Quick Grip vs Harbor Freight - you decide
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- I was in need of some additional 4" and 6" quick grip style hand clamps and discovered that Harbor Freight's current design is a solid contender at a considerable discount. Both are made in China.
TIP: Not all items work the same at Harbor Freight! SO thoroughly inspect each one you buy. I've noticed slight variations in the tools I've purchased there.
I have several HF clamps and they've all worked perfectly well.
I've had exactly the same experience as you, and I now have a bunch of the HF clamps.
4 inch on sale now for a buck! Hard to argue but test in store
Thanks for the review! Have the same Irwin and want more. Had been eyeballing the HF clamps but was leery for reasons stated by others. Will make sure to test before purchase.👍
I have a few of these and about 50% of them are ok but the rest slip under almost not pressure. I have just learned to test them at the store before I buy them.
I agree. At the store weed out the broken ones and the ones that slip. The remaining clamps seem to continue to work fine.
I have a couple of Irwin’s one works while the other won’t hold squat! So goes to show even the priciest ones fail too!
Thanks for the review Marty. I have a few dozen HF's f-style clamps that I really like (they are better than the Bessey) but was leery of the quick clamps. Next trip to HF I plan to pick up a dozen. Can't have too many clamps.
Thank you. Maybe just buy a couple and see how well they hold up in your shop environment first.
Thank you so very much for your video and your info and point of view. I found some Hyper Tough ratcheting bar clamps at Walmart (I own a 12" but haven't used it yet), but I can't seem to find all the sizes I need without having to go to 4+ stores to find em all. I've been looking on Amazon to make the shopping easier, but they're so much more expensive compared to the Hyper Tough prices at Walmart. I'm not an experienced woodworker, but I tinker with stuff here and there and I am gaining better tools than I've had before. I'm currently looking at the Irwin Quick Grips and I love some tools at Harbor Freight and some I despise. I'm looking at Harbor Freight's site now and they're roughly the same price or better priced than the ones at Walmart. I think I'm gonna give the Harbor Freight ones a try. Glad they gave them a make over because that first one you shown us is like you said awful & worthless. The reviews on the current style at Harbor Freight are great. Thanks again for your video. You helped remind me about Harbor Freight. I do have a store near me or I may order them and have em shipped. Thumbs up friend. Appreciate your time with this video.
thanks so much for the nicely done and informative video. just picked up a few of the small ones last weekend but havent had a chance to use them yet, so i'm glad to see theyre a good clamp, especially for the price. will be headed back to HF to get a few more small ones, as well as some if the larger sizes. like you said, cant ever have enough clamps. thanks again, keep up the good work. thumbs up on the video
Thanks :-)
good review marty..i must say -ive had those 3$clamps b4 and have had nothing but bad luck with them..after a couple months the grip slowly faded away and/or they cracked exactly where u pointed in ur review of them..however those minis are AWESOME! i spent 40$ on a bunch of them and think they work better than thise 12$irwin minis..i was amazed.only clamps i get from h.f. are the F style and those bar clamps u did the upgrade on a while back and i did that and they work awesome now so thanks again for that tip.
Thanks for the feedback Joe. Yeah, I obviously don't have any time on them yet, but I figured for $3 I'd try a couple of the 6" versions. And given how little force is applied when using the mini versions it makes sense that they would hold up fine. I was really impressed compared to the horrible red/orange earlier versions. Good to know that your experience has been positive with the little ones.
Marty Backe yeah I have nothing but good words to say for the little ones they do hold up a lot of pressure for being that small and I've never seen the red ones before then again in Harbor Freight has only been in my area for 3 years now I love your reviews and your tips and tricks and experimental videos
Keep the HF receipt and they will replace them over and over when they break. My experience is they are not up to very much pressure but for light work I have had decent results.
I was playing with some Irwin's trying to see if the mechanism would make for a box joint jig. like using it to advance the peice to make the next cut. don't think they are repeatedly accurate as they advance though.
The Harbor Freight’s are not as nice as the Irwin’s, but they do the job and a great price. With that place, don’t expect precision but it works just fine for me as a weekend DIY’er. I buy the 12” when I find a coupon for them in my Family Handyman magazine. $4 something clamp with the coupon down to $2 something, max four. So I buy the max since there’s always a need for an extra clamp. Big and bulky, but hey, I’ve got a set of nicer bar clamps I use for precision. But these will always have a use. Thanks for the review, always informative.
Nice vid Bro, thanks
I had some of the 6" and they did great for about a year, then they all broke within a month of each other, right at the top of the trigger. I think the plastic just dried out because I'm in hot, dry CA. Other than that, they were ok.
I'll stick with my HF bar clamps. They work well for the money.
Picked up two of the 6" a week or so ago and one worked fine but one would slip with very little pressure. Only out a few bucks. Should have checked them both at store.
