Clamps Reviews

OK, it works and works well, other than the sloppy stops the Omnijig employees.

But this price for a piece of machined aluminum? What does it cost Porter Cable to make this accessory? $2?

PC does have to cover the development costs and should charge a premium for a jig that is somewhat of a standard in woodworking. Check out the price of the Omnijig. Trust me, you've already paid for this accomplishment when you purchased the original jig. And the design of this jig hasn't changed in years and years. PC is way behind the times.

I'm thinking (hoping) that there is a special place in hell for those individuals in companies, like Porter Cable, who decide to rape their customers, who have already paid a hefty tab for the jig, when they want to purchase an accessory for that jig.

Shame on Porter Cable. If had it to do over again, I wouldn't buy a PC dovetail jig.

This is a good piece of hardware. But a couple of things to be aware of: 1) This is a "tapered" jig. So if you look carefully on the front right side of the male slot, you'll see it's about 1/8" narrower than the left side. This is how it gets one side tighter than the other. One side slides in easily and eventually gets tighter as the male part gets increasingly wider. 2) Pay particular attention to making sure your M and F pieces align on the left side and that your boards are the same width. This important for achieving the tight fit at the other end of your boards. (I first did a test cut using 2 different widths of boards, and they didn't fit, and I freaked...at first)I agree with other writers that the whole OmniJig could use a major upgrade, putting precision adjustment knobs instead of trial and error stop blocks for example, would really help....Tom O'Brien...All Quality Woodworking

Sustantially made and very easy to set up and operate. I'm very pleased with it but initially, I was having trouble with an obvious gap between the male and female board when they slid together. I was baffled because the joint itself fit well. Then came the ah-hah moment. Be sure that when cutting the male board, you leave the female board in the top clamp at least far enough under the rear of the template to support it but leaving enough room for the bit to move freely in the front slot. Doing this supports the back of the template which otherwise can tip slightly backwards under router and hand pressure causing an irregular cut on one edge of the male board. When I made that change, they fit like a glove. My days of dados have been drasticaly reduced.

Frankly this clamp is not up to the quality one expects from bessey. Sure it is built like a tank. It does create a pretty good 90% angle joint, the problem I have is that it really doesn't work at all in a lot of cases. I found better solutions with strap clamps and k-body clamps in sets for cabinetry. I think I have used this clamp less than a dozen times in the past two years. Anyone want one slightly used -- cheap.

I found this clamp to be akward with loose pieces, but its the perfect tool for mending picture frames that need repair. Its biggest advantage is that it ensures that you will keep a true 90 degree angle after you've clamped your work...no need for additional measuring.

These angle clamps are great! Easy one handed operation allows you to hold your stock while tighteing the clamp. There are also slots that allow access to the ends for drilling, doweling, whatever, while the joint is gluing. These are great for frames and panel doors!

First the bad points: Fine tuning the table height is very frustrating. The arm that you loosen then tighten is set akwardly on the left. Furthermore, you either have to rock the table back and fourth to get it lower, or it just drops down, so much for fine tuning. The table that you place your work on is small. If you're working on anything of any size, it's difficult to clamp. Finally, there's no mortising attachment available.

The good points: It's a solid machine that will make good holes for a long time. It's just the set up that's misery.

I should have spent the extra [money], and bought the Delta 12" Drill Press. The 12" model has a crank to adjust the table height, the table is bigger, and a mortising attachment is available.

I purchased this unit about a year ago. I haven't had a single problem with it, and have used it on several projects. Changing the speed of the drill involves messing around with the belt in the top housing, which is a little cumbersome until you get use to it. I have only two complants with it. 1) The adjustable table doesn't utilize a rack-and-pinion system like the other Delta drill presses, which can make it cumbersome to adjust the table height, particularly if you are fine tuning. It also forces you to have to constantly make sure that the table "hole" is lined up correctly with the drill bit. 2) Delta doesn't appear to make accessories to support the drill, such as clamps, mortising attachments, etc. I originally purchased this drill press because of its Delta name and its remarkable low price. Ultimately I will upgrade to the 12" drill press which has the features that this one lacks.

This little drill press is great for a young woodworker. So far, it has been a pleasure to work with. The spring loaded chuck prevents the chuck key from staying in, thus preventing "chuck key flyout" when the drill press is turned on. A great idea, this feature makes the drill a lot safer to use, especially with kids. The pop out switch toggle prevents unauthorized use of drill press. The 5-speed feature is great for hard or soft wood, metals, and plastic. The only thing I find indesirable is that the chuck could always go a little bit deeper. A nice little machine; just what you'd expect from Delta!

The manufacture's review should state: "designed to fit SMOOTH piping to...." not just "designed to fit piping to ...". Very tough application when to comes to seating a ribbed hose and the compression needed to secure that surface to a fitting.

