[B Coll]

Hello,

I have a very small collection of mostly plastic clamps and I'm looking to add some pipe or parallel clamps for longer clamping. Any suggestions of brands that make good quality clamps of these variety and don't break the bank?

-Mike

If you are just getting started and moving into better clamps, you can't beat the Jorgensen bar clamps. They are affordable, which is key since you can never have too many clamps. They work well, not fancy, and I have been using the same clamps for over 40 years. Size your clamps to what you expect to be making. I keep a boat load of 6" , 24", and a few 36". Since I mostly do casework and furniture these days, they handle most of my needs. These are my go to. I also have bar and pipe clamps for larger glue ups, but do not use them on the regular.

 

[B Coll]

Hello,

I have a very small collection of mostly plastic clamps and I'm looking to add some pipe or parallel clamps for longer clamping. Any suggestions of brands that make good quality clamps of these variety and don't break the bank?

-Mike

90% of my clamps are Jorgenson bar clamps. I have a few pipe clamps for really long (over 4 foot) clamping that don't get used that often. I have around 25- 6", 15-24" and a dozen or so 36". I can handle any clamping situation with these. I know some guys love the parallel clamps but I always found them pricey and never had a need for them as I usually use cauls or other operations to insure flat/square glue ups. I do have a few Bessey band clamps that rarely get used but are nice when I need to glue up something funky. If you are just getting started I would started off with a few 6",24" and 2 or so 36" decent quality bar clamps. It should handle 90% of what you need.