Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Woodcraft parallel-jaw
clamps (made by Bessey)? Are they really just green k-body clamps, or
is there a reason they're cheaper than the red ones? The plastic
handle and slightly rounded top jaw are the only differences I can see
in the photos - unfortunately, I don't have a Woodcraft nearby to go
check them out in person.
My first reaction upon seeing them in the flyer: I've occasionally seen
k-bodies on sale cheaper than that, but if THESE go on sale, it'd be a
real deal. However, it would make my clamp rack look like Santa's
Workshop.
Thanks,
Andy

Andy,

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

Andy wrote:
Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Woodcraft parallel-jaw
clamps (made by Bessey)? Are they really just green k-body clamps, or
is there a reason they're cheaper than the red ones? The plastic
handle and slightly rounded top jaw are the only differences I can see
in the photos - unfortunately, I don't have a Woodcraft nearby to go
check them out in person.
My first reaction upon seeing them in the flyer: I've occasionally seen
k-bodies on sale cheaper than that, but if THESE go on sale, it'd be a
real deal. However, it would make my clamp rack look like Santa's
Workshop.
Thanks,
Andy

PTC wrote:
Andy,

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.


PTC,
Thanks for the clarification and further info. I have to say I'm
impressed with a company that watches newsgroups to keep up with
potential customers (even if it's just the fact than an employee is
interested enough in the topic to follow up on his/her own). I'm going
to be traveling past a Woodcraft store in a few weeks, so I'll try to
convince LOML that we need to stop for a few minutes... Looking
forward to checking out the green clamps in person,
Andy

This page shows a "direct compare" to the red ones... One
can only assume that it's the same clamps.

http://www.woodcraft.com//family.asp...ePageDeal=True

They sure "look" the same.

Andy wrote:

Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Woodcraft parallel-jaw
clamps (made by Bessey)? Are they really just green k-body clamps, or
is there a reason they're cheaper than the red ones? The plastic
handle and slightly rounded top jaw are the only differences I can see
in the photos - unfortunately, I don't have a Woodcraft nearby to go
check them out in person.
My first reaction upon seeing them in the flyer: I've occasionally seen
k-bodies on sale cheaper than that, but if THESE go on sale, it'd be a
real deal. However, it would make my clamp rack look like Santa's
Workshop.
Thanks,
Andy

"Pat Barber" wrote in message
This page shows a "direct compare" to the red ones... One
can only assume that it's the same clamps.

http://www.woodcraft.com//family.asp...ePageDeal=True

They sure "look" the same.

It will be interesting to see if Bessey continues to have their once or
twice yearly discount sale on their clamps and at what price?

On 3 Oct 2006 09:42:30 -0700, "PTC"
wrote:

Andy,

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 you want the best parallel jaw clamp on the market, you might want
to look at the Jet clamps...

URL:http://www.amazon.com/Jet-70411-Parallel-Clamp-Set/dp/B000F79022/sr=1-1/qid=1159903784/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1649942-5707147?ie=UTF8&s=hi

"Andy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Woodcraft parallel-jaw
clamps (made by Bessey)?

Don't know, but I bought some small imitation Bessey clamps at Woodcraft and
returned them. They were well priced, but didn't hold at all.
I won't be among the first to try these new ones.

I might be wrong, but the handles look different that Bessy K body
handles. It appears from photos that there's more than just a color change.

Dave

Based on a prior e-mail...it is safe to say that they
are NOT the exact copy of the red models.

Somebody posted a full explanation of the India built
models for Woodcraft using the Bessey design.

David wrote:


I might be wrong, but the handles look different that Bessy K body
handles. It appears from photos that there's more than just a color
change.

Dave

"Andy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Woodcraft parallel-jaw
clamps (made by Bessey)? Are they really just green k-body clamps, or
is there a reason they're cheaper than the red ones? The plastic
handle and slightly rounded top jaw are the only differences I can see
in the photos - unfortunately, I don't have a Woodcraft nearby to go
check them out in person.
My first reaction upon seeing them in the flyer: I've occasionally seen
k-bodies on sale cheaper than that, but if THESE go on sale, it'd be a
real deal. However, it would make my clamp rack look like Santa's
Workshop.
Thanks,
Andy



The handles appear to be plastic and hollow as opposed to wood. This
might result in your hand slipping when tightening down. I do not
personally think the handles would be as comfortable to use and the
original.

