Harbor Freight quick clamps any good?

[waterpro]

I just purchased the BT3100 and am ready to start some projects. Before I begin though I need a set of clamps for my work. I went to home depot, but unfortunatley I can't bring myself to pay $20-$30 for one Irwin 24" quick clamp. Then I got a Harbor Freight flyer in the mail and noticed that they had some quick clamps advertised for $4.99 for a 24" clamp. I am thinking of picking a few up but wanted to throw this out and see if anyone else has used these and have an opinion on them? Ie are they decent, waste of money, etc...Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Popeye]

They are kind of hit and miss IMO. The better buy at HF are the bar clamps. ala http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976 this is just the one, I'm sure they are on sale in the flyer you have. I've gotten good service out of these and the aluminum bar clamps. HF also has some good prices on pipe clamps from time to time. Go for this type http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=31255 NOT this type http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=3814 Pat

[Pappy]

Short answer...no.

Long answer...****, NO!

This is one of the items at HF and Big Lots that you stay away from. They will work for dry fiting a project but the first time you try to apply enough pressure to do a glue up, the plastic breaks. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38183 In addition to the advise from Popeye, watch for these to go on sale. I have them in 24" and 36" lengths and they are the first clamps in that range I reach for.

[waterpro]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am definately going to stay away from the quick grip ones and go with one you guys suggested.

So the next question. So the next logical questions...

For a 24" clamp, which one is better, The pittsburgh clamp or the aluminum bar clamp? Right now the 24" aluminum bar clamp is on sale for $5.99 which is around the price of the Pittsburgh one not on sale. I am assuming since the aluminum bar clamps are more expensive (retail) than the Pittsburgh ones, they are better.

I am also assuming that for lengths greater than 24" that the aluminum one is preferred over the Pittsburgh one?

[kyle.w]

i like these to.http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976

[DonHo]

Well, I'm going to give you a somewhat different take. Some of my first clamps were the quick clamp types from Big Lots, I still have them and still use them. I will agree that if you need to apply quite abit of pressure, you'd be better off with bar clamps but the quick clamp types have worked fine for me on smaller projects. I would advise picking up a few if they are a good price but don't put all your clamp budget into them.
DonHo

[sthompson82]

I have to agree with DonHo. While i am still a newbie, i have a few of the HF quick clamps and they have worked ok for me. They arent the best, but for the price they do well. IMO, If you have to put so much pressure on a glue-up that it breaks one of those clamps, then there is something wrong with the joint and it will fail eventually anyway. Just my opinion which isnt worth much.

[Pappy]

They all have their place!

[waterpro]

That is one heck of a clamp collection. I just picked up 4 clamps. 2 of teh 18" Pittsburgh bar clamps ($2.99 on sale), and 2 of the 24" Aluminum Bar Clamps ($3.50 each on sale). Not bad, I got 4 clamps for about half of what I would have paid for 1 Irwin quick clamp at Home Depot.

I am thinking of adding a layer a 1/8" peice of rubber to the aluminum clamps though to give them a little padding so they won't mar the projects. Anyone else try this or have issues with marring the wood without some sort of rubber padding?

Thanks guys for all your help.

[monte]

The Pittsburgh clamps from HF are a good buy. They usually have them on sale several times thru the year.

[wassaw998]

quote:Originally posted by waterpro

So the next logical questions...
For a 24" clamp, which one is better, The pittsburgh clamp or the aluminum bar clamp? Right now the 24" aluminum bar clamp is on sale for $5.99 which is around the price of the Pittsburgh one not on sale. I am assuming since the aluminum bar clamps are more expensive (retail) than the Pittsburgh ones, they are better.
I am also assuming that for lengths greater than 24" that the aluminum one is preferred over the Pittsburgh one?

Which Pittsburg clamp are you asking about ? (The 24" bar clamp: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=5976)? The throat depth on the one is a bit more then the other, which may be of value to a given application. For pure brute force clamping, the aluminum bar would be my choice. I think the short answer is get both kinds when they are on sale !

[gjat]

waterpro,
I'm a long time 'cheap' amateur. A few thoughts. 'Qick' clamps tend to suck, but are good for lining up pieces and holding them while you use a bar or pipe clamp that will squeeze tighter. It's always better to have more clamps to better distribute the force, so IMO, cheap is better because you can have more with less load on each clamp.

I never use rubber as a protector. Save scrap wood. Sometimes I might notch scrap wood so the bar of the clamp fits in there. When you use scrap wood, you want to use 1 piece that all the clamps will hit and is generally larger or longer then your work piece. Again, it gives you a more even and balanced pressure and no worries about squeezing a dent into your work peice. I've sometimes used formica samples for small pieces. Keep wax paper in your shop to keep between your wood pad and work piece to keep from gluing your wood piece onto your work.

[waterpro]

qjat, thanks for the advice on scrap wood and wax paper. I am an extreme noob to wwing. I am a programmer by trade, but also love hands on projects. It's a nice way to escape for a while. But as noted, I am a noob, so I don't really know any tricks or techniques. I read in a different thread about the magazine choices and am probably going to subscribe to one or more of them. My current project is a medicine cabinet. This will be my first time with a router as well. Just got the accessory kit for the saw so this weekend I am going to mount my router to the saw and then it's off. If things go well, I am going to make huge cabinets for the garage. It will be nice to finally organize the garage!

Thanks again everyone!

[messmaker]

I will say that the ones from HF seem to be a little better than the other cheap ones I have bought and since thrown away and they have a lifetime warranty.

[srkeim]

I bought some of the HF quick clamps when on Sale online. Used them once and took them back... made $2 profit per clamp (Store had them at a different price)
They didn't break, but when you clamp tight, they don't release right... had to use a rubber mallet to one of them to get it off...