Anyone know how or if Irwin Quick Grip clamps can be adjusted or restored to fix them from slipping when pulling the handle/trigger to tighten the clamp?
I've got quite a few and they are becoming very frustrating. I know they have a life time warranty and I have already taken 3 or 4 back for exchange, but this is getting old fast, I'm about to pitch em in the trash.
I read an advertisement about Jorgensens similar clamp saying they have 40% more gripping power and that they don't slip. Anyone have any experience with the Jorgensen quick clamps?
The Irwin's have a lifetime warranty? Didn't know that, I have a small quick grip that's all but useless now because of the same slipping problem. I haven't figured out a way to fix it yet though but it's nice to know that I can get them replaced under warranty...
Yeah the warranty is on the plastic price thingy they attach to the clamps. Hope you saved your receipts, the home centers get pissy when you don't have one. I save em all.
Still wish someone could come up with some way to fix the infernal contraptions!
I asked Irwin on their web site customer service response page if there was anything that could be done to restore the workability of the clamps.....gee.....they never answered.
I have several Irwin Quick-grips. The shorter ones work better, and last much longer. For longer clamps I prefer Jorgenson "Pony" intermediate bar clamps. You have to twist the handles to tighten, but they have the clutch design that makes them fast to adjust to near tight. The quick-grips 24" and over are a waste of money for anyone who actually needs clamping power on a daily basis. I can only figure that the bar flexes just enough to defeat the clutch mechanism when under load.
Tom in KY, been through a buncha' tools in the last 25 years.
Well, speak of the devil, Irwiin answered my email today, maybe they watch the newsgroups and saw my compaint about the clamps and them not replying to me. Anyway, according to Irwin there is no way to adjust Quick Grips to improve the clamping action. Here is their reply:
Mr. Stewart,
Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the gripping mechanism. Please return any defectives to the place of purchase. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Ken Glardon
I do realize that standard screw type clamps are going to clamp more tightly but the idea of a one handed clamp still interests me to try another brand.
So its off to Home Depot to get my money back. I'm going to try the Jorgensen brand of quick clamps, they have them on Amazon and they are a little cheaper than Irwin's Quick Grips at home Depot locally. They don't have many reviews on Amazon for the Jorgensen brand but the few that have reviewed them gave them 4 and 5 stars.
I will post again in a few weeks when I've had time to get a refund and get some Jorgensen brand shipped here. If these have similar problems I suppose it's time to give up on one handed clamps until somebody makes one right.
I was just reading an article about clamps related to gluing. Seems the quick-grip type max out at < 100# clamp pressure and glue folk recommend about 250#. FWIW
Paul... not really applying to Irwin, but I feel better about my cheap knock offs from Harbor freight... I've noticed that with a few months use (ok, and abuse) that they don't grip as tight... I don't know if I should be glad that the HF ones are typical or upset that a company like Irwin can't make a better clamp..
BTW: do you ever use them for spreading? I thought that would be a cool feature when I ordered the clamps but have never had a project that required spreading...
I steered away from the Irwins because I have a friend in the boat industry that bought about 10 of them to try, and he had a failure rate of about 60% after using them for about two weeks. He took all the defective ones back, only to have a repeat performance. The guys where he bought them told him they were having a lot of problems with them, and they were going to quit handling them altogether.
I bought some at Sears that were just like the old yellow clamps I bought years ago (maker unknown) and use them hard all the time. I use them to clamp down my miter saw on the job, for a quick clamp before nailing, to let the glue set on a repaired door, to force cabinet stiles together, etc. Constant use, no problems.
YMMV, but when they are on sale at Sears they are very reasonable.
I've got a pair of the 12" Irwins, and one of them started doing the same thing(if I understand correctly, when you squeeze the handle to tighten the clamp it slips). I figured out how to get the handle apart and reversed the metal piece/pieces that actually grip the bar to tighten the clamp. I'm not sure if I had to remove the pin and take the assembly off the bar or not, but probably. Clamp works fine now.
