Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike


I've got several of those and they work fine, a real bargain. The bars ARE as thick
as the Jorgensens, and the the bars have teeth ribbings to bite into, which the jorgs
don't have. The quality of the steel of the bar is probably a tad less, but still worth
it for the time it will take for them to warp, which I have seen with an extremely
old jorgy clamp of the same type. In fact, I will buy more when needed. I say:
"go for it"!

--
Alex - "newbie_neander" woodworker
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

In my experience, they work fine for what they're made to do. If you're
doing really heavy duty clamping, I'd go with pipe clamps, but for low to
medium duty, they've worked for me.

todd

(in
) said:

| Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
|
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976
|
| Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
| Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

I bought a batch of the 36" clamps a while back and like 'em. They
(the 36" clamps) periodically go on sale for about half of the price
of the 24" at that web page. If you aren't in a big hurry you can save
about half (or have twice as many clamps for the same money).

At about the same frequency, HF puts their 3/4" pipe clamps on sale
for even less and I like 'em well enough to have accumulated a bunch.
These I like even better than the Jorgensens.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike


My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You just
have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use them
for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?

--

-Mike-

The bars ARE as thick as the Jorgensens, and the the bars have teeth ribbings to
bite into, which the jorgs don't have.


Actually that is incorrect. I just made a comparison of both, the bars of the Jorgs do
have those ribbings but only on one edge, and each 'pit' between the teeth is not* as
deep as the HF ones.

Another difference is; the bars of the HF clamps have a gutter running the length of
each side, 1/4 inch wide by about 2 or 3/64 inch deep, pressed in or poured that way
I don't know. The Jorgs bar sides are flat and just a micro tad thicker.

--
Alex - "newbie_neander" woodworker
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/

Mike Marlow wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike



My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You just
have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use them
for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?


Mine work fine also, but you are the second person
to say they are for light weight work. I beg to
differ. If you clamp tighter than these can
provide, you will put a dent in the wood even if
you are using a pieces of wood to spread the
effect pressure. If you need more pressure you
are doing something wrong or bending wood. I use
pipe clamps but primarily for really long stuff or
because the the pipe clamps just easy the set up

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Mike Marlow wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike



My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You
just
have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use
them
for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?


Mine work fine also, but you are the second person
to say they are for light weight work. I beg to
differ. If you clamp tighter than these can
provide, you will put a dent in the wood even if
you are using a pieces of wood to spread the
effect pressure. If you need more pressure you
are doing something wrong or bending wood. I use
pipe clamps but primarily for really long stuff or
because the the pipe clamps just easy the set up

They will certainly dent wood - that wasn't what I meant by light work.
Actually what I had in mind when I posted that was the idea of a 36" bar
clamp being used to really pull a piece of wood where a pipe clamp would
likely be better. At that length and any serious amount of pulling, I'd
rather be using a pipe clamp than a bar clamp. If for no other reason, just
because of the flex you can get in a long bar clamp. I can also get a lot
more force behind my pipe clamps simply because of the crank mechanism as
opposed to the small handle on the bar clamp.

--

-Mike-

I bought several of varying lengths about 9 months ago and have used
them with good success. They have a slightly less "meat" in the metal
parts and the fits between parts are a tad sloppier than a couple of
Jorgy I've had for many years. But these nits don't affect
functionality at all. In addition, mine came with plastic jaw pads,
which the Jorgys didn't. The pads look like crackerjack junk, but so
far they have held up and unless you are really cranking down they do a
fine job of preventing surface marring.

"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
...

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Mike Marlow wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike



My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You
just
have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use
them
for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?


Mine work fine also, but you are the second person
to say they are for light weight work. I beg to
differ. If you clamp tighter than these can
provide, you will put a dent in the wood even if
you are using a pieces of wood to spread the
effect pressure. If you need more pressure you
are doing something wrong or bending wood. I use
pipe clamps but primarily for really long stuff or
because the the pipe clamps just easy the set up

They will certainly dent wood - that wasn't what I meant by light work.
Actually what I had in mind when I posted that was the idea of a 36" bar
clamp being used to really pull a piece of wood where a pipe clamp would
likely be better. At that length and any serious amount of pulling, I'd
rather be using a pipe clamp than a bar clamp. If for no other reason,
just
because of the flex you can get in a long bar clamp. I can also get a lot
more force behind my pipe clamps simply because of the crank mechanism as
opposed to the small handle on the bar clamp.