Pat Barber writes:

Based on a prior e-mail...it is safe to say that they
are NOT the exact copy of the red models.

I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight
and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.

The catalog is B&W, so I can't tell the color.

They have three of them, 12", 24" and 36"

http://da.harborfreight.com/cpisearc...lamp&Submit=Go

But there are no pictures on the web page yet.

I'm not sure if they are Bessey clones.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

But they're not. Do a little research.
"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
This page shows a "direct compare" to the red ones... One
can only assume that it's the same clamps.

[...snip...]
I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight
and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.

The catalog is B&W, so I can't tell the color.

[...snip...]

I saw some at a HF store, they just had the 12" version. They were
red, looked like they could be good clamps. IIRC they were Pittsburg
branded. But since the asking price was $30, I didn't purchase any.
Maybe if they have them for 50% off, I'll go for it.

"Jim Weisgram" wrote in message
...
[...snip...]
I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight
and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.

The catalog is B&W, so I can't tell the color.

[...snip...]

I saw some at a HF store, they just had the 12" version. They were
red, looked like they could be good clamps. IIRC they were Pittsburg
branded. But since the asking price was $30, I didn't purchase any.
Maybe if they have them for 50% off, I'll go for it.

Do these look like what you saw?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93876

No, they are not just green K-Bodys. They are made for Bessey.

If you want the best parallel jaw clamp on the market, you might want
to look at the Jet clamps...


Tried one yesterday in the local woodcraft, they were a bugger to slide
AND you had to have the handle rotated to just the right location to
get them to be able to slide. AND the screw mechanism was anything but
smooth on the 24" I was playing with.

$26.00 was the price. I do like the inovative features they have
though, and once you go the handle adjusted the release lever to allow
quick sliding was quite nice.

Personal favorite is still the cabinet masters.

Alan

Bruce Barnett wrote:
Pat Barber writes:

Based on a prior e-mail...it is safe to say that they
are NOT the exact copy of the red models.

I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight
and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.


Wow, the problem is that why would you pay $30 for a HF clamp when you
can get a Bessey on sale in the $22-30 range easily.. Heck, isn't full
price on a Bessy $34 or $35?

If the HF ones were $10, I might take a chance, but they've burned me
too many times.

"bf" wrote in message
oups.com...

Bruce Barnett wrote:
Pat Barber writes:

Based on a prior e-mail...it is safe to say that they
are NOT the exact copy of the red models.

I just received a catalog from Harbor Freight
and they are now selling parallel jaw woodworking clamps.


Wow, the problem is that why would you pay $30 for a HF clamp when you
can get a Bessey on sale in the $22-30 range easily.. Heck, isn't full
price on a Bessy $34 or $35?

If the HF ones were $10, I might take a chance, but they've burned me
too many times.

I have a number of HF clamps, but don't use them unless I have to. They are
well priced and not TOO bad, but I don't like them. I don't think I would
buy HF parallel clamps for any price; storage space to just too dear for
crap.

Now... I also bought some Homier clamps, and they disintegrated the first
time I used them; the HF ones are just not good, which is an great deal lot
better.

Tim wrote:
I have a number of HF clamps, but don't use them unless I have to. They are
well priced and not TOO bad, but I don't like them. I don't think I would
buy HF parallel clamps for any price; storage space to just too dear for
crap.

Now... I also bought some Homier clamps, and they disintegrated the first
time I used them; the HF ones are just not good, which is an great deal lot
better.

Thanks for the feedback. I bought about a dozen of the HF "F" clamps,
but I too seldom use them. You make a good point.. having a gadget that
just takes up space is a cost as well.

I intended my statement to be more hypothetical.. If I really needed
some parallel clamps, and price was a big issue, HF would have to be
$10 for me to even consider.. But you made the right call. Not worth it
at any price, since they are just junk that takes up room. Certainly
not worth it at only $4 savings of a full price Bessey (and when HF is
more than a Bessey on sale).

Haven't bought anything from HF in about 3-4 years now. My blood
pressure is considerably lower. LOL