Neither....buy Jorgensen cabinet master clamps!!! Good price, usa made (pretty sure), and top notch quality.

 

You really just need to look at what your future projects may be and buy as needed. I've bought the K body clamps and there okay but I only use them for dovetail drawers, etc. As ryan50hrl stated the Jorgensen Cabinet clamps which are easily found at HD. I'll probably pick up a few overtime. Right now I'm buying a lot of Jorgensen Gear clamps which are nice but I use them daily.

 

Home Depot stopped carrying jorgensons. Mills fleet farm and menards carry them though.

 

Must be individual stores. The ones here in blue springs and Lees Summit Missouri are loaded with Jorgensen.. They don't carry much on Bessey though. They look to be getting bigger on the Dewalt clamps

 

They just recently got out of the Jorgensen here....went to Irwin for a bit and now Bessey

 

Yeah they have a lot of Bessey in store and Dewalt. But you can still buy a few Jorgensens online i just checked and they were the same price as the Besseys. Rocker has a 4pc set of Irwins on sale http://www.rockler.com/irwin-4-piece-parallel-clamp-set

this is what Home Depot has for the Jorgensens ones
http://www.homedepot.com/s/Jorgensen%20cabinet%20master%20clamps?NCNI-5

Bessey at Home Depot
http://www.homedepot.com/s/bessey%20k%20body%20clamps?NCNI-5

 

SO what makes the Jorgensens ones better than Bessey or Irwins. I understand a Audi is better than a KIA but I can see the difference in quality and reason for one over the other. But what makes them better than others.

 

I like the Bessey's better. The jets are garbage.

 

It's really just preference in clamps. When I hear "garbage" I honestly take your word for it but without comment I'll still have to check them out for myself:yes:

 

The Jets still clamp wood, but they are far harder to use. I prefer the smooth bars of the jorgensens over the bessey clamps.

In the end, all 4 brands clamp wood.

 

The jets still clamp wood, but cost more than the vastly better Bessey's. The jets head leans inward by about 1/8 inch plus many other downfalls.

 

I asked the same questions a few years ago and the answers I got were that Bessey is the only thing going. I bought some and soon began asking myself why did I listen to people. I hate em. I bought Jorgensens and have never looked back. The red ones stay on the wall and only come off when I absolutely need them.

 

Well I am on a budget and as much as I'd like to buy what's the best well I might just have to buy what I can. That's why I was asking about the Irwins because for $120 I get 4 clamps 2 50" & 2 24" but guess no one is using the Irwins or recommend them. So might have to save a little more and get the Jorgensens.

 

I looked at the irwins when they came out and I didn't care for them. Do you live near a menards?? Their price on the jorgensens is usually pretty good.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no never heard of Menards. I'm in San Antonio, TX

 

Cripe Distributing



Try this web site: https://www.cripedistributing.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cabinet+master

I have ordered many Jorgensen Cabinet Masters, 37XX Standard Duty and 37XX Heavy Duty clamps from them. The inventory comes and goes, so if you see specific clamps that you want, order them quickly, because they might disappear next week.

It is my understanding that a lot of the Jorgensen clamps that Cripe Distributing sells, were from Home Depot (HD) stores. When HD dropped the Jorgensen brand, Cripe got them. Some customers have posted that some of their clamps had paint chips. My clamps have always looked brand new.

Also, I am very satisfied with Cripe Distributing customer service. A couple of times they have credited my account because the actual shipping cost was lower than their shopping cart calculated. You can also call them and they will give you an accurate shipping rate.

I also have Jet parallel clamps and they are the last clamps to be used in my shop. The Jorgensen Cabinet masters get used the most because they are a much better clamp. My biggest reason for not using the Jet parallel clamps is the lever that locks the head in place has to be held, while you are screwing the clamp tight. The Jorgensens can be clamped using one hand after the clamp is positioned.

I would suggest that you search this forum using the text "Jorgensen Cabinet Master". You will find a lot of threads on the subject.

 

OK well checked out that site and yes those were great prices but shipping was a nice chunk. It's a couple bucks cheaper going thru Home Depot so I'll just get them there. But I'll still keep an eye out for some good deals on that site.

But so now that that's settled and Jorgensen wins that catagory what are yalls opinions on F Style clamps. All of mine currently are from Harbor Freight, I know they aren't the best but they got the job done and now I'm ready to upgrade. So does Jorgensen win this catagory as well or does Bessey make a comeback. Right now if I replace all of mine with Bessey I can get the exact same amount and save $50. Woodcraft is having a sale at the end of the month. I've been looking at the Jorgensen ones as well which aren't much more in price. Now I do have 12 4" Bessey clamps I picked up when HD had a $2.99 sale so it would be nice to have all matching F style clamps but I open to try others.

 

OK well checked out that site and yes those were great prices but shipping was a nice chunk.

Like I wrote before, if the shipping cost seems too high, call them, because they have lowered it for me on many of my orders that had multiple clamps. The last order was for 12 clamps and the S&H was calculated at $41.81. The actual shipping was $23.81.

But so now that that's settled and Jorgensen wins that catagory what are yalls opinions on F Style clamps. All of mine currently are from Harbor Freight, I know they aren't the best but they got the job done and now I'm ready to upgrade. So does Jorgensen win this catagory as well or does Bessey make a comeback. Right now if I replace all of mine with Bessey I can get the exact same amount and save $50. Woodcraft is having a sale at the end of the month. I've been looking at the Jorgensen ones as well which aren't much more in price. Now I do have 12 4" Bessey clamps I picked up when HD had a $2.99 sale so it would be nice to have all matching F style clamps but I open to try others.

I don't know about Bessy F-Style clamps. I only own Jorgensen F-Style clamps. I have had some of them for 30+ years. They still function just like the day I purchased them. The more recent ones are more "shiny", but they still function as good as the 30 year old ones. The "Heavy Duty" (HD) models are really nice! They have a longer throat than the "standard" model and they include nice wood protectors. They also can apply more pressure than the "standard" version. I don't have any of the "light" models.

When you get to purchasing spring clamps, I have a half a dozen of Bessys that I am happy to give away. They are total junk. The Jorgensen Spring Clamps I have are excellent!

 

You really just have to check them out personally. There's light,heavy, depth and length not to mention handle grips to look at. Sometimes a great price is for similar but different size of clamp.

Cost the same,but not the same...

 

Not only that, but jorgenson has 3 lines of f style clamps. Light, standard and heavy duty. I have 14 of the heavy duties and they're great!!

 

Actually bought the gear clamps for less wrist action and a replacement for the costly cam clamps. The cam clamps are great for laminate work:thumbsup:. Actually if someone on here could make these cheap enough I would just buy them and pay shipping.

 

I own precisely four parallel clamps so don't have any experience to compare them to. They are Irwins that I got last year from HD on clearance for $20 each. I hate them. They are heavy and clunky to use. The jaws get stuck when adjusting/tightening even when the bars are clean. That said, they have tremendous clamping pressure so I still use them from time to time. I wouldn't buy Irwins again though.