"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
On Feb 1, 2:40 pm, Jay Pique wrote:
On Feb 1, 11:27 am, "Leon" wrote:



Anybody have an opinion on Irwin Parallel Clamps? They 'look' like
they should be okay....


I have heard nothing about them. I do own 3 brands of parallel clamps
however. Originally I started off with Jorgensen Cabinetmasters when they
were first introduced. The early ones were constructed out of aluminum in
the screw clamp head. I found a deal for about $17 each and stocked up.
They have had problems with the aluminum breaking but have all been replaced
at no charge with the newer iron versions. I like them a lot.

I have a pair of Jet parallel clamps and they are loaded with features but
are not quite as smooth to operate as the Cabinetmasters.

I have used Bessey's in the past and IMHO they were OK. I preferred my
Cabinetmasters smoother action, larger clamping surface and larger handles.

My latest additions are a pair of the new Bessey Revo clamps. These clamps
are cool. They now have many of the same features of the Cabinetmasters and
they seem to operate more smoothly. I am still not impressed with the foot
on the end of the clamp that enables you to adjust the clamp with out
lifting the clamp from the work surface. It is still stationary and only
works on the end of the clamp bar, the Cabinetmaster and Jet feet are
adjustable to fit anywhere along the bar. This is good if the clamp is
longer than the work surface.


Something to consider when changing brands, is the height of the steel bar.
If you use a mix of brands to clamp together several boards to form a panel
you need to pay attention to the location of the clamps. The steel bars on
the Bessey clamps is about 1/8"-1/4" taller than the "equal in height" Jet
and Cabinetmaster clamps. I would presume that the reason that Bessey did
not change the height of their bars while pretty much changing everything
else is so that they would match the height of the older style Bessey
clamps. Can't say I blame them for that.