Customer Reviews

MLCS 9012 Woodworking Exclusive Merle Multi-Corner Clamp

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First thing you should know about these clamps is that you can order the extra corners from MLCS woodworking--they come in a box of 4--so that you can use this clamp for more than 4 corners. Well--I don't have a strap clamp, one that uses nylon strapping instead of a metal band, like this clamp. But I do own 3 of these clamps, and I know that you can put tremendous pressure on this metal band. It's very good for pulling together things like picture frames, boxes, even coffee tables with multiple sides. That metal band, as one reviewer mentioned, has the potential to cut you. I'ver personally never cut myself on the band, but if you want to play it safe, wear gloves. That's the price you pay for going the non-nylon way, but my belief is that you get more clamping pressure. These clamps have been more than adequate for all of the applications I've used them for. Those corner pieces have pivoting plastic pieces to fit a wide range of angles. They are tough; I've never broken one in the 5 years I've been using these. And they are non-marring. I doubt that you will find a band or strap clamp that can put the pressure on that these do, and the price is quite reasonable for that amount of clamping force compared to other similar clamps. Durable, powerful, reasonably priced, and versatile.

Over the last five years I've bought scores of woodworking tools from Amazon for my shop. For me, Amazon is the place to be. I love it. Bought four of these. Well made, for the most part, though you should wear gloves since, instead of fabric, the connecting wire is very sharp metal and can cause severe cuts when rewound into the container. I like these, except, the rewind systems are sketchy, and the metal wire is very sharp and dangerous. One has detached from the rewind hub, and I'm using without the hub, which is space consuming and awkward.

I had one for 10-15 years and clamped hundreds of picture frames. It was starting to show wear on the screw mechanism. I ordered a new clamp and they also sent a free replacement for the old clamp. Now I have two really good clamps.

I chose this tool after looking at 6 or 7 similar ones.
Although I purchased this tool mainly for picture frames, it has turned out to work great on lots of other chores. We recently used 2 of these to clamp together a 5 shelf book case while gluing. I don't think we could have done it with any other tool. Great tool, well built, worth every penny. (Hint: Buy a Pair)

This thing works really well at pulling frames in tight during the gluing process. It's easy to use and it is well made. I recommend it to anyone who is making frames or frame-like items that need pressure clamping.

The Merile Clamp is very well made except for one major part, the rewind system. Its hard to imagine how someone could put so much detail into a tool and then come up with the very poor design of getting the cable back into its retainer. The action of the spring spinning the flimsy handle could very easily hurt or break your finger. I used the clamp for the first time today and found the clamping ability to work very well, but the band retracing part has now broke. I can't understand why people are not complaining about the retracting of the band with this clamp. I am returning the Merle Clamp tomorrow.

The Merle Multi-Corner Clamp is inexpensive, easy to use, and works great for clamping frames, drawers and virtually anything with 3, 4, or more sides.

Because through the years I have been making square clock frames by using a single corner vise to secure each corner sequentially, I was overjoyed when I recently used my Merle clamp. It enabled me to secure all four within a matter of a few minutes. I looked forward to gluing a second clock frame the next day.
Again, the procedure went smoothly and well. But when I came into my shop three hours later, parts of the clamp were scattered all around the work bench. For reasons that confound me, the metal strap had snapped about six inches from the end that had been bolted in the handle. Because of that and because the spring steel was so difficult to retract into its container--as an earlier disappointed user has noted--I am going to seek an alternative to the Merle Multi-Corner clamp.

The Merle MLCS 9012 Multi-corner clamp is so easy to use and you have total control over your work piece.if anyone has any problems with this product after a couple of days practice, maybe they should take up knitting. Cheers Kevin.

This worked great when I used it to build a bookcase. I bought 2 of them and I'm glad I did. I was able to glue 3 shelves and the sides all at one time. The only problem was the second time I used them one of the reels locked up and I could not get the strap to move in or out. I contacted MLCS via email (another great company) and they sent out a new reel at no charge. I highly recommend this product and would give it 5 stars if it weren't for the broken reel problem.