A couple of readers tipped me off about new Dewalt clamps that started popping up on Home Depot’s website.
I asked Dewalt about the new bar clamps, and was told that it’s a “test” with Home Depot. So maybe this is a limited run designed to gauge demand?
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The 6″ and 12″ bar clamp set, above, is priced at $20, which is quite economical.
Most of the new Dewalt clamps are not immediately available for shipping, but some are, such as this 4″ bar clamp, DWHT83849. It features a 2″ throat depth and up to 330 lb clamping capacity, is priced at $5, and ships for free as part of a $45+ order.
Most of the images look like renderings, but the fact that some of the SKUs are available means that there must be products on the warehouse shelf. Others are listed as available for “scheduled delivery,” and I can’t even tell you what that means.
There are a couple of right angle clamp options. The poorly imaged miter clamp, to the right, is available for free delivery on a $35+ order.
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The new Dewalt parallel clamps look very similar to Irwin’s, which would make sense since Dewalt now owns the brand. But let’s hope that they’ve made improvements. I didn’t have good things to say about Irwin parallel clamps: Irwin Parallel Clamps Review: They Look Great But Perform Terribly.
There are a few sizes of parallel clamps, too.
See More(Dewalt Clamps at Home Depot)
Now’s a good time to remind you about Home Depot’s Dewalt trigger clamp bundle pack. You get 2 medium 6″ clamps and 2 large 12″ clamps, for $30.
I bought a set last year, and recently bought 2 more sets. The 2 recent sets were mostly paid for using a $50 Home Depot gift card that they sent me before I toured their gift center for the holiday season. I was going to buy 2 more sets anyways.
The 12″ clamps are quite good. The smaller 6″ clamps? Not so much. The 12″ clamps sell for $20 each, individually. So I figure I’m getting a $10 discount off the price of (2) 12″ clamps, and the smaller “medium” clamps are no-cost extras I can use or toss in a “I don’t like these clamps but maybe they’ll come in handy sometime” pile.
It’s not that the 6″ clamps aren’t good, they’re just not as strong or nice to use as the 12″ clamps.
Some of the online photos show the 12″ as having the same reversible jaw removal button as the 6″ clamps, but it doesn’t, it has the beefier mechanism as shown here. It’s an important distinction because there are “medium” versions of the 12″ clamp. But you don’t get that, you get the slightly more expensive and much better “large” clamp version.
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pete
Their trigger clamps are awesome. I want more of them.
Big Adam
This!
Ed S
Yes! I bought 2 packs of them, and they helped me in assembling my kitchen cabinets!
Brian A
Baffles me when a company will try to penetrate a segment, Dewalts basic pressure clamps seemed the same as everyone elses. Irwins big parallel clamps are not in the same league as Bessey, why would Dewalt venture into that territory.
When I wanted some big parallel clamps the only recommendation I got was Bessey. Anything similar would have to be significantly cheaper to compete which isnt possible. Even if my fav brand made them I would still own Besseys.
Ed S
These illustrations look much like Bessey. I wonder if deWalt has a contract with Bessey?
Jimmy
That black right-angle clamp looks like a rebadged Bessey. It looks like it has the same design, contours, and screw placements, just different colors and a different handle.
https://www.besseytools.com/en/product_details.php?ASIMOID=000000020003e00800040023&ASIMOID_SC=000000020003eb7d00020023&ASIMOID_MC=000000000001f3f000030023
Lack
Well, the Irwin angle clamp isn’t much different either:
http://www.irwin.com/tools/clamps/90-degree-angle-clamps
Jimmy
Good point, I hadn’t seen the Irwin one.
Rami
There is a very similar looking angle clamp being sold in Finland under Stanley Bailey- branding.
fred
Even though there is nothing that looks innovative here, it may be an OK time to introduce a new line. With the once Chicago-based Adjustable Clamp Company (Pony and Jorgensen brands) out of business – maybe HD thinks that there’s room for more SKUs. The “poorly imaged” corner clamp look like the old Stanley 83-404.
Regarding parallel jaw clamps, I have a rack of original style Besseys and some Pony’s – all out of production now. Wood Magazine (the Dec/Jan 2017 issue) rated the Bessey K-Body Revo the best of the 8 that they tested. Yost K7000 also seemed to get high marks. They rated clamps across eight performance categories – giving rating of A, A-,B+,B and C. In the category of clamping force – the K-Body Revo, Lee Valley EHOMA, and Yost K7000 got A’s. The Bessey Revo Jr, Irwin, Jet, Peachtree and Yost K5000 all got B’s. BTW despite 3-B’s and 1 C rating, they said that the Peachtree was a top value.
Andrew
Those pipe-clamps look enticing. Has anyone used those/can compare them to Bessey?
Ray D
One of the best $30 I ever spent with the DeWalt trigger clamps for that extra two pairs of hands feeling. Might grab some more.
Nathan
where are they made? Only thing I really see is a nicer handle that happens to match their new screwdriver handles – otherwise any other clamp is as good.
One that did strike me was their 4 corner band clamp widget – between the 2 miter clamp picks. I’m sure i have the name wrong.
