Customer Reviews

Bessey UK3.012 12-Inch UniKlamp

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recenlty ordered a pair of these clamps, and let me say that they are excellent. Even clamping pressure, large jaws, and a neat little plastic "foot" at the end that flips down to hold the clamp securly on a flat surface. While not as expensive, strong or heavy as bessey's famous "k-body" clamps, these will do an excellent job as hold-down clamps for securing workpeices to benches while routing, sanding, cutting bisucits and the like. While most will say that a quick grip is fine for this, I would reply that for a few dollars more, you get so much more. These work excellent as assembly clamps, too. There glue-resistant surface and high pressure makes them great for truing doors, and glue-ups of small panels. While these would most likely not cut it for a professional woodwooker or cabinet maker, for the home shop owner, they are great deals for the price.

Don't get me wrong - i use these clamps a lot. If I could do it over again I would get the K body or the Jet 12" clamps instead. All of the UniKlamps I own don't slide along the bar well need one hand to push on the locking mechanism to get them to move. I love the weight but I often find myself reaching for the Kbody 24" when these would do.

Bessey exudes quality. I have many of their K Clamps. These guys do the job without spending mega bucks. If light to medium clamping strength is needed, consider the Uniklamp.

I have many Bessey K-Body clamps (the bigger brother to the UniKlamp - see my site for review) and thought I'd grab some UniKlamps for the lighter duty clamping tasks. They have pretty much the same features as the heavier K-Body clamps but are made lighter, not as strong, but do get the job done. They provide enough clamping force for most woodworking glue up tasks. They probably won't outlast a K-body over time, but for the price they are great, and they are more manageable because of their lighter weight.

I'll be buying more in the future no doubt.

First of all, I agree with everything the other reviewer said except for the idea that these clamps might not stand up in use by a professional cabinet shop. Used properly, the durability of these clamps should be as good as a K-Body. Of course, if you have an application where you're trying to squeeze warped panels together, you might want to use the K-Body style clamps, but in normal applications, these clamps are more than adequate. Remember that clamping too tightly will compromise the glue joint anyway (by squeezing out too much glue).

These clamps are first rate in fit and finish -- typical Bessey quality, and are lighter and easier to handle than the K-Body clamps. I use mine in nearly every project, and I highly recommend them. Try them! You won't be disappointed!