jkafer's Full Review: Irwin 12" LIGHT-DUTY CLAMP QUICK-GRIP MINI BAR CLA...
Every wood shop should have a clamp of some sort. Heck, every guy should have a clamp or two. But a typical clamp is not good for all occasions. Applied too tightly, they can mar the object you're trying to clamp. Plus they usually require two hands. Enter the Quick Grip, a single handed clamp. Is it easy to use? Does it hold stuff together well?
Read on, Dear reader...
So how does a one-handed clamp work? Think of it like a caulk gun. It's got a trigger and squeezing that trigger makes the clamp close as one side slides down a metal bar toward the other. A small lever loosens the clamp for easy removal.
The first thing I noticed is that the two prongs that squeeze together to clamp things are made of plastic. At first I thought this was going to be a problem. After all, plastic isn't the strongest material known to man, so I wondered how it would do when the clamp needed to really do some work. Never fear, I've used this on a variety of applications and obviously, the plastic hasn't broken. Nor have I seen any signs of de-plasticizing after several years of use. It's as strong as ever.
The clamp extends to an opening of 12 inches. This is certainly not the largest of clamps and other sizes can be purchased. This is great for smaller work such as kids models or fine woodworking. It isn't designed for clamping large pieces of wood down for stability. When I tried to do this to saw wood, the clamp repeatedly lost it's grip and the wood slipped. So while I wouldn't say this is a failure of the clamp, since it's not designed for heavy-duty work, it is something to be aware of for safety reasons.
However, when it comes to medium duty work, this clamp is a keeper. I've used it to hold wood togther that's being glued. I've used it to hold pieces of furniture in place while assembling. I've even used it for some smaller work such as plastic models. And in all cases, I've had great success.
This clamp can have a ferocious grip, but the surface you're clamping is well protected because the prongs have removable rubber feet. The rubber is a hard rubber, so there's not much give, but it's enough to protect whatever surfaces you need to clamp. Plus since they're removable, if they ever get worn out, they can be replaced.
Releasing the grip is easy. Simply flip the lever below the pistol grip and it releases. This can be a tough switch to flip if the grip is compressed to its max. But the whole product is designed to be easy to use, and it very much is. A few squeezes of the pistol grip and the clamp is tight and sure.
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