Yeah, I did test my clamps in the store. For kicks you could try filing a bunch of small grooves in the bar like I did and maybe it would stop slipping?
Yeah I think I'll give that a shot after work this evening. I may take it apart first though. I'm curious just exactly how the mechanism works inside.
As some have said already, it is hit or miss with harbor freight clamps I have had some that work great but I have had some that do not hold the pressure.
I've gone into our local Harbor Freight a couple of times and each time, I feel like I've walked out with cancer. The only thing I've found there worth buying were the moving blankets. There is so much petrol fumes in those stores they're a health hazard.
Wow, that's a pretty dismal picture you paint. Fortunately ours is nice, and as you know, I do find items that contribute to my happiness in the workshop. I'm glad they exist.
Marty Backe You should visit ours, it really smells awful, toxic even. I'm glad the stores contribute to your workshop enjoyment, I didn't mean offense by that. Like I've said, I've only been in there a few times and both times were a bad experience. I generally don't like to go out and shop anyway. I don't care much for our Woodcraft store either, but I do like a store we have locally called Klingspor's.
No offense taken :-) Wow, an actual Klingspor store? I've bought many supplies from their catalog, if we're talking the same place. That would be nice to have one of those around here.
Marty Backe Yeah, its the same company. Nice folks, very knowledgeable and they always seem to have what I'm looking for. They also give a discount if you're a member of the North Carolina Woodworker. net group. Here is the store I go to: goo.gl/hvcldc
They also sell a cheaper version of those Irwin clamps. I bought a bunch of them and I think they were $3 a piece. I use them all the time. They have the same mechanism as Irwin too.
The 6" and bigger clamps I've got from there have been about 50/50 on how they work, they start out good but then later on they stop gripping and I have to use zip ties to hold the handle down in the tight position
Agreed, Harbor Freight clamps are a crapshoot. Always best to try them in the store. They are my first choice, but sometimes you need a lot of clamps so it's nice to have a cheap alternative.
I get a 50% success rate. That is half that I bought had to be returned because they wouldn't hold any clamping pressure. They simply slid off. Like mentioned previously, you have to test them at the store.
$3 for the HF clamps and if it breaks, there's a lifetime warranty.
Yes sir i have some to i think they good not all just some my friend :)
Good to know they redesigned them. I had some of the orange ones and they were pure garbage! I am now very leary of anything from harbor freight that isn't a "1 piece" tool, ie: hammer, screwdriver, punches etc.
Yeah, the orange ones were awful. I hear you, but I try and remain open minded regarding some of their stuff.
But, two dollars!
Don't put too much pressure on them they WILL break themselves. Cheap thin plastic. I bought 10 only one left.
That wouldn't surprise me. But I don't use these types of clamps to exert huge forces. I'm not rough with my tools and use them within the limits of their design. Everyone has to decide for themselves. For $2 to $3, I say buy a couple and see how they last in your shop. If they break (as in your case) then they aren't for you.
I bought a pair of the HF clamps and they worked pretty well. Sometimes a little difficult to release but it could be just me. What is the purpose of the circular dial on the end?
Sorry, I don't know what circular dial that you are referring to.
Green Genes to take jaw off and put it on the other end making a spreader, Marty states it in the video that they can be switched over
Thanks
Are you on HF's payroll? HaHa. Nice review Marty.
:-)
Thanks Marty. I got pissed off when I needed 10 of the really small clamps and they were selling for $9.98 at Lowes. That would have cost me over $100 with Tax. I bought the clamps at Harbor Freight after watching your video, with the 20% discount I spent under $20.00 and I got a free measuring tape to boot. I hate being ripped off by Lowes and Home Depot. Sometimes they have really good specials but most of the stuff is way overpriced. Specially the wood like Poplar, Redwood, Pine, etc.
I'm with you. I love HF and always spend more than I had intended to whenever I go there. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Want to buy everything.
Why do keep buying crap from HF Marty. Some people never learn I guess.
Sometimes the crap works pretty good.
Most of the time the crap works pretty good.
Those little HF clamps are junk. I bought 2 and they are in a drawer and need to be thrown out. I have another pair of larger ones and they are better. But for quick clamps I would certainly go with a better name. Irwin is good but there are others as well
Sometimes you need a lot of clamps for a project and you don't feel like spending a few hundred dollars on clamps. Harbor Freight can be an alternative to get the job done. Just test the clamps in the store before you buy them.
Oh I have some HF clamps like the F type screw and they are great, use them all the time, and if I need more, I would certainly buy those clamps from HF. I shop there often and I know what is worth having. Not a bad store
err bullshit... that 6 inch black clamp is fucking awful and the reason why is the very thin spring in them. The larger black one is better.
I have bought 10 of these and 7 of them have failed. Most with in a week. Bar clamps from harbor freight are ok but these SUCK!!!!!!!!!