The steel band clamp should only be used in one type of application. That being where you are putting two SMOOTH surfaces together, like a garden hose or radiator hose. But with a DC application of a ribbed hose, the steel band clamp is NOT the preferred choice, use the wire clamp.
The steel band clamp will only strip and never be fully seated trying to compress and secure the wire rib to the smooth DC fitting. The steel banding and worm screw is not designed to do that task and provide the needed pressure to fully seat the ribbed hose. Whereas, the wire clamp will actually strattle the rib on both sides and create a perfect clamping fit.

I tried to save the twenty cents over the wire clamp, and wound up stripping the clamp thread on about 50% of the applications with the steel band clamps. I antied up and spent the extra cash and got the right product, the wire clamps for the ribbed DC hose.

I found this hose clamp to be the perfect accessory to get my ... order over the magic ...free shipping barrier. It is likely I will find a use for it over time so it is a valuable addition to my emergency repair kit I keep in the garage.

If you're in the market for a good quality hose clamp at a good price, look no further. I have used this clamp for almost a year now and it has performed above and beyond my wildest expectations. When I'm not clamping large hoses with this clamp, I use it as a paperweight to hold my important papers on a picnic table on a windy day. The only problem is that I keep on misplacing my screwdriver, making it hard to me to loosen the clamp to put it on a different hose. I like to change hose clamps every 3 months or 45 miles, whichever comes first, on my wooden-horse car. And no, not as big as the one in the mythology books, but just big enough to get me to work and back (clamp salesman with Clamps-R-Us).

I own a lot of clamps and this is the worst built clamp I have ever seen. When you turn the screw to remove the clamp, the screw comes loose from the jaws, and the jaws stay clamped with noway to remove them except to pry or beat them loose. Would never buy again. Always thought Jorgensen was a good name.

I have used these clamps and have about thirty of them ranging from the 36" ones to 72". I needed more and had a difficult time finding them until I tried the Tool Crib. I wont use any others for my work. They are light and easy to manage. The only improvement I would recommend is more notches for adjustment than the standard one per inch. Great clamps!

I have and use 12 of these aluminum clamps. They don't get stickey from glue, or rust and discolor your wood project. They are intended for normal glue-ups, which means that you start with good-fitting joints. If anyone is having trouble with binding or sticking of the clamp parts, they have been exceeding the intended uses of this tool. Very few "bar" type clamps are rated for bending wood, or wood laminations into a form. These clamps excel when doing edge-to-edge glue-ups, a process that can suffer from too great of a clamp pressure. Use these clamps for your next cabinet project, you won't be sorry ....

I'd love to gush about these clamps, but I can't. Yes in the old days they were pretty good. (some of the jaws are slipping now.) I have 30-40 of them. The newest ones we bought in 2005 were poorly finished. The jaw surfaces were not ground flat leaving a ridge on the clamping surface, and the jaws are not parallel. I came close to sending them back. They will be the last I buy. The Bessey's are a lot better.

If you need a tremendous amount of pressure, this is the clamp. The tightening handle is no-nonsense. I dropped one of these clamps, and put a nice big chip in the concrete floor.

I have one beef with these beefy clamps. The jaw on the clutch side is not parallel to the jaw on the screw side. It becomes parallel as you tighten the screw. I love to use these clamps on butcher block glue-ups. The problem is that sometimes the jaw on the clutch side causes your boards to slip when you are tightening. I usually use a couple speed or F clamps first, then get the jaws of death on it.

We all love parallel-type clamps (K-body, in my case), but they are fragile and can be outmatched in rare situations. At that time, nothing -- and I mean absolutely nothing -- can match the 72xx series I-beam bar clamps. I've been using these somewhat infrequently over the last 22 years and, while they are not as all-around useful as the parallels, they can come to the rescue on super-stubborn situations, usually involving existing structures or supertight multi-dado glue-ups or, lets admit it, a complex, super-strong design which has gone wrong and is curing fast! Whaling away at these situations would be futile and throwing on more parallels takes away your control: Just set up a couple of pulling cauls and clamp each end with a 72xx series clamp. I've also used them to pull tough 4-1/2" tropical hardwood flooring into place (unruly and cruel ultra-dense woods). Nothing else offers 1,500 lbs of clamp pressure -- no better than half as much, in fact (750 lbs on a K-body or Jorgensen or Gross Stabil parallel, which risks damaging them and would cause a frightening flex to their bars, taking away their parallel attribute at anything above 200 lbs). I only need these 72xx clamps less than 1% of the time, but that has been enough to make me very, very glad to own a set, the same way I feel about spare tires.

...This offer includes a "free" bike, but the bike isn't really free, it comes at the additional cost of [$$$]. While this may be a good deal, it's hard to know without specific info regarding the bike. In any event, I feel it's a lie to say the bike is "free" when it in fact costs extra $$$.

