GREEN k-bodies?

Andy,

The Woodcraft parallel clamps were manufactured on contract by a third party (Groz of India) to Bessey's specifications. These clamps are designed and manufactured to Bessey's standards to be a price point alternative to the regular K-Body manufactured by Bessey Tools in Germany. I have personally used these clamps on several occasions since we first received the initial prototypes and I have to say that I truly believe they are of a quality that far exceeds the price. That being said if you want the absolute best parallel jaw clamp on the maket then I would suggest that they buy the original K-Body. If on the other hand you are a cost conscience customer that maybe has a budget that they must work within then I believe the Woodcraft by Bessey parallel clamps offer exceptional value.

Good luck on your decision and with all of your woodworking projects to come.

(PS: what's wrong with looking like Santa's workshop ??)

PTC

Andy wrote:

PTC, Thanks for the clarification and further info. I have to say I'm impressed with a company that watches newsgroups to keep up with potential customers (even if it's just the fact than an employee is interested enough in the topic to follow up on his/her own). I'm going to be traveling past a Woodcraft store in a few weeks, so I'll try to convince LOML that we need to stop for a few minutes... Looking forward to checking out the green clamps in person, Andy

This page shows a "direct compare" to the red ones... One can only assume that it's the same clamps.

Andy wrote:

It will be interesting to see if Bessey continues to have their once or twice yearly discount sale on their clamps and at what price?

If you want the best parallel jaw clamp on the market, you might want to look at the Jet clamps...

Don't know, but I bought some small imitation Bessey clamps at Woodcraft and returned them. They were well priced, but didn't hold at all. I won't be among the first to try these new ones.

I might be wrong, but the handles look different that Bessy K body handles. It appears from photos that there's more than just a color change.

Dave

Based on a prior e-mail...it is safe to say that they are NOT the exact copy of the red models.

Somebody posted a full explanati>

The handles appear to be plastic and hollow as opposed to wood. This might result in your hand slipping when tightening down. I do not personally think the handles would be as comfortable to use and the original.

I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.

The catalog is B&W, so I can't tell the color.

They have three of them, 12", 24" and 36"

I'm not sure if they are Bessey clones.

I saw some at a HF store, they just had the 12" version. They were red, looked like they could be good clamps. IIRC they were Pittsburg branded. But since the asking price was $30, I didn't purchase any. Maybe if they have them for 50% off, I'll go for it.

Do these look like what you saw?

-- Tom from Bessey

Tried one yesterday in the local woodcraft, they were a bugger to slide AND you had to have the handle rotated to just the right location to get them to be able to slide. AND the screw mechanism was anything but smooth on the 24" I was playing with.

$26.00 was the price. I do like the inovative features they have though, and once you go the handle adjusted the release lever to allow quick sliding was quite nice.

Personal favorite is still the cabinet masters.

Alan

Wow, the problem is that why would you pay $30 for a HF clamp when you can get a Bessey on sale in the $22-30 range easily.. Heck, isn't full price on a Bessy $34 or $35?

If the HF ones were $10, I might take a chance, but they've burned me too many times.

I have a number of HF clamps, but don't use them unless I have to. They are well priced and not TOO bad, but I don't like them. I don't think I would buy HF parallel clamps for any price; storage space to just too dear for crap.

Now... I also bought some Homier clamps, and they disintegrated the first time I used them; the HF ones are just not good, which is an great deal lot better.

Thanks for the feedback. I bought about a dozen of the HF "F" clamps, but I too seldom use them. You make a good point.. having a gadget that just takes up space is a cost as well.

I intended my statement to be more hypothetical.. If I really needed some parallel clamps, and price was a big issue, HF would have to be $10 for me to even consider.. But you made the right call. Not worth it at any price, since they are just junk that takes up room. Certainly not worth it at only $4 savings of a full price Bessey (and when HF is more than a Bessey on sale).

Haven't bought anything from HF in about 3-4 years now. My blood pressure is considerably lower. LOL