Bessey G clamps

[Ragnarok]

yeah, from a brand like bessey with clamps costing hundreds of pounds, you would think that they'd at least look them over even if they are the cheaper import lines... i didn't expect the best clamps ever, but this is truly shoddy i could probably have you straighter clamps from silverline or blackspur haha

i would and probably will buy carvers eventually, but they are rather expensive and i wanted a fair number of clamps 6 carvers would be over £300, i do tend to make the stupid mistake of buying the major bits of kit but not budgeting for all the little bits that make everything work much better like loads of clamps and visegrips/lockjaws....

 

[wheresmejumper]

id ask to be suitably compensated for the stress of the whole debacle

 

[Ragnarok]

i dunno it's just crap, i've emailed bessey to let them know how bad their quality control is.

 

[penfold]

Republic of China

Otherwise known as Taiwan and formerly known as Formosa. Mainland China is known as the Peoples' Republic of China(PRC).

 

[Engineer1964]

Buy Carver clamps instead

Agreed; very poor quality/service. You would think someone would have double checked them wouldnt you!

I agree Carver Clamps are suberb, I've got a pair which are around 20 years old and they still work 100%

Also don't knock silverline clamps I bought 10 x 4 inch ones for about £40 intending to use them once, for a job i had, still got them 3 years down the line, The orange ones with the copper coated threads. Plus they still have all there bits especially the swivel bit on the end, 2 Record ones i have have lost the swivel bit and now i just have a ball end

Being cheap dosn't mean crap, it all depends on what your using them for

 

[breezer]

I've got some of those orange silverline ones, after one of the red 4" silverline ones snapped. Orange are forged, red are cast if I recall correctly.

All the swivelly bits have fallen off, but I have managed not to lose any. It really winds me up every time I use them though, suppose it's good to know it happens to other better brands.

 

[Shox Dr]

I also have some of the orange Silverline jobbies, bought them for a site job, where I had to leave them in situ until the next day, I thought they would grow legs, but no they were there when I came back. And to be honest they are not bad at all, certainly worth the 2quid each they cost me.

 

[Welderpaul]

Carver clamps really are the mutts nuts, even with an extension bar on the handle, i don't seem to be able to break one. We have 6 real big ones; long reach, open up to 900mm or so, amazing what force they can exert.
Well worth the investment and can be bought off ebay, second hand, for a fraction of price new.

 

[Fred Moore]

Bessey! Make quite a few different types of G clamp.
Though they call them C clamps

The absolute best in the world as far as I'm concerned but only the higher priced ones.

http://www.besseytools.co.uk/bessey...ey-clamping-tools-for-metalwork/c-clamps.html

In the top picture of this link is the Silver finish Black thread ones mentioned in this post.
These are the only type I've purchased for quite some years.

The old saying, You get what you pay for rings very true here.

They can be tightened to enormous amounts of pressure because they are forged spring steel
and do not loose their form.
At least! They never have for me.
I have several Carver clamps which are ok and can clamp in places that G's can not but if abused then still bend.

In the beginning I had old Record and cheapies.
At some point either me or someone else would
over tighten them and then they'd twist like the out of line ones that Ragnarok has purchased above.
I suspect they were threaded out of line and no doubt to save money, Bessey had them made in china.

We used to warm them with the propane/Oxygen cutting gas back then to twist them straight again.
Some people even got the heat wrong for that and broke them apart.

It must be going on 15 years or more I've had my Besseys of the above.
They are as good today as they were when I bought them and have had regular use.
Their expensive, But you only buy them Once.

Fred.

 

[balmerchris]

I bought 6 of the bessey high performance clamps a few years ago and they are insanely strong. The clamping force is immense. Got them on a deal but still weren't cheap.

 

[T0rnado69]

i use the bessey lever clamps, first used them when i worked for a window manufactors years and years ago.
not cheap at normal prices but when they put them on a special, they can be half price.