00101 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 While this does seem like the most applicable board for this, sorry if its not. Anyway, I have some extra money laying around and wish to expand my clamp collection, which at the moment is rather puny. Currently I have 2 48" F style, 3 24" F style, 1 18" F style, 2 12" crap quick clamps, and 1 6" good quick clamp. I was looking on rockler and they have 2 24" and 2 40" parallel clamps by Irwin for $99. I am curious to if these clamps are very good, and if for the quality its a good deal. I know many prefer the Jet clamps, but for $38 and $47 a pop for these sizes I would end up paying $70 more for them. Also why is it on amazon the same combo, in Jet clamps, is listed as $300? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jab73180 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 give pipe clamps a look too, more bang for your buck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I just picked up some jorgensen parallel clamps @ home depot. Menards had them on sale for 39 bucks and home depot will beat any advertised sale price by 10% so there you go! Im VERY happy with these clamps so far. And by the way i have heard some not so good reviews on the irwins. I recomend going to the woodcraft store near you and play with them I think you will soon find out why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I have broken a couple of the Jorgy clamps. The pot metal mechanism snapped. Just an FYI. This was about ten years ago, so they may have fixed the problem. My problem is that once bitten... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I have broken a couple of the Jorgy clamps. The pot metal mechanism snapped. Just an FYI. This was about ten years ago, so they may have fixed the problem. My problem is that once bitten... THey have fixed that.. An easy way to tell is if the clamping mechanism is silver, leave it alone. If it is black it is good. I have a ton of these clamps. I have put some serious force on them too. I have not broken a single one. I really like them. I would prefer the jets, but these were the right price. As for the Irwins, you have to start somewhere. If this is what you can afford, adn they will help you do what you are trying to do, then go for it. FWW did a review on parallel clamps a while back. Not sure what it said about the Irwins.. Look it up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 I think this topic has been covered before someplace here. I have a bunch of Jorgensen parallel jaw clamps and I like them a lot. The information about the black mechanism is correct. Look for that. Personally I prefer the new Bessey K-bodys to anything else out there. Most of what I make falls under the general category of cabinets so I really appreciate their new mar-free larger clamping surfaces as well as the bar guides that come with them. The bar guides seemed a little gimmicky before I tried them, but holy cow, I was impressed at how well they work to keep the sides of my cabinets parallel. I hear lots of people love the Jets but I don’t buy them because they are made in China so I cannot comment. I can comment on the parallel clamps by Irwin. I got some as a gift and ended up returning them because they were visibly out of parallel. That makes them almost useless for cabinet making. You might have better luck, or you might be able to sort through some by hand, but I was not happy with the Irwin versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 I am big fan of the aluminum bar clamps. They perform well and they are priced reasonably enough to buy several at a time. The Universal brand is my fav. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don65 Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 i just got my first set of Jet clamps and I can say the extra 4 in worth it. thanks Marc for the video on clamps and showing me these clamps. I don't think I'll buy any other kind of parallel clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Clamps are like women. There are all different sizes, colors and brands. We all have our preferences to what we like. But we eventually settle on one that we like the most. Well some of us settle on one anyway, and some never seem to settle but contintue to try them all out. That's fine too. But i think there's one thing we'll all agree on. We just can't get along without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Clamps are like women. There are all different sizes, colors and brands. We all have our preferences to what we like. But we eventually settle on one that we like the most. Well some of us settle on one anyway, and some never seem to settle but contintue to try them all out. That's fine too. But i think there's one thing we'll all agree on. We just can't get along without them. I've seen guys who try to get along without them. It seems their hands and forearms are always exhausted. ... you know, from holding the work pieces together while the glue dries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Clamps are like women. There are all different sizes, colors and brands. We all have our preferences to what we like. But we eventually settle on one that we like the most. Well some of us settle on one anyway, and some never seem to settle but contintue to try them all out. That's fine too. But i think there's one thing we'll all agree on. We just can't get along without them. I think that you nailed that one right on the head there Timmy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattb Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I'll add in another vote for the Jorgensen's @ HD, I've had good success with mine without any complaints. Any good quality parallel clamp is going to cost money, so you'll definitely want to avoid the cheaper ones. Fine Woodworking did a good review of parallel clamps about a year ago and that's what I based my decision off of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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