A frugal buddy and I attended the SF Bay Area Wood Working Show this past Friday. He's in the market for some K-Body type clamps and was considering the WoodCraft green "Bessy" clamps. He stopped by the Bessy booth and asked why they are making a cheaper version of their clamps for WoodCraft. "We aren't." was the answer.
So are the WoodCraft green "Bessy Type Clamps" actually made by Bessy?
charlie b
The jet clamps look a lot like the besseys also. I bet their patent ran out.
brian
According to the Woodcraft web page, yes. What makes your frugal buddy think they are cheaper? Well, maybe they sell for less money, but that does not mean they are constructed with less integrity, quality, or anything aside from the green instead of red color.
If it is the same clamp at a lower selling price, the Bessy rep was correct.
...
Well, if you read the Woodcraft article carefully, it doesn't actually say they are made by Bessy, only that they (WC) "had the opportunity to work with Bessey to develop a Woodcraft line of parallel clamps." It goes on to point out they aren't the same as the K-Body so one would presume they bought a design or engineering services from Bessy and are _probably_ having them made for them. What is confusing is the Bessy logo used as it is. See
Whatever the answer is, they aren't K-bodies, but a parallel jaw clamp of differing design details. Does appear from the words they aren't a product of patent-avoidance, though, as that wouldn't lend to the use of Bessy at all in the marketing...
wow, I didn't see the bessy logo in the print catalog, but there it is on the website. I must have missed it. So what's up with the jet clamps?
brian
True, as far as I can tell. This issue has been addressed in the past
- see
This was explained a couple months ago here....
Some company in India is actually making the clamps for Woodcraft using a license agreement from Bessey. I finally found the original messge that describes the situation: (I reorged the message to look better)
*************************************************************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
charlie b wrote:
But on the Woodcraft web site's page listing the clamps specifically states "Manufactured Exclusively for Woodcraft by Bessey Tools!". See:
Recently some far-eastern imports have become available. Did the ones you saw have aluminum handles? Honestly I'm surprised it's taken so long.
now for
The "Green Ones" look like the Bessys - from a distance. If you look closer you notice
- the metal of the movable jaw are pretty porous castings and sand blasted.
- the threads are \ \ \ not like \ / the Bessy | / or Gross Stabile / /
I think the Bessy threads are called "acme thread" - much stronger, which is why they're used on bench vises
I'm betting this is another example of you get what you pay for. Looks similar enough - how it WORKS is another question.
charlie b
At this point Jack, I have no idea... The India explaination actually sounds right and based on what I saw at the Woodcraft, I would suspect somebody from that part of the world was making those green critters.
They DO NOT look like a real Bessey(I have over 40) after a closer > But on the Woodcraft web site's page listing the clamps specifically
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.