Woodpeckers has a sale on Bessey K Body Revo Clamps.
Approximately 30% off pairs.
At a recent WW show I was advised by a Bessey rep that the Revo has been redesigned and or upgraded. I could see no difference that I recall. They said the bar was stronger/heavier.
This may be an inventory clearance sale to make room for the new style clamps.
And FWIW I would choose Jorgensen Cabine tMaster clamps and Jet clamps, in this order, over the Bessey clamps. I have several of each and the Besseys are the ones I use when I have no other choice. Just saying.
Looks like the Amazon prices for the Cabinet Masters beat the WP sale prices on the
18" and 24" Besseys. The CM 36" is cheaper than the Bessey 31".
However, I have a question:
The CM has a 48" while the Bessey is 50". (I have a couple of Bessy 50"). Assuming you have both, does that 2" difference ever force you to use the Besseys? (I'm thinking about plywood being 48" and needing that extra 2" for ease of set up or maybe allow for your double face frames, etc.)
My local Lowe's stocks the CM's too. BUT for the Bessey brand the Woodpeckers pricing is pretty good. If you are a die hard Bessey fan.
So I got the CM's several years before trying the Besseys and Jets.
My longest CM's are 49" between jaws with the movable foot at the end. My Besseys are 41" for the same measurement. And I have shorter CM's and shorter Bessey's.
When I need longer I have some 72" aluminum made by Universal Clamp company. They are the ones that have the slots cut in the bar for the sliding end.
I almost always use my shorter CM's 30 something inches. to begin. My cabinets are never over 24" deep so gluing FF's onto the front and back of the carcass is not a problem.
Sometimes I use the longer clamps on a wide FF to glue the rails and stiles together.
So to explain my preference of the CM over the Bessey, the Bessey's do not slide up and down the bar smoothly. When I am in a hurry to open a clamp I don't want to be futzing with the sliding head. Also the CM's handle has a greater range of pivot compared to the Bessey. IMHO it is easier to unlock and keep unlocked the sliding head as I open it from one end to the other. I store the clamps withe the sliding heads clamped shut to the fixed end. The CM's have a longer screw travel. Once in place I can easily have enough screw travel to tighten the sliding head. The Bessey has to be just right for the sliding head to not run out of travel when tightening the handle. So actually using the CM's, for me, is a faster process from opening them to clamping them tight. And last and perhaps why the CM's work more freely, they seem to be just a bit looser fitting so that parts don't bind, like on the Besseys.
You've explained your issues with the Bessey's before and I have agreed with you 100%. ;-)
In fact, the 50" Bessey's were the first parallel clamps I ever bought and the
2 issues you mentioned were noticed on my first use. I was going to post a question about how hard it was to move the head but never did. Then sometime later you brought it up, so I knew it wasn't just my pair. Even to this day I feel like I am damaging the grooves as the head chatters along the rail.
I'm pretty sure that I see *all* of your posts. And lots of times I learn something.
Exactly. Makes me cringe every time. I'm always imagining the day when I'll move the head and it'll just slide along a smooth metal rail. No grooves left. :-0
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