So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far. Nice big clamping pads, and they're smooth so glue doesn't fill
in the cracks. And pretty strong too - fairly beefy steel bar. They
just feel sturdier overall, even in the handles. And they have a slick
little pushbutton mechanism to switch them over to a spreader, unlike
the Jorgys with a screw that falls out. They don't seem to be widely
available though.
JP

On Apr 1, 9:38*pm, JayPique wrote:
So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far.

I can tell you what's not a favorite clamp... Harbor Freight. They
flat won't hold.

On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 06:22:00 -0700 (PDT), wb8nbs wrote:

On Apr 1, 9:38*pm, JayPique wrote:
So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far.

I can tell you what's not a favorite clamp... Harbor Freight. They
flat won't hold.

I bought a bunch of their aluminum bar clamps. It's quite frustrating when
the business end cracks off and you're racing wet glue. Never again.

Harbor freight quick clamp, first usage, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze,
crumble, parts on the floor. Glad I only bought one on a trial basis.
Need to be selective when buying from them. I do like "some" their air
parts selection as long as you avoid the stinky chinese rubber hose
and oh yeah, the auto drain switch I put on the bottom of my
compressor that stuck slightly open after about a week.


On Apr 2, 6:22*am, wb8nbs wrote:
On Apr 1, 9:38*pm, JayPique wrote:

So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far.

I can tell you what's not a favorite clamp... Harbor Freight. They
flat won't hold.

On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 06:22:00 -0700 (PDT), wb8nbs
wrote:

On Apr 1, 9:38Â*pm, JayPique wrote:
So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far.

I can tell you what's not a favorite clamp... Harbor Freight. They
flat won't hold.

Agreed. They're one of the few tools I've returned to HF. The
Chiwanese Vise Grip clones are pretty bad. The adjuster bolt is the
worst part. Once you tighten it and grip the handles together, the
screw bypasses the metal lug and the pliers become useless.
http://goo.gl/6xViL (I don't think mine were Pittsburgh way back when)


I like the cheapie quick-grip WW clamps from HF but they're not quite
as strong as other brands. They're strong enough about 98% of the
time. I think I've had them slip only a couple times in a few years.
(They only sell the open-levered type now.)


The Chiwanese channellocks are great, though. Just lube 'em up and
adjust (tighten) the pivot bolt. I got the 3-pc orange gripped set and
they helped me with the last plumbing job, running the pipes and ends
together and tightening the valves while holding the pipes.
http://goo.gl/FKtHJ

Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway? 'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard

On Apr 2, 3:31*pm, Larry Jaques wrote:
Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway? *'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps with pads made
by Channellock. Point your browser here...
http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

JP

On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 13:07:53 -0700 (PDT), Jay Pique
wrote:

On Apr 2, 3:31Â*pm, Larry Jaques wrote:
Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway? Â*'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps with pads made
by Channellock. Point your browser here...
http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

OK. I was on the site and saw that they call their channellocks which
have the extra flats cut into the jaws "griplocks". This is how the HF
channellocks are. They work better on plumbing than straight jaws, and
the curved jaws (Nut tongue and groove) work even better.
http://goo.gl/z92BL and http://goo.gl/rB6Wp respectively.

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard

"Larry Jaques" wrote in
message ...
On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 13:07:53 -0700 (PDT), Jay Pique
wrote:

On Apr 2, 3:31 pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway?
'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps
with pads made
by Channellock. Point your browser here...
http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

OK. I was on the site and saw that they call their
channellocks which
have the extra flats cut into the jaws "griplocks". This
is how the HF
channellocks are. They work better on plumbing than
straight jaws, and
the curved jaws (Nut tongue and groove) work even better.
http://goo.gl/z92BL and http://goo.gl/rB6Wp respectively.