I have a bunch of them. They work and have held up fine. The handle is
small and it actually hurts to use them too much. Nothing is free.
I much prefer my one Bessey that I got when HD closed them out, but the
price difference is hard to justify.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...
Mike Marlow wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike



My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You
just
have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use
them
for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?


Mine work fine also, but you are the second person
to say they are for light weight work. I beg to
differ. If you clamp tighter than these can
provide, you will put a dent in the wood even if
you are using a pieces of wood to spread the
effect pressure. If you need more pressure you
are doing something wrong or bending wood. I use
pipe clamps but primarily for really long stuff or
because the the pipe clamps just easy the set up

I was thinking more along the lines, as Mike was, that especially for longer
clamps the bar clamps really flex which makes me uncomfortable. Plus, the
smaller contact area means that for situations where more clamping force is
needed you will need to use a block of wood to spread the force out.

todd

Mike Marlow wrote:
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message
...

Mike Marlow wrote:

wrote in message
egroups.com...


Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike



My son bought some of these and they work fine for what they are. You

just

have to remember that you're working with light weight clamps and use

them

for light weight clamping. But... then again, that's what light weight
clamps are for, right?


Mine work fine also, but you are the second person
to say they are for light weight work. I beg to
differ. If you clamp tighter than these can
provide, you will put a dent in the wood even if
you are using a pieces of wood to spread the
effect pressure. If you need more pressure you
are doing something wrong or bending wood. I use
pipe clamps but primarily for really long stuff or
because the the pipe clamps just easy the set up


They will certainly dent wood - that wasn't what I meant by light work.
Actually what I had in mind when I posted that was the idea of a 36" bar
clamp being used to really pull a piece of wood where a pipe clamp would
likely be better. At that length and any serious amount of pulling, I'd
rather be using a pipe clamp than a bar clamp. If for no other reason, just
because of the flex you can get in a long bar clamp. I can also get a lot
more force behind my pipe clamps simply because of the crank mechanism as
opposed to the small handle on the bar clamp.


I didn't mean that the clamp part would dent the
wood, I meant that even if you use pressure
distribution block that the wood at the actual
joint would be compressed. Easy enough to do with
a soft wood, more difficult but not impossible
with many hardwoods. I usually stop tightening a
pipe clamp when I could actually get another 1/2
turn on the crank of a pipe clamp and I'm pretty
weak. But I'm more concerned about smashing the
wood at the joint than not getting the joint
sufficiently tight. As a caveat, I'll say that I
don't glue any curves where the wood has to be bent.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

I've got 4 of these, and they're OK. I have had some issues with 'em - a
couple of 'em tend to slip under load, in certain places along the bar.
They're not perfect, but they were cheap. If I'm doing a big glueup, I tend
to use these last, relying on the Jorgensons and other various clamps first,
with these as the final "oops, forgot that bit over there" clamps.

"Tim and Steph" wrote in message
news:cO8uf.3588$i%4.2078@trndny08...

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

I've got 4 of these, and they're OK. I have had some issues with 'em - a
couple of 'em tend to slip under load, in certain places along the bar.
They're not perfect, but they were cheap. If I'm doing a big glueup, I
tend to use these last, relying on the Jorgensons and other various clamps
first, with these as the final "oops, forgot that bit over there" clamps.



I have a few, ut use them for light work only. I've found the same ones at "
Odd Lots" . Here's a link for a 10% off coupon. Someone sent this link to me
and, like he said, save the link and the coupons will be there.

Thanks for all the replies.

Mike


wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

Past 24" or so they bar will deflect downward, which will cause the
heads to leave any resemblence of 90 degrees. I tend to use them
inbetween pipe clamps or my cabinet master/Bessey's for the last bit.
Should probably be using cauls, but that is another item to be held
into place before you can start to clamp.

The 6" I have used extensively and NEVER had a slip. The 12" less
often and have noticed no deflection. Always pick them up when they
are on sale.

Alan

On 1 Jan 2006 18:47:44 -0800, wrote:

Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike


I've been using them for years and never had a problem...

Wait, if you can, for them to go on sale... they're 1/2 price often and that's
the time to stock up.. (6" clamp $1.99, etc.)

