# Harbor freight F clamps



## bobasaurus

Can you put a lot of clamping pressure on them? I broke two of the harbor freight plastic quick clamps before swearing them off forever. These look a little better.


----------



## christopheralan

I have a few of these too. Great clamps for the money. You can tighten them pretty far without problems. Rubber pads fall off easy, and the bar tends to rust a little, so just remember to wax up.


----------



## lanwater

I have few of those. Maybe yours are newer kind…

On mine:
few handles fell off. 
The pads fall often

when you apply clamping pressure you can see the clamp arch
There is a lot of play from side to side.

I my opinion they are good for clamping stuff that do not require precision.

They are cheap.


----------



## shelly_b

I have only used the 6in so far. When I get off work in the morning I will try the 18in and give and update. It's so thick I can't see it bending…


----------



## shelly_b

I too have tried the plastic quick grip and pretty much all of them broke. I also said I would never use them again…but these are not even close to the same thing


----------



## Howie

The plastic ones are only good for light pressure IMHO. I have some of the 6" metal and have had no problems(use them all the time) I would suggest a dab of hot glue on the pads to keep them from falling off.


----------



## DIYaholic

These are one of the gems at HF. Yes, some handles will come off, think epoxy! Yes, they do flex, but unless you spend big bucks, what clamps won't. If you are just starting to amass a clamp collection and need to add a lot of clamps to the arsenal, these are a great way to go.


----------



## Oldtool

I agree, these are really good clamps, regardless of price. I use the 36" clamps quite often and I've had no issues with them.


----------



## cmaxnavy

I have a few of these and I must say, they are excellent. Never fail. When HF puts these on sale I run to pick up some more because they sell out quickly! Haven't had a bad clamp yet!


----------



## paxorion

I agree with DIYaholic that this is one of the few HF gems. I stocked up on them earlier this year and have used the 6" and 12" many times now for my projects. I had initially bought a few across their whole range, but noticed that the bar on many of the longer lengths bow. Eventually I returned the 30" and 36" in favor of more 6" and 12", which I can't seem to have enough of. My wife also found excellent uses for the 6" clamps as make-shift baby-proofing, to lock down a few sliding doors in our furniture. There's certainly enough pressure to keep a baby from opening the door.


----------



## EEngineer

I have a few of these. For me, they work great.










Be picky! Wait for a sale and browse through all of them on the rack to get the ones that line up and work best.


----------



## woodbutcherbynight

Cheap or not can anyone EVER have enough clamps????


----------



## whitebeast88

thanks for the review,i've been needing some 6" clamps and these sound great.reasonable price and they work also,you just can't beat it.


----------



## knotscott

I've had great luck with these inexpensive clamps. There are probably 12-18 of them in my shop. These are much better than the black and orange quick grip type that HF offers. Nice review.


----------



## Flocktothewall

I agree with most, these are a gem, I think I picked up a few for $1 at a big sale, a few more $2-3. Wish now I would have bought the store when they were that price. I have a bunch of Jorgensen clamps and the wooden screw handles give me blisters tightening them, but these rubber ones are so much easier on the hands.


----------



## Dustin

I think people mistake using these when they should be using bar clamps. F clamps are pretty light duty, where as bar clamps should be used when a great deal of pressure is desired. That's why people's clamps break.


----------



## MT_Stringer

I have a sack full of the 6 inchers. I use them to clamp straight edges and other stuff to the workbench. They are really handy and affordable too.

Like others said, the rubber covers come off but other than that, I have had good luck with them.


----------



## rance

I agree, these are GREAT clamps. Here's the style of clamp Shelly is reviewing:









.
.
.

NOT to be confused with HF's "Ratchet Bar Clamp/Spreader" as seen below:








These Ratchet Bar Clamp/Spreaders are a POC.


----------



## a1Jim

I have lots of clamps and a dozen or so of these,and these are great for the money.


----------



## Dwain

Thanks Shelly! Great review. Thanks Rance for the clarification. I was getting tired of everyone bringing up those crappy black and orange numbers. I agree with what was said above. I have seven or eight of the 6 inchers and seven or eight of the 12 inchers. I am starting to build a collection of 18's. I'd like to get to 10 of each size. I can't believe how much I use those six inch clamps. They are good for so many tasks. I think anythignj bigger than 18 inches, maybe 24, and you start to see the lesser quality.


----------



## MarkDavisson

HF carries several different ratcheting clamp models. These are a great value:








I don't believe these are available online, and, as far as I know, they have them only in 24" and 36".


----------



## Rickterscale

I agree. I have a few of these and like them a lot, better than some other name brand clamps that I've bought. Nice handle, easy to grip and turn, and can apply all the clamping pressure I want.


----------