Well at least I'm not alone Mac, I did actually use mine once to spread apart a dovetailed box I had to beat together, duh me, but anyway, the ones I used that day were not slipping and they worked decent for spreading. All in all I'm very disappointed in Irwin for these clamps, I have other products by Irwin I do like, but these are too problematic to be useful.
for sure, Paul.. over the years I've used their bar and pipe clamps and they've been fine... Maybe they should risk sales volume and make the quick grip a "light duty" clamp? It seems like the sales lost from the name/duty change would be less that the cost of replacing or repairing the slipping ones..
Followed D. Crow's advice and took one apart today. It's pretty easy.
Remove the pin at the end of the bar. It's a roll pin and if you grip it with a pair of pliers and twist it so the roll tightens, you can pull it out while twisting.
Pull the handle off the end of the bar.
Snap a side cover off. It's a press fit with plastic pins and comes straight out with minimal prying (like a finger nail).
What I call the "action bar" is held in place by a mid-size coil spring. It's the metal thingy that the main clamp bar goes through. You can use pliers or your fingers to squeeze the spring together a bit and the action bar just comes out. Note which side of the action bar faces aft, away from the squeeze grip when you pull it. You might even want to mark it (scratch the darn thing on the rear side).
If you look closelt at the rectangular notch in the action bar you'll see that the bottom and top of the rectanglar notch are actually rounded to fit the clamp bar, sorta like the ends of a router-cut mortise. They also appear to be slightly angled towards the "front" (where the squeeze grip is). I cleaned up the inside of these rounded edges with a round needle file, trying to leave a sharp adge at the forward face of the actio bar. Before reinserting the action bar, I stretched the coil spring a bit.
Re-assembly is the reverse except you can tap the roll pin back in over a partially opened vise or a pin anvil.
My clamp seems to work now, doesn't slip. For how long? We'll see.
I got my money back from Home Depot for the Irwin Quick Grips, 6 of them anyway. I went to Amazon and ordered 6 Jorgensen ISD bar clamps.
Night and day, the Jorgensen's I can squeeze the handle till I'm blue in the face and they don't slip. You take the sides off the Jorgensens and you see
2 springs vs the one spring in the Irwin Quick Grips, gauge of the springs? The springs in the Jorgensen's are polished and must be at least 4 gauges thicker. Clamp leaves inside; the Irwin Quick Grips have 2, Jorgensen ISDs have 4.
The jaw stays put when you move it too, even when not tightened. This is nice for coarse adjustments where you can get it close to the opening you need but just a pinch larger, then use both hands to assemble or line something up, then grab the ISD clamp with one hand and the open jaw doesn't slide all over the place like it would on the Irwin's.
First impression, Jorgensen ISDs are at least 10 times better.
Recommendation; if you have Irwin Quick Grips, take them back for a refund/store credit, re-gift them to a brother-in-law you don't like, whatever it takes to get rid of them and then go online (Amazon has em) or someplace you know of that carries the Jorgensen ISD clamps and buy them. You will be glad you did.
Hi Paul, having the same problm I solve it by opening the case by unscrewing it, insert a 2 mm steele suplemente between the anterior pin and the levers(three anterior), the angle of them will be increased, remove the inferior spring and elongate it or if posible change it for a stronger and longer spring wich can hold the angle, if you want more gripping power, dissasamble completely and reverse those three levers so the gripping border present a new one, but I will recomend that do initialy the simplest two steps and give it a try. The steele supplement should have a size that avoid its displacement inside the case.
Maybe you should patent your modified design and manufacture your own "Rafael Quick Grip" clamps. .... Or you are welcome (Thank you!) to call them "Sonny Quick Grip" clamps.
I'm embarrassed to say, my quick-grip (Irwin) now works beautifully after wiping the bars with soap and water. Thanks to J. Clarke for the tip. Always try the easy fix first.
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