DON'T buy their cheaper ones that don't have the clutch... they're really,
really cheap and don't work well..
I have two of the 36" ones that I clamped on the rafters to hold other stuff...
only thing that I've found that they work at...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Sun, 1 Jan 2006 23:09:58 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:

They will certainly dent wood - that wasn't what I meant by light work.
Actually what I had in mind when I posted that was the idea of a 36" bar
clamp being used to really pull a piece of wood where a pipe clamp would
likely be better. At that length and any serious amount of pulling, I'd
rather be using a pipe clamp than a bar clamp. If for no other reason, just
because of the flex you can get in a long bar clamp. I can also get a lot
more force behind my pipe clamps simply because of the crank mechanism as
opposed to the small handle on the bar clamp.

you're right, Mike, but also talking apples and oranges...
Comparing HF bar clamps with pipe clamps is about as accurate as comparing
Jorgensen bar clamps to pipe clamps...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Mike wrote:

Thanks for all the replies.

Mike


wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).


One thing hasn't been mentioned. HF has two different bar clamp lines,
one marked Pittsburgh and the other not. Stick with the Pittsburgh
ones.

Similar thing on their 3/4" pipe clamps. The "heavy-duty" ones work
fine, the others are junk.

And as others have said, don't buy them till they're on half-price sale.
Happens about quarterly IIRC.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

I have many of them, of various lengths, and they work fine.

Make sure you buy them when they're 1/2 off, or you'll be kicking yourself.

Menard's also sells them, and when on sale (usually in the spring), are
cheaper than HF.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

Mike,
FWIW . . . there's an old saying among boatbuilders {& other woodworkers??}-
". . . you CAN'T have too many clamps !!

With clamps like these {and the wood-jawed clamps as well} it's a case of
'Form follows Function'. In cases like this it's a good bet that many of the
clamps you see at supply outlets as well as the 'Harbor Freight' types, are
made in the SAME factory in China.

Almost every time I see them on sale, I get a half-dozen or so {more in the
12" sizes for me, but I have them up to 50"}.

All I can say is, if they are of a size you generally use and the price is
GOOD - - BUY more than you *think* you'll use.

Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

Mike

Yes, every country has one factory were everything is made. Rest assured,
there is someone in Sweden saying "it all comes out of the same factory in
the US".
BTW, where is our factory?

"Ron Magen" wrote in message
news:8efuf.5791$uv.474@trnddc06...

In cases like this it's a good bet that many of the
clamps you see at supply outlets as well as the 'Harbor Freight' types,
are
made in the SAME factory in China.

"Ron Magen" wrote in message
news:8efuf.5791$uv.474@trnddc06...
Mike,
FWIW . . . there's an old saying among boatbuilders {& other
woodworkers??}-
". . . you CAN'T have too many clamps !!

With clamps like these {and the wood-jawed clamps as well} it's a case of
'Form follows Function'. In cases like this it's a good bet that many of
the
clamps you see at supply outlets as well as the 'Harbor Freight' types,
are
made in the SAME factory in China.

Almost every time I see them on sale, I get a half-dozen or so {more in
the
12" sizes for me, but I have them up to 50"}.

All I can say is, if they are of a size you generally use and the price is
GOOD - - BUY more than you *think* you'll use.



And for what it's worth, this Mike did exactly that today. Went down to the
Harbor Freight in Syracuse before Bob S could wake up and get moving about,
and bought all they had on the shelf - all four of them. 18" length, $2.99
each. Of course getting about before Bob S wakes up and starts moving does
not put an overly strenuous burden on a soul...

--

-Mike-

wrote...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

I like the HF 6" a lot for the price, and the 12" are not bad. Longer
than that and they are too bendy for my taste; for those sizes I go to
the Bessey's, up to 48". At 48" I use Jorgie I-bar clamps and over that,
3/4" pipe clamps.

Jim

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect that many, but now I know that
others use the HF clamps and they won't be a waste of my money.

I wound up buying two of the heavy-duty Jorgensen 18" clamps at Home Depot
today so that I can finish my workbench, but I'll be getting more clamps
from HF when they go on sale.

Mike

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 13:12:24 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, "AL"
quickly quoth:

I have many of them, of various lengths, and they work fine.

Make sure you buy them when they're 1/2 off, or you'll be kicking yourself.

Menard's also sells them, and when on sale (usually in the spring), are
cheaper than HF.

But are they guaranteed for life as the HF Pittsburgh brand are?

I'm a happy HF barclamp user, too.