I did like that one. if priced competitively I’d surely give them a look.
fred
That sort of band clamp with the 4 plastic corners (cast pot-metal corners in other brands) has been around for many years. The first ones I saw were called “Merle” clamps and used a steel strap as the band. They were sold by MLCS. Others came from Woffcraft and Bessey . You can make your own corners or buy corners to use with ratcheting band clamps. The nice thing about making your own corners is that you can make ones for hexagonal, octagonal or other multi-sided shapes. The Bessey comes with rocker pads on the corners to accommodate other than 90 degree corners.
https://www.toolbarn.com/bessey-vas-23-2k.html/
Stuart
I keep forgetting to check, but I’m pretty sure they’re made in China.
Jason
“The 6″ and 12″ bar clamp set, above, is priced at $20, which is quite economical.”
Would anyone recommend the Dewalt set over a similar set (same price) from Bessey?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/BESSEY-Clutch-Clamp-Set-4-Piece-GSCC4PK/205086977
I’m still learning about clamps… My initial read is that Bessey makes good clamps for the money, without requiring that you commit as much for the likes of Jet.
fred
My take is that Bessey makes a pretty full line of clamps – from light-duty homeowner quality to industrial heavy duty. Price and quality – plus holding-power or clamping force can vary considerably. I’ve seen some of their light-duty clamps that slip.
Just for giggles – I started a thread over on the Toolguyd Community Forum site about different sorts of clamps.
https://discuss.toolguyd.com/t/clamps-some-different-types/441
Stuart
Between the two, I’d give the Dewalt a try – the handles look more comfortable, which could mean a slightly easier time turning the screw to max clamping pressure.
Bessey is a tried and true brand. I own a couple of their clutch-style bar clamps, and they’re okay.
It’s curious why they didn’t have a similar deal as in 2015, and then again during the holiday season.
fred
Yep – for homeowner use – they might just be very good.
Once the Bessey parallel jaw design went off-patent many years ago their dominance started to fade – and while they still probably have the edge others may have a better price point – and/or better handles etc. (as you point out),
Jason
fred and Stuart – Thank you for the responses.
Diplomatic Immunity
Well those large Dewalts have half of the clamping force vs those Bessey’s. They’re also plastic vs steel. The only advantages I can see are that they can be used as spreaders and that they are quicker to use since they are trigger clamps.
If using clamps for woodwork you might want to look up the amount of clamping pressure required to glue different types of wood together. If I recall correctly different hardwoods require a lot higher clamping pressure than softwoods.
From a review on the Dewalt clamp page:
“First let me preface this by saying I use trigger clamps for work holding. These clamps do not provide sufficient enough strength for a glue-up. If you are using them for glue ups and are disappointed, it’s no fault of this particular clamp. It’s not what they were designed for. A bar clamp, pipe clamp, or parallel clamp is better suited for that task.”
fred
Not only should you pay attention to the wood species but also if it is flat sawn or quarter sawn on the glued faces. The cell structure of each wood is different and accepts glue differently. You want enough clamping pressure to evenly force the glue into the “pores” but don’t want to crank down so hard as to starve the joint of glue. Its not something that most folks obsess about. In hand clamping I’ve never seen anyone use an instrument to measure the pressure being applied. You apply the glue evenly, brush or smooth it out along the joint, use clamping cauls if appropriate, start applying pressure with multiple clamps along the joint – look for even squeeze out and crank a bit more if its rock maple and a bit less if its pine.
Naturally gluing end-grain is never good for a strong joint – but is useful for things like butted or mitered corners. For clamping casework/trim corners my favorite is a clamp called a clam clamp:
http://www.miterclamp.com/
Hartford also make a variant:
https://www.amazon.com/Hartford-Mitre-Clamps-Clamp-Miter/dp/B0015YHD96/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1513117960&sr=8-3&keywords=hartford+miter+clamp
ktash
I’m a Bessey fan, especially now that Jorgensen is gone. I had one of their self-adjusting clamps fail and they replaced it right away, no questions asked (I sent them a pic of the failure). No asking for receipts or when I bought it, etc.
Their parallel clamps are unparalled, imo ;). I’ve not tried Jet parallels, but have tried Jorgensen and Irwin early on. Jorgensen is on par, but still like Bessey. Irwins cracked and they wanted me it ship it back to them, which would cost more than the clamp itself. Most of my good heavy-duty clamps are Besseys. Can’t see that DeWalt could measure up.
I’m hoping that this doesn’t mean Home Depot is dropping Bessey. I just got the square-corner clamp there for making face frames with pocketholes and am enthusiastic. I’d rather buy from my local store. This holiday season, there don’t seem to be good deals on the Besseys like in the past at HD.
(random thoughts as I’m rushing out the door)
Sheldon Colwell
Locally Home Depot put all their Bessey clamps on sale. An employee told me he thought they were bringing in a new brand. ;/
Rami
A DeWalt rep here in Finland told me that some Irwin products will be rebranded to DeWalt now that SBD bought them, so they might be just rebranded Irwins.
Bob
Clamps are useless. What one needs is MORE clamps! I love F clamps, and will check these out.
ktash
Update, I bought the 4 pack of the trigger clamps since it seemed like a good price. I’ve tried them for a while, but find them stiffer than comparable irwins that I have. I don’t remember the Irwins being this stiff when new. The small ones, especially, don’t slide smoothly. Maybe they’ll get better with use. But I wouldn’t buy them over the similar Irwin clamps.
ktash
I take it back about the small ones. The small ones are good, and either they loosened up or I got used to the stiffness. For the size and type they have good holding power. I’ve been using a lot of clamps in projects lately. At this point I would buy them again.
Nicolas Martin
Those are Irwin clamps with a different color
Since Dewalt bought Irwin, they rebranded their clamps