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard

Since the thread has gone serpentine, I've been thinking on
those Knipex "pliers-wrenches" and their "cobra wrenches".
If you want to read love stories, check out the reviews of
the first on Amazon. There's division in the ratings and
discussions on the cobras from the much cheaper Irwin's
but people appear to mate forever with the
"pliers-wrenches".

See the discussions at:

http://www.amazon.com/Knipex-8603250...d_sim_sbs_hi_1


Vise Grip stuff is first class. After an audition, a set of
Craftsman
competitors that came into my hand soon left it. The Irwin
quick-grip clamps are nice.; and their HF rivals....what you
all said: pfffft.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

On Apr 2, 8:42*pm, "Edward Hennessey"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in
messagenews:gaifp6dsamu7gtldmmp1uhd6ntqqlcbpni@4ax .com...



On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 13:07:53 -0700 (PDT), Jay Pique
wrote:

On Apr 2, 3:31 pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway?
'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps
with pads made
by Channellock. *Point your browser here...
http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

OK. *I was on the site and saw that they call their
channellocks which
have the extra flats cut into the jaws "griplocks". This
is how the HF
channellocks are. They work better on plumbing than
straight jaws, and
the curved jaws (Nut tongue and groove) work even better.
http://goo.gl/z92BLand *http://goo.gl/rB6Wprespectively.

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -- Peter Minard

Since the thread has gone serpentine, I've been thinking on
those Knipex "pliers-wrenches" and their "cobra wrenches".
If you want to read love stories, check out the reviews of
the first on Amazon. There's division in the ratings and
discussions on the cobras from the much cheaper Irwin's
but people appear to mate forever with the
"pliers-wrenches".

See the discussions at:

http://www.amazon.com/Knipex-8603250...nch/dp/B000X4O...

Vise Grip stuff is first class. After an audition, a set of
Craftsman
competitors that came into my hand soon left it. The Irwin
quick-grip clamps are nice.; and their HF rivals....what you
all said: pfffft.

Ya, I have a number of the smaller Irwins and they work really well.
I use them all the time.
Also have a number of small Bessey F style clamps, they are more
difficult to slide up but when they get gripping, you can put a lot
more force on than the quick squeeze clamps.

"wb8nbs" wrote in message
...
On Apr 2, 8:42 pm, "Edward Hennessey"

wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in
messagenews:gaifp6dsamu7gtldmmp1uhd6ntqqlcbpni@4ax .com...



On Sat, 2 Apr 2011 13:07:53 -0700 (PDT), Jay Pique
wrote:

On Apr 2, 3:31 pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway?
'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps
with pads made
by Channellock. Point your browser here...
http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

OK. I was on the site and saw that they call their
channellocks which
have the extra flats cut into the jaws "griplocks". This
is how the HF
channellocks are. They work better on plumbing than
straight jaws, and
the curved jaws (Nut tongue and groove) work even
better.
http://goo.gl/z92BLand http://goo.gl/rB6Wprespectively.

--
Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins
when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in
order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
-- Peter Minard

Since the thread has gone serpentine, I've been thinking
on
those Knipex "pliers-wrenches" and their "cobra wrenches".
If you want to read love stories, check out the reviews of
the first on Amazon. There's division in the ratings and
discussions on the cobras from the much cheaper Irwin's
but people appear to mate forever with the
"pliers-wrenches".

See the discussions at:

http://www.amazon.com/Knipex-8603250...nch/dp/B000X4O...

Vise Grip stuff is first class. After an audition, a set
of
Craftsman
competitors that came into my hand soon left it. The Irwin
quick-grip clamps are nice.; and their HF rivals....what
you
all said: pfffft.

Ya, I have a number of the smaller Irwins and they work
really well.
I use them all the time.
Also have a number of small Bessey F style clamps, they are
more
difficult to slide up but when they get gripping, you can
put a lot
more force on than the quick squeeze clamps.

Rockler has the Irwin SL 300 clamps on sale now
for 15 per. "Stock on hand" is the warning and the
flier here doesn't clarify whether the sizes are limited.