--
REMEMBER: First you pillage, then you burn.
---
http://diversify.com NoteSHADES(tm) laptop privacy/glare guards

On Mon, 2 Jan 2006 14:09:02 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Jim
Wilson quickly quoth:

wrote...
Can I safely go cheap with these bar clamps from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

Or are they not worth it? Perhaps the bar isn't as thick as the
Jorgensen clamps I can get at Home Depot (for twice the price).

I like the HF 6" a lot for the price, and the 12" are not bad. Longer
than that and they are too bendy for my taste; for those sizes I go to
the Bessey's, up to 48". At 48" I use Jorgie I-bar clamps and over that,
3/4" pipe clamps.

Some day you'll learn that you -don't- need four to six TONS of
pressure to put two flat boards together. When that day comes, you'll
find the longer HF bar clamps work just fine, Jim.


--
REMEMBER: First you pillage, then you burn.
---
http://diversify.com NoteSHADES(tm) laptop privacy/glare guards

Mike wrote:

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect that many, but now I know that
others use the HF clamps and they won't be a waste of my money.

I wound up buying two of the heavy-duty Jorgensen 18" clamps at Home Depot
today so that I can finish my workbench, but I'll be getting more clamps
from HF when they go on sale.

Mike


I have lots of clamps bought from HF, WW shows, Big Lots, etc. The pair
that gave me the most trouble were a pair of Jorgenson's. I had to
resort to touching them (hard!) to the grinder to get them to open to
full width. Go figure.
gloom,
jo4hn
p.s. First nasty winter storm is still going on. Wind is howling, snow
and ice flying (maybe 4 inches on the ground). Anybody who watched the
Rose Parade will get an idea of the weather (then drop the temperature
to about 28 dF. Lotsa fun. Then too, I managed to provide a home for a
runny nose/cough/low grade fever virus which explains my grumpiness
(besides my normal curmudgeonlyness).
` peace,
jo4hn

Larry Jaques wrote...

Some day you'll learn that you -don't- need four to six TONS of
pressure to put two flat boards together. When that day comes, you'll
find the longer HF bar clamps work just fine, Jim.

C-less, the only time you *don't* need four to six tons of pressure is
when you're doing an edge glue-up. Wouldn't want to starve that joint,
eh? :-)

Now, lessee 2000 lbs in a ton, and 2000kg's in a tonne? Or is it...aw,
tahellwidit...

Jim

On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 23:40:35 GMT, "Mike" wrote:

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect that many, but now I know that
others use the HF clamps and they won't be a waste of my money.

I wound up buying two of the heavy-duty Jorgensen 18" clamps at Home Depot
today so that I can finish my workbench, but I'll be getting more clamps
from HF when they go on sale.

Mike

Mike.. if you shop online, go to the HF site, find the clamps and add them to
your wish list..

Check your wish list once in a while and look for anything that has the price in
RED, indicating that this is a sale price.. YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis wrote:
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 23:40:35 GMT, "Mike" wrote:


Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect that many, but now I know that
others use the HF clamps and they won't be a waste of my money.

I wound up buying two of the heavy-duty Jorgensen 18" clamps at Home Depot
today so that I can finish my workbench, but I'll be getting more clamps

from HF when they go on sale.

Mike


Mike.. if you shop online, go to the HF site, find the clamps and add them to
your wish list..

Check your wish list once in a while and look for anything that has the price in
RED, indicating that this is a sale price.. YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing
Hadn't thought of that, Mac. Thanks a bunch for the info. Does that
mean that you will buy me some of the stuff on my wish list? ;-)
mahalo,
jo4hn

On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 11:59:42 -0800, jo4hn wrote:

mac davis wrote:
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 23:40:35 GMT, "Mike" wrote:


Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect that many, but now I know that
others use the HF clamps and they won't be a waste of my money.

I wound up buying two of the heavy-duty Jorgensen 18" clamps at Home Depot
today so that I can finish my workbench, but I'll be getting more clamps

from HF when they go on sale.

Mike


Mike.. if you shop online, go to the HF site, find the clamps and add them to
your wish list..

Check your wish list once in a while and look for anything that has the price in
RED, indicating that this is a sale price.. YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing
Hadn't thought of that, Mac. Thanks a bunch for the info. Does that
mean that you will buy me some of the stuff on my wish list? ;-)
mahalo,
jo4hn

maybe, John....
Brings to mind something that they told us in the Army... "wish in one hand and
**** in the other.. determine which fills up first and drive on"




mac

Please remove splinters before emailing