Harbor Freight Bar Clamp #60539 Review

I'm not sure what you're talking about. The above doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Just so it's clear what I'm talking about, here's a picture of the issue.

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The end jaw doesn't even *start out* at 90degrees to the bar with no pressure at all. With pressure applied, it gets worse. This is completely unacceptable and in my mind renders the product defective as to its sole purpose.

Been down that road and haven't looked back. Have fun. I'd rather spend my time making stuff than having to modify tools or techniques involved in using them just to get them to do their most basic intended functions.

Reply to
-MIKE-
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Ah yes, that satisfying *snap* as the internal mechanism lets go and the handle loses all tension. BTDT

Reply to
DerbyDad03

If you are getting the clamps whose model number is in my subject line for $5, then you have better HF coupons than the rest of us. Please send me a couple of those coups.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

And those that comment on the reviewers may never have used them.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

It might make more sense if you were talking about quick release clamps like this...

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It really doesn't matter if the jaw is at 90 degrees or not as long as you can set the clamp so that the area applying the pressure is where you want it.

No special technique or tool modification needed.

Reply to
dadiOH

Yessireee... that is the very POS I was talking about. I use a lot of sque eze clamps as I work by myself a lot. I thought I was being smart as they had them for $2.99 or something like that so I bought about 5. Having brok en a squeeze clamp, I was able to look into the mechanism of those things. I don't know how they screwed those us so completely, but they sure did.

They weren't worth the time it took to throw them away - ALL of them failed in a week or so.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

It might make more sense if you read the subject line and look at that clamp.

Wow. I don't even know how to reply to that with anything other than laughter. Just never mind. You go ahead and use them and enjoy.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Not sure what a "quick release" clamp is (that's what the HF bar clamps do when the casting breaks ;-) but the HF clamps like the Irwin Quick Clamps aren't worth spit, either. It's not that they're light duty. They wouldn't work as paper clips.

Bessey K-Body clamps are pretty good. Even my Irwin Heaavy Duty Quick Clamps are a *lot* better. In fact the Irwins are the go-to setup clamps.

I once thought so. If they were worth the shipping, I'd send the lot to you. I'l never use them again.

Reply to
krw

We, it always helps if everyone in a conversation is talking about the same thing. I have a bunch of the above, too. They're OK for really small stuff. Keeping the jaws parallel isn't a big deal with this sort of clamp. The jaw is so small, it doesn't matter much.

I thought you were talking about Mike's bar clamp, as well. Or perhaps these:

Both suck eggs.

Right. Different clamps. Different issues.

Reply to
krw

On 1/17/2018 7:46 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote: > They suck. >

I have had plastic quick clamps fail to do what I would like from most Mfgs. HF #46806 type. I just do not buy them anymore. I've got one old Irwin that has not totally failed yet, but it does have a lower clamping force than I would like. Various others in various sizes have all slowly gone into the round file over the years.

#60539 is an aluminum "close?" bar clamp with similar grip range to the old pipe mounted clamps we use to buy. I would shy away from it because its aluminum and from Harbor Freight. Aluminum can be quite strong. Some alloys (7075 for example) can be stronger than some steels. The problem is its probably not 7075.

Now the little old style bar clamps like the #62239 seem to be ok. They are a pretty light bar, but they are no worse than any other clamp with such a light duty steel bar. I've never actually had one of them slip, although the lock on similar Irwin clamps has slipped on me. I threw three of them away all at once one day. I have about 20 of those little #62239 clamps and I use them with far more clamping force than they are design for to hold injection molds closed when I am injecting.

I have a few Jorgensen clamps, and a bunch of bar clamps from various MFGs. I have several bar clamps from harbor freight with the heavier steel bar as well. (I don't see those on the website. Maybe they don't sell them anymore.) They work fine. I've learned if I take my time and lay out my work on a nice clear bench or table it doesn't take long at all to get everything clamped up. Often it takes half a day to clear a bench and only half an hour to finish a glue up. LOL.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

not one of the better reviews not in the pros versus cons sense but just creativity

there are some very funny reviews on hf

my all time favorite was a reviewer lamenting

they asked rhetorically why they continued to buy tool shaped objects from hf

Reply to
Electric Comet

but the most accurate i've read in a long time and not one word i disagree with

Reply to
krw

I hate to say this, but if your joints were made better, you would not need so much force. If you have to jam them together, something is wrong with the joint.

I always heard the rule of thumb for a mortise and tenon was that they should fit so that you could knock them together with your hat.

Reply to
Dr. Deb

In a perfect world, maybe you can find perfect wood along side perfect people.

Reply to
krw

Yep, took those apart, they didn't have enough plastic in the bosses, so they cocked to the side and were done. A very simple fix on their part,useless as they are.

Reply to
woodchucker

Too bad. I bought their quick release C clamp a few years ago. And it has lasted well. Same as the bessey. I recently bought one for my son for Christmas, I did have to work on it, to clean up the burrs on the half nut.. But it's now a very useable clamp. It all depends on what you need. Some tools are not worth it. Some are the same as others. Years ago, I picked up a couple of gear head clamps.. they are my best clamps of that ilk . I think Jorgensen sued them, so they stopped carrying them.

Then Jorgensen went out of business. Now restarting up again. They are great.

Reply to
woodchucker

This is true but if you are gluing up a table top that is 5~8' long it is difficult to get a perfectly straight edge. Not even plywood has straight edges these days. Not unusual for a board to be straight this morning and bowed a bit this afternoon, depending on the humidity.

Reply to
Leon

I subscribe to that philosophy as well. Doesn't mean those HF aluminum bar clamps aren't $h!tty. :-)

Reply to
-MIKE-

Or they bow after planing. You can't keep going back to the jointer or table saw to correct every little warp. Sometimes, you wouldn't have any board left.

In any case, or in the case of perfectly straight and flat boards for a panel glue-up, what good is a clamp like this....

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Even if you're only clamping two boards to make a panel, this thing will act to push the board up. I've done plenty of 2 and 3 board glue-ups with parallel clamps where I didn't need to hold the middle of the boards down so they didn't pop up. Once I get past 3 it's usually necessary with any clamp, no matter the quality.

But a clamp with a jaw that skewed is scrap metal, IMO.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Hopefully you were not checking that clamp with a Harbor Freight square. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

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