# Jorgensen bar clamps



## Noek (Jan 26, 2013)

I have 4 of these Jorgensen bar clamps and I like them a lot but I am not sure why one of the clamping blocks is set at an angle. All four of them came this way and it make clamping pieces hard since it wants to pull them together at an angle. I've linked two pictures so hopefully someone has these and can explain this because I am not sure why they wouldn't make them straight.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

I don't see any pictures.....


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I see the pictures now.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the design.

The jaw which clamps starts out tilting toward the piece, and as pressure is applied, the "clutch, aka steel locking teeth engage and the jaw is forced backward to be almost parallel with the moveable jaw.

These clamps are not considered "parallel" clamps where the jaws are designed to be parallel as pressure is applied.
This is the same design concept used in pipe clamps. The jaw faces are tilted towards each other.


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## Noek (Jan 26, 2013)

what would be an application for this design? I would think one would want it to be parallel when gluing up pieces of wood. I haven't had any situation where, when pressure was applied, they became parallel, but maybe Im not applying enough?

I have since purchased a few Bessey clamps and really enjoy them as well, but I felt the jorgensen ones were more heavy duty and simple, which is why I liked them.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Noek said:


> what would be an application for this design? I would think one would want it to be parallel when gluing up pieces of wood. I haven't had any situation where, when pressure was applied, they became parallel, but maybe Im not applying enough?
> 
> I have since purchased a few Bessey clamps and really enjoy them as well, but I felt the jorgensen ones were more heavy duty and simple, which is why I liked them.


This design is less expensive to produce. Similar concept in pipe clamps. The difference is the Jorgensen clamps you have use steel bar, rather than pipe. The bar is stiffer, so less flexing.

The moveable jaw is not likely to get parallel, even with a lot of pressure.

When using any clamp, you need to watch that the clamping pressure is not causing the wood to bow under pressure. Sometimes this needs a clamp on the bottom and another on the top.

A good joint should not have gaps when dry fit. Clamping to close a gap means a lot of stress on the joint and the potential for failure in the future.


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## Noek (Jan 26, 2013)

Thank you, I guess I will put these on the shelf and just use the besseys.


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