You can't kill these tools. I am a general contractor and have used them on many, many jobs. The 18 volt drill/ driver alone has outlasted four of my 18 volt DeWalts. The reciprocating saw is smooth and doesn't get bogged down. I use the set in my workshop at home as well as, on the job sight. It's nice to be cord free with so many different tools. The bike is a nice bonus. Of course, as soon as I got mine (for free I might add), I sold it to a kid down the street. This is the best tool combo deal I have ever seen.

I'm not sure what the other reviewer was talking about but I found this to be a great deal. The combo kit is at the same if not lower price than it was before the bike was being offered, so to say that you have to pay extra makes no sense at all. The tools offered in this kit are the best! The hammer driver/drill is of course great quality, the jig saw seems to be the sister to their top of the line corded model, the circular saw and recip saw work great and the blower and flashlight are fantastic accessories that you will find yourself using constantly.

I received my brand new PLS360E on a Thursday for a ceiling job to begin on Friday. After my crew and I finished loading in to the job, we set about to work by first putting fresh batteries in our new laser. Imagine our disappointment when we turned the thing on and the device did nothing but light up it's little green indicator. After calling PLS tech. support, I was told it must have a disconnected wire inside and would have to be returned for service. This on a Friday afternoon at a jobsite at least 30 miles to the nearest rental outlet where I might pay to rent a "working" laser. Needless to say, I sent the crew home and broke the news to the homeowner that we would not be starting their job until next week. Maybe PLS will have a working laser to me soon after we finish with the rental one.

If you're a professional remodeler/builder and don't have this laser, you need your head examined. This tool is money in the bank. From checking grades, leveling sill plates & setting windows to installing interior doors & cabinets your accurate layout is simply minutes away. Don't waste your money on cheap consumer grade equipment. PLS are truely engineered and built for professionals. I've been paying my bills building for 17 years and have tried them all. This is the real deal.

I ordered my PLS 360E on Monday and recieved it on Friday. I was anxious to try it out, put the batteries in and was extremely satisfied to say the least. The beam was very bright, I don't think anyone would have a problem seeing the beam under normal conditions. I switched the laser to pulse to try the detector and again was very pleased. This will be a great time saver for me. Great product!

Porter Cable's 19.2 Volt line has major flaws. I bought the driver and saw kit and the hammer drill kit. In the first year I replaced the drill/drivers three times...while under warranty. The saw worked well and the flashlight was the best part of this kit. Now it is a couple years old and the batteries are dead and at $90 each I am not replacing them. I bought Hitachi this time with a five year warranty. I wasted $600 on the Porter Cable junk.

I've bought so called cordless tools in the past, but this combo pack is the first true cordless "tool" set I've owned. Because of the demanding nature of the renovation jobs I am currently doing to my home, I depend on and use this pair constantly. The hammer/drill/driver is the most versatile tool. It meets all my 1/2 inch or less hole drilling, screw and small hex bolt driving, and light hammer drilling needs. Never lets me down. It delivers the power and mobility for use everywhere, like in tight attics, crawl spaces, on roofs, and outdoors away from power outlets. The Tiger saw has power and versatility, too, cutting literally anything and everything using the proper blade. I use it to cut framing and plywood, siding, drywall, sheet metal, old tires, plastic and metal pipe, bricks. The PorterCable drywall blades work especially well on PVC pipe. The saw is even good for cutting tree limbs. And both tools can go absolutely ANYWHERE !! Make sure to buy yourself a third battery and keep one on the charger at all times, then you'll never want for power. The batteries charge in about 45 minutes. One point about the saw; if you use it on a material, like sheetmetal, or in a tight place where the blade can catch or hit its end on something solid, the saw can jamb, and you must manually pull the blade forward a bit and run it briefly before returning to cutting. A minor inconvenience. To sum up, I could not have chosen a better cordless combo, especially with my aspirations to do professional contract work someday. Look for more of my reviews of PorterCable power tools and the 19.2V Network cordless system.

THIS HAMMER DRILL AND RECIP SAW OFFER GREAT CORDLESS POWER. I JUST USED THE DRILL TO MAKE THIRTY FIVE 1/4' HOLES IN BRICK/CONCRETE ON A SINGLE CHARGE, AND I USED THE RECIP SAW TO CLEAR A 75' HONEYSUCKLE HEDGE. BOTH EXCEDED EXPECTATIONS.

I was disappointed when I recieved them. I didn't know that the tips rotated and I needed solid tips.

This spring clamp is the best! I am a avid painter and wood working craft person and use these affordable spring clamps for holding my work steady. They allow me to work cleanly and add an extra hand. I would recommend them to any light woodworker or hobbyist.

This spring clamp is the best! I am a avid painter and wood working craft person and use these affordable spring clamps for holding my work steady. They allow me to work cleanly and add an extra hand. I would recommend them to any light woodworker or hobbyist.