Rockler sure foot aluminum bar clamps

[Carol]

Has anyone used the Rockler sure foot aluminum bar clamps? How do they compare with Bessey clamps? Do the clamp heads stay parallel to each other and 90 degrees to the clamp rail? How powerful are they? For example, I'm making a 36" wide butcher block type table top with 17 2" pieces. Do they have enought power to handle somethng like that? I know that in general, you get what you pay for, but I've had some good luck with other Rockler products and just wondered how good these clamps are.

Thanks for any feedback, Carol

[mp]

You must have a pretty good woodstretcher. Last time I tried to make a 36" block I had to use eighteen 2" pieces.

[Leon]

The biggest problem with these clamps or any "Aluminum" bar clamp compared to any other "Steel" bar clamp is that they bend under light/moderate clamping pressure. Your clamp heads become unparallel to each other. The longer the bar the more of a problem that bending becomes. I have had many glue ups pop out of the Aluminum bar clamps and never have with Steel bar clamps.

The plus side is that they do not rust and are light weight. I favor the Steel bar clamps offered by Bessy and Jorgensen.

[Seeker]

My exact words!

[Mo' Sawdust]

Unless one allows for heavy glue lines, then 17 is enough. ;-)

[TeamCasa]

Carol, My neighbor has them. He thinks there OK. However, when he has a big glue-up, he borrows my Bessys. I think they will work fine if you use cauls and the boards don't require to much effort to straighten.

Dave

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[Subw00er]

I bought four of these recently. They are not as heavy duty as maybe a more expensive Bessey (havent used, just assuming, but they are very light and work well. For the cost, I think they are worth it and I'm pretty picky about my tools. I used them to join 4 3/4" oak boards and it worked as expected!