BESSEY DUO45-8, 18 In. DuoKlamp Series, One Hand Clamp/Spreader

This product will clamp and spread, just what I was looking for. Looks to be well made, ordered a second one.

I like this clamp because it is very easy to switch from being a clamp to being a spreader.

I do a ton of woodworking and glue ups so I have a wall dedicated to clamps and I was intrigued by the one hand usability of these however they don't seem to apply as much pressure as the normal clamps or parallel clamps which are essential for clean glue ups and clean tops. They are useful for basic applications but they seem to give once you hit a certain pressure on it.

So, I'm restoring a cutting board I've had for over a decade. I call her Decky. If you can't figure out why, skip this review.I unknowingly abused Decky in every way you can abuse a cutting board. I left it sitting in water. I threw it through the dishwasher. I left it sitting in MORE water. There were cracks, there were splits. I think I finally figured out why, at night, I would hear something that would be the sound of a wooden thing crying.No more.I bought a new bamboo board (Bambi, of course), and there she sits in all her conditioned glory. Sure, I could toss Decky into the dumpster, but this isn't Cutting Board Story! I decided I was going to rescue Decky. Not all that noble, since I'm the one that pretty much ruined Decky to begin with.I promise, I'm getting to the part where this item comes into play. Why not enjoy an excellent story in the meantime?Before I started seasoning Decky, I first had to buy an orbital sander to fix a fair amount of damage. I did that. And that revealed a number of split ends (don't you just hate those split ends, ladies?). Off to YouTube I went. I learned that the best way to deal with that was to pack in a bunch of food-safe wood glue and sand it while it was wet so that the sawdust would mix in. Well, I basically ruined 4 sanding discs. Why? Because Oh...my...God, Decky, Look at those ruts. Since those split ends were on...well, the ends, a number of videos said, after you sand in that wood filler, clamp that bad boy.Enter the DuoKlamp.This thing was so amazing that I had to repeat the above steps twice. The first time I used it, it squeezed (squoze?) out so much glue that I was afraid that all of it got squeezed (squoze?) out. So after 24 hours of being clamped, I unclamped it and did it again. Same thing happened. This time, I left it clamped. For a WEEK! Hey, I'm not in a hurry here, I've been destroying this board for over 10 years!Then I repeated the process on the other side. Except this time I didn't freak out before 24 hours passed, I left it for a week.Decky's split ends are sealed. Even now she's busy sucking up all the mineral oil I can throw at her. I actually had to buy a gallon after she went through 2 pints of the stuff. But those ends? SEALED.Maybe I'll need this clamp again for something else. Maybe not. But for what I needed it for, it was worth every penny. When I clamped it down, I was NOT shy about clamping it. I actually ended up employing my knee on top of my wrist, bearing down on my wrist to make sure I got every ounce of pressure on it. Not only was Decky not hurt, not only didn't I break my wrist, but it 1 billion percent did the job I asked of it.Satisfied customer.

i work on old wooden sailboats and probably own 80 clamps, maybe more, in a variety of sizes. I have clamps made of wood, steel, aluminum, plastic and combinations of those materials. Many are very high quality--made by Festool or Dubuque clamps. (Some are not so high quality Chinese-made clamps.) But I find myself reaching for these Bessey clamps all of the time when I need to hold the material together with one hand, clamp with the other--and when I want a good strong glue or epoxy bond. I probably wouldn't use them to do something weird like bend steel, but for my purposes they are great. Because they are especially useful for the one hand operation I use them for things I can hold with one hand. So I like the 12-inch size. For bigger clamping projects, I'll turn to the aluminum Dubuques. I'll use the Festools or wooden Dubuques when I want to crank on a lot of power. Bessey makes terrific cabinet/furniture clamps, as well. I am so happy with the four of these I own that I just purchased four more. I strongly dispute the notion expressed in another review that the advertising for this product is misleading. It doesn't, however, surprise me that some people see what they want to see and that that doesn't always lead to a clear assessment of reality. Note: it does not say DuoKlamps, it says Duoklamp. That clearly means one clamp that performs two different actions (something I actually wish all of my clamps could do). Bessey is a good brand. I know some professional high end furniture makers who ONLY use Bessey clamps.

I had a couple of the Bessey Duoklamps for many years and they were always my go-to clamps, they were easier to use than the Irwin models, less clumsy, better balanced and tightened without as much effort. After about five years of heavy use and abuse I was down to one DuoKlamp so I ordered a couple more from Amazon, despite some of the comments stating that these clamps slipped. I figured the users must not have been using them properly because I thought these clamps were the bomb. Well I must say that these are NOT the same clamps that I was so fond of. They look the same but they feel cheaper. The tightening mechanism has a ratchet-like action that is no where near as heavy duty as the original, and yes, they DO slip. In fact they won't even grip on the short side of the clamp, something I used to use often on the original models (because they tightened SO securely.)These are terrible replacements for what were once the only clamps I ever used.Comparing the newer version side by side with the older version is no comparison. The old ones were heavy duty and locked tight, but the new ones are like toys. Very disappointed.

I bought this clamp out of desperation and am I ever glad I did. None of the clamps I had would work in my unique situation no matter what I tried. The minute this thing arrived I tried it out and to my enormous relief it did exactly what I asked of it. Highly recommended.

I rarely write reviews but had to on this one. Struggled to find or make a spreader that fit in the small gap of a gutter I needed to bend back in shape. Found this on Amazon and gave it a shot. Finally a job I had been frustrated and tinkering on over several days was finished in minutes. Worked surprisingly well. Super happy. Excited to have it in my tool box.

Ordered two. One works perfectly, the other does not close one handedly .I expected better from Bessey.Turns out the second one locks so tight, very hard to release.I am getting a replacement, but if it is the same as either one, I will send it all back and get another brand.That's it. Returning both, and ordered another brand. Disappointing.

Me gusto mucho esta prensa Sargento Bessey. Los materiales y la presión que ejerce al momento de utilizarla es muy buena. Un detalle práctico es su selector, el cual permite que esta prensa abra o cierre sus tenazas, sin necesidad de estar desarmando y re-orientando las tenazas (expandir o contraer). Muy contento con esta herramienta, dada la versatilidad que brinda al momento de utilizarla. Respecto al envió, llego en tiempo y forma.

Auf Grund der guten Qualität habe ich mein Sortiment erweitert

Bessey siempre una marca de calidad