Seeing a Bessey at discount is always an invitation to
an excuse.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

On Apr 1, 10:38*pm, JayPique wrote:
So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far. Nice big clamping pads, and they're smooth so glue doesn't fill
in the cracks. And pretty strong too - fairly beefy steel bar. They
just feel sturdier overall, even in the handles. And they have a slick
little pushbutton mechanism to switch them over to a spreader, unlike
the Jorgys with a screw that falls out. They don't seem to be widely
available though.
JP

I've got a few clamps that are labeled as "Quick-Grip Quick Change"
with no manufacturer's name. That are yellow and black, but look
exactly like these Irwin clamps, other than the colors and the label.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

On my clamp the Quick Change has TM next to it and Quick-Grip has the
circled R. There's also some Patent numbers on the clamp, but
absolutely no mention of a company name.

I'm guessing that in the years (decade?) since I bought them, Irwin
bought the rights from whoever manufactured them way back when.

They have stood up extremely well over the years, although I can't say
if Irwin changed anything that would impact the quality.

And now a little bar clamp related tale from my DIY experiences...

"How I almost took my eye out with a bar clamp"

I was building a deck many years ago and trying to figure out how I
wanted to attach the stair railing. I grabbed two 36" Jorgensen bar
clamps that were nearby and clamped a 2 x 4 to the posts at the top
and bottom of the stairs, with the bar sticking out into the yard.

I stepped back to see if I liked the layout and decided to make some
adjustments. As I walked back towards the deck, the tiny oval end of
the steel bar sort of disappeared into the background and I never saw
it. As I walked straight into it, it hit the lens of my safety
glasses, knocking them off my face and cracking the lens. The force
deflected the bar clamp just enough that it slid up and put a decent
size gash along my eye brow.

Based on where it hit the lens, it would have went straight into my
eye had I not been wearing safety glasses. I was shaking more from the
shock of almost losing my eye than I was from the blood streaming down
my face.

On Apr 1, 9:38*pm, JayPique wrote:
So I've been working on a job site where a guy has a pair of Quick
Grip style clamps made by Channel Lock (Channellock?). They are light
blue with red pads, and I think they are my favorite of the bunch so
far. Nice big clamping pads, and they're smooth so glue doesn't fill
in the cracks. And pretty strong too - fairly beefy steel bar. They
just feel sturdier overall, even in the handles. And they have a slick
little pushbutton mechanism to switch them over to a spreader, unlike
the Jorgys with a screw that falls out. They don't seem to be widely
available though.
JP

I have a pretty good selection of clamps gathered over 30-40 years.
Old pipe bars, Bessey's, Gros Stabils (?), Colombia, etc. My favorite
and most used quick grips are a collection of Irwin's ranging from 6"
to about 30". They are the ones I usually grab when I want to clamp
something quickly and perfect alignment isn't an issue. When I need
alignment the Bessey's and Gros Stabils get used.

The only problems I have had with the Irwin clamps are the clamping
ability failed on one or two of them. Pads fall off now and then too,
but all of the padded ones do that. The inexpensive Colombia clamps
are OK to but require more fiddling.

RonB

On Apr 2, 4:07*pm, Jay Pique wrote:
On Apr 2, 3:31*pm, Larry Jaques wrote:

Jay, which of these were you talking about, anyway? *'Twas vague.
"Grip" equates to "vise grip" for me.
"Quick" means single-handed WW clamps with pads.
and "Channellock" means adjustable-throat-size pliers.

Sort of a mix really - they're single handed ww clamps with pads made
by Channellock. *Point your browser here...http://www.channellockproducts.com/index.php?sku=360889

Ok so I think that I've found a clone of these available for much less
money. I'm almost afraid to say it, but they're CRAFTSMAN brand.
ducks and runs for cover If they are indeed the same - and I
believe they are, they are a quality clamp. You heard it here first!
http://tinyurl.com/4xjs447
http://preview.tinyurl.com/4xjs447

JP