For $100 plus shipping and handling (volume discounts available), I'll sell you a copy of my newest invention: ClampStop (tm). It's a large aluminum brake that attaches to the bar of the clamp, and inductively senses when a finger is interposed between the clamping surfaces, or between the clamp and the roll pin. In instants (less than 50 milliseconds) the brake clamps down on the bar and stops the clamp from sliding. The ClampStop (tm) adds about twelve pounds to the weight of the bar clamp and a small measure of inconvenience, which is fully offset by the safety provided by the system. Unfortunately the brake damages the bar, making it further unusable, and the brake itself is destroyed in the process. Replacement brakes are $100, and can ordinarily be shipped within two weeks. Due to a special purchase, I can also supply you with replacement Irwin bar clamps in any size for prices between $150 and $200 each depending on bar length, fully upgraded with ClampStops (tm).
Take advantage of this offer now, and avoid the heartbreak of finger pinches forever!
Tom ClampStop (tm)
I started to OT but it ain't.
Even the most innocent tools in our shops are lurking, waiting to hurt is. Like my Irwin bar clamps.
Today I was removing clamps from a cabinet frame. I am not sure how I managed this but I was holding one 4' bar by the movable head with most of the bar pointing up. I was removing a second clamp with the other hand with the intent of putting both in my rack. Apparently I squeezed the trigger on the head and the full length of the bar slid through the head smashing my pinky finger between the head the the the roll pin at the end of the bar. That HURT!
But it hurts a LOT more now and the entire end of the finger is now purple which suggests a fracture - the second for this pinky.
Guys - Be careful out there!
RonB