A head's up

nailshooter41 · 2008-06-25T18:45:15+00:00

Clamps - never too manyI have a large sized Big Lots not too far from the house. I havefound them to be good resource of different things I need like clothdrop cloths, painter's tape, and occasionally some nice paintbrushes. It's rare, but they will have a lot of nice brushes once ortwice a year. (My old painter turned me on to BL for this stuff).So I am in there to get some roller covers (this BL usually has ShurLine) and some tape and I see clamps. Lots of clamps - nice clamps!They are Stanley "Bailey" branded (how's that for whoring out the lastounce of a good name?) clamps that are the deeper throated models.They call them the quick clutch F type clamps, and they have 24, 30,and 36 inch models for $10 each. Of course, the longer the clamp theybetter the buy is - they are all $10, no matter the size. They alsohad a huge jawed 30" clamps that have a 1 1/4" X 1/4" bar on it thatlooks like you could use it for a pry bar at the same price.They had some other lighter style of clamps which I happen to like,too. Marked Stanley Bailey as well, bought some nice 36" clamps whereboth the head and the foot slide on a smooth bar by squeezing the twoclips to release to rough adjustment, then the handscrew tightens tofinish. Don't know what this style of clamp is called, but it islighter weight and damn handy. I have some really cheap Rocklerclamps that are starting to come apart, and this second style willfill the bill nicely in replacing them.I can't afford all the Bessey clamps I want, no matter what the saleis. So I have a few Besseys that I use to orient and start myclamping for glue ups. These are perfect for the rest of the clampsthat go on the work piece to secure it.All those BL Stanley clamps all seem like nice clamps , and for thesizes it's a great buy.Never enough clamps.Robert

A head's up

Jun 25, 2008 22 Replies

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Phisherman 18 years ago

Clamps Made in China is not worth having (I know and have a few). Made in USA or Germany is very good. Life is too short for cheap clamps.

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Peter Bogiatzidis 18 years ago

Hello,

FWIW, I could be mistaken, but I believe that I've seen David Marks use cork to pad his clamps. They should be soft enough to not mar the surface of the object being clamped while not being slippery. If they wear out, they're easily replaced.

This is similar to the furniture pads that blueman suggested using and are probably found in the same store aisle.

Hope this helps.

Peter.

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blueman 18 years ago

Your welcome -- it's not always I can give something back to this group of helpful experts...

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