for each clamp adds up. Like I said, if I needed a clutch version I’d go for the jorgies, but the besseys meet my needs.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.