It didn’t take me long to learn that:
You can never have enough clamps!
You will hear this innocuous little phrase hundreds of times throughout your woodworking career. The annoying part is not how many times you will hear it but that it is the absolute truth!
The prospect of buying clamps can be very overwhelming. There are tons of different types and brands, and building your collection can be very expensive. If you’re like me, this will not be factored in to the equation when you are beginning. Here is a partial list of the different types of woodworking clamps I use in no particular order:
- One Handed Bar Clamp
Irwin makes some called Quick-Grip. I bought a 4-pack of these and they served honorably as my first set of clamps. They do not provide the most clamping pressure in the world but they are good if you need to clamp something down quickly and only have one hand to do it. They definitely serve a purpose in this respect. The pack I got came with (2) 6″ and (2) 12″ clamps. I think the whole pack was around $25 which I found reasonable. There is a newer generation that I’ve now seen by Irwin as well which seem to be potentially a little more ergonomic than the ones I purchased. May have to upgrade to these in the future.
- C Clamps
These were the next clamps I bought and to be perfectly honest, I’m not really sure why. I was walking through Harbor Freight one day and for some reason determined that I needed to pick up (4) of these. I’ve rarely used them if at all. The ones I have were about 6″ and ran about $4 apiece. C Clamps come in all sizes – I almost said shapes AND sizes but realized, no they all pretty much are the same shape – C.
- Bar Clamps
Bar clamps for woodworking are very versatile clamps and what makes them so great is that they come in varying lengths. They are very cheap if you buy them at Harbor Freight (top left) and I have bought several of them from there. I made the decision somewhere down the line that I was going to invest in higher quality clamps and that is when I turned my attention to Bessey.
As you can tell, the Bessey F-Style Clamp (left) is basically the same thing as a bar clamp. These clamps come in varying lengths and throat depths and are usually 2-3 times more expensive than the Harbor Freight variety. I usually would buy 2-4 at a time in varying lengths each time I would go to Home Depot so that it wasn’t such a hit on the wallet. These clamps are of higher quality than their Harbor Freight counterpart and where you can really tell is when you try to bend it length wise. The bar on the Bessey’s is significantly more rigid and sturdy. Don’t get me wrong, the HF ones will suffice in most situations just fine for you. When you drive the Cadillac, it’s hard to go back to the Ford Taurus is all I’m saying. Other high-end clamp brands include Jorgensen and Jet.
Here is a price comparison just to get an idea:
Harbor Freight: Home Depot:
6″ – $2.99 $8.97
12″ – $3.99 $10.97
24″ – $4.99 $12.97
36″ – $7.99 $15.97
Prices above are for clamps with 2 1/2″ throats or in other words 2 1/2″ deep. Woodworking bar clamps with 3 1/2″ throats will be a little more expensive.
- Parallel clamps
Next on our list are Parallel clamps. These clamps are also sometimes referred to as K-Body Revo or simply just K-Body clamps. They are similar to the bar clamps but apply a wider and more even pressure along your work piece. Also, they will not indent your work piece due to the flat padded jaw faces on either side. You will definitely want to use these clamps when doing any sort of panel work or cabinetry. Like their F-Body clamp cousins, they come in all different lengths but are quite a bit more expensive.
- Pipe Clamps
Another relative of the parallel clamp is the pipe clamp. They provide the same evenly distributed pressure and I have found them most useful for gluing up cutting boards or chess boards. You can usually pick a pair of Bessey’s up for $15 or so.
In addition to the clamps themselves is the need for a pipe to go in between them. The pipe will thread in to either side as seen in the picture to the left. The great thing about these clamps is their versatility. By just buying different lengths of pipe, you can basically have any length clamp that you need. These are a great addition to any work shop and can be used interchangeably with parallel clamps, albeit are a little more cumbersome to set up.
- Corner clamps
Corner clamps come in all different shapes and sizes but the primary function remains the same. They hold (2) different pieces of your work piece together at a 90 degree angle so that you can join them together. I did not have any of these at first but they have become indispensable in my shop. Again I have the Bessey type as pictured to the right but there are tons of different makes and models to choose from, all at varying prices. The one to the right was around $25 I believe.
- Toggle Clamps
Toggle clamps are more of a specialty clamp but are very useful where other clamps fail. They are designed to hold down the work piece with either vertical or horizontal pressure and excellent for jigs. I’m going to order a pair of (4) off of Amazon for $15 bucks or so which is very reasonable. Nice to know you have these arrows in your quiver when you’re in a pinch.
- Spring clamps
Spring clamps come in all shapes and sizes and I don’t really use them that often around the shop. Mainly helpful in holding down something for a very brief period of time. I would not recommend using them in glue ups or if you need to rely on something not moving at all. These are typically very cheap and I advise caution because you get what you pay for.
Again, this is just a partial list of some of the clamps that I’ve used and/or purchased but seem to be the most common. Hopefully, if you’ve ever asked yourself “Self, what kind of woodworking clamps do I need”, this will help you answer those questions.
What woodworking clamps are you using?
What tips for using woodworking clamps do you have?
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