There are many types of clamps for the shop, but parallel clamps are becoming really popular, even though they are a significant investment. Are you good for YOUR shop?

#parallelclamp #besseyclamps #woodworking

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There’s an old adage in woodworking - “one can never have too many clamps.” This sentiment seems to have come from the experience that when it comes time to clamp up a wood project, it’s easy to use up a lot of clamps doing the job well.

I have a lot of clamps, but will probably continue to add more as the need arises. My inventory ranges from various sizes of “C”, “speed”, spring clamps, as well as “Pony” pipe clamps, originally made famous and commonplace in many a shop by the Jorgensen company.

In the last few years, I’ve noticed both in woodworking journals, shop YouTube videos and woodworking shows that many of the craftspeople are using parallel clamps. I decided to check them out, and I’m glad I did.

These types of clamps are significant investments. The brand I purchased, Bessey®, is available ranging in sizes from 12” (30cm) to 60” (152 cm). At the time of the production of this video, the 12” was $42, and the 60” was $68, with all the sizes in between priced between those two. These are the K-Body REVOlution line with fixed clamping heads (they do have movable head models so you can balance the weight of longer clamps when clamping small objects than the capacity of the clamp).

There are other parallel clamp brands available as well, such as Jorgensen®, Jet®, Gross-Stabil®, Woodcraft®, and Stanley®.

With such a significant price, why would I buy them, and why should you consider them? Two big reasons. First, they are called parallel clamps because the fixed and movable clamping faces are parallel and very strong, with very little deflection as adequate force is applied. This makes for a flat assembly. Second, you can simply put these clamps on a flat surface and load them up. They stand upright on their own just fine, and placing “alternating” clamps from the other surface is easy.

What are the disadvantages? Cost is significant, so these are only justifiable if you are going to use them ongoing. Second, they are HEAVY. There is a lot of material in these units, including the main bar. So you’ll want to have the best sizes for your projects on hand. Third, like any new tool, you need to adapt them into your workflow and setting. They do take a bit getting used to, but that’s no big deal. They need to be stored efficiently - we think hanging them up is best. You can get ready-made racks for this purpose from Rockler®, or you can make your own. Heck, we’ll likely do a build of racking that stores them efficiently, but makes them really accessible for day-to-day use.

Where are Bessey K-Body Clamps made? It took some research to find this out. Bessey is a German company, but these clamps are made in PRC (Peoples Republic of China). I try to support the economy of the country I live in (U.S.), but I was not able to find any of these types of clamps that were made in the U.S. If someone has better info, let me hear from you!

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