Best Bar Clamps

A bar clamp can make it easy for you to hold the job in place. It can help you with metalworking as well as woodworking. It is essential to, however, choose a sturdy and stable bar clamp. Only when you do that, it will become easy for you to hold the base in place.

Between gluing materials, building picture frames, assembling cabinetry, or doing other shop activities, having the right clamp for each job can be critical. Woodworkers use clamps for any number of jobs around the shop when an extra pair of hands is needed. Depending on your use, the best woodworking clamp for your project may be one of several varieties. Keep reading to learn about some of the best woodworking clamps that you can choose for your workshop.

There is such a wide range of bar clamps available in the market—different makes, types, brands, and so on. Whenever you are off to buy a clamp, you’re very likely to get confused and caught up in the wide variety of options out there. So we employed all our expertise in making a buying guide of the best bar clamps.

What to Look For When Buying Best Bar Clamps

Buying the product is the easy part. Finding the best of the bunch is definitely not. There are lots of clamps available in stores. So if it’s your first time buying one, you probably don’t know what to look for. Our buying guide helps you with all these things.

There are certain features that only the best bar clamps have. We discuss them in detail below:

Material

You should inspect the material of the clamp you are buying. Most bar clamps are made of steel or some metal. Some parts of the bar clamps have plastic material too. Some are made of hard plastic, and some of soft plastic.

Try to buy the ones that have soft plastic as their material. Hard plastic tends to crack more often than softer ones. However, the metal parts are not prone to cracking.

The wooden parts of a bar clamp should also be checked carefully. The material should be hardwood. Now, it might be from oak or maple. To check the wood’s quality, try scratching the wooden parts with your nail. If they scratch easily, avoid them at all costs!

Handle

The handle of a bar clamp, too, is made of different materials. Usually, they are made of plastic or wood. You can choose any material you are comfortable with. Check for grip and comfort. Plastic handles are more prone to cracks, as we said. So always choose wood over plastic for clamp handles. These will hold up for years without breaking.

Sturdiness

A bar clamp has to be sturdy. The steel bar has to hold the workpieces. So, it should be solid enough to carry the wooden parts’ weight. Bar clamps are bought mainly for heavy-duty clamping. That’s why they need to be strong and well-built.

Size

Though woodworkers use bar clamps a lot, they also complain about the sizes. Bar clamps are the most versatile among all the clamps. But they are ideal for more significant projects, i.e., heavy-duty clamping. If you are working on a smaller project, maybe a regular-sized bar clamp is not what you need for that. So, before you decide on buying a product, check its size.

5 Best Bar Clamps of 2021:

1. Jorgensen 8050A 24-inch

The first product in our list is for the flat panel, box, and panel door assemblies, or even any other project that may require evenly applied pressure. And that is Jorgensen 8050a 24 inches long 90° parallel jaw bar clamp.

This heavy-duty bar clamp comes with a 24-inch capacity, perfect with so many materials like wood, plastics, composites, light metals, and mixed materials for almost every corner of the workpiece like clamping at the tips or even more profoundly.

This clamp can parallel the item to maintain squareness at 90 degrees once you lock it up and prevent workpieces from lifting or even bowing. It also has 3-3/4-inch jaw death to apply clamping pressure evenly across its width over the entire job. Plus, a rubber-coated soft-grip handle and nearly four inches long jaws ensure an even and firm grip on the project.

2. IRWIN (1964758) QUICK-GRIP 6 inch, 4 pack Clamps

The Irwin Quick-Grip 4 pack bar clamps have a good grip and protect your project from scratches and scuffs with non-marring pads. The clamps can be instantly released by one-hand quick-release triggers.

To keep the workpiece together it provides 140lbs of clamping force. The clamps are sturdy and made from resin with hardened steel bars which prevents flexing and bending.

These clamps are easy to use and are ideal for small projects and working in confined spaces. The measurement system is in inches. Comes with a full lifetime guarantee. Dimensions: 21 x 8 x 2.5 inches, weighs 1 pound, clamp size 6 inches.

These bar clamps have strength and durability, perfect for smaller projects and confined spaces, and have excellent reviews.

3. Shop Fox D2528 Jaws Aluminum Bar Clamp

The Shop Fox D2528 Jaws Aluminum Bar Clamp is a 36-inch bar clamp. The clamps are made from aluminum and the whole clamp is lightweight, only really suitable for light-duty tasks. They aren’t the most expensive, but they are far from being the cheapest clamps on our list, which makes their poor strength even more disappointing. They are available in 24-inch and 36-inch models and have plastic ends that are designed to prevent the handle from falling off.

The clamp pads are loose-fitting, which means that they are prone to coming off or having dust gather below them and preventing them from clamping tightly. Considering the price of these Fox Shop D2528 Jaws Aluminum Bar Clamps, they are not durable or effective enough to recommend, and better alternatives exist.

4. Bessey BPC-H34 3/4-Inch

Bessey is a renowned brand for woodworking bar clamps. This H-style clamp of theirs is a hit item. This BPC-H34 model is known for its durability and potency. For your heavy wood-workloads, this will be very useful. Below we have given the specifications for this item.

Now, this one’s actually a pipe clamp, but it’s a magnificent clamping assistant nonetheless. The strength and the longevity of this item are praiseworthy, and if you’re looking into bar clamps, there’s no reason this one won’t meet your needs.

5. BORA 24″ Parallel Clamp Set

If you are looking for a heavy-duty clamp for massive woodworking projects, then the BORA 24″ Parallel Clamp Set is the one for you. This brand is famous in the woodworking world for its designs that ensure strong and steady.

BORA 24″ Parallel Clamp Set comes with anti-slip bottom jaw, which ensures it stays in place unless manually adjusted. When using these clamps, you will not need to worry about the clamp failing thanks to the double-assist-stability design. Also, this product utilizes 3.5-inch deep throat with a padded jaw to keep your wood safe and free from any damages.

The best feature of this product is the easy-grip handle, making it a breeze to lift and release the jaw. The padded jaws provide the perfect amount of pressure to help you with your woodworks. This clamp is ideal for both beginners and professional woodworkers alike.

Final Verdict

Now, why should you trust us? First of all, we did not pull the items from thin air! We talked to woodworkers, carpenters, and clamp sellers at length. We also asked them about the various bar clamps types and features. We’ve judged and evaluated the items that made it into our list from every aspect. In other words, you can trust us on this.

Now that you’ve read the whole buying guide, you can judge yourself. These are undoubtedly exceptional products. Besides, most of them are available at reasonably low prices. If you’re someone who is often involved in woodwork, it’s high time you bought your own bar clamp. Make your wood clamping enjoyable with these awesome tools!