re: Harbor freight clamps and clamps in general

Woody,
We have a saying at our house….you can never have too many clamps. It is an obligation of the shopper at HF to buy at least one “F” clamp per visit…but I rarely limit it to one. I must have 30. I have not limited my clamp shopping at HF to the F style…I have tried the others and not had good luck at all with. I like to build a clock or two a year and the F clamps are perfect for smaller things….for bigger items I use Jet clamps, which they run a 50% off sale usually the day after thanksgiving…but this year the 64" or what ever size it is was not included!!!

There are cetainly other lousy clamp makers beside HF, so I don’t want to pick on them alone…I have a set of Shop Fox clamps that I only use to hold plans down when I am working on a windy day….and that might even be stretch!

I hate to disagree with some of the posters on here, as I am sure their skills make mine look pathetic, but I also never buy anything a HF with cord….well for the most part…

I must say also, when you are starting out, pipe clamps are good buy and have their place in any shop. I still have a number of them, and still use them….I have some huge ones, like 8 foot….with unions on the pipes you can make them what ever size you need. Then pick up some Besey or Jets as you can afford them.
Mike