Spring clamps. I have a love/hate relationship with them. For years and years, I only bought the old school metal spring clamps for a few specific uses around the shop. Inevitably, the little rubber boots crack, and end up falling off. If they were in a jobsite toolbox in the van, they get rusty and the rubber gets brittle even faster from the change in temperature. So, like most folks I moved to the plastic or nylon jobees, which also tend to crack and lose their pads over time. But spring clamps are so handy! What to do? When I received the Rockler Bandy Clamps for review, I took them out of the box and immediately thought… “Hey, these look like they actually might not suck!”
UNDERSTATEMENT. These spring clamps are WAY beyond any of this type of clamp you have used before, and that is before I get to the special added feature of these clamps. These puppies have all of the features of the higher quality spring clamps on the market. Soft rubber grips, high impact plastic, no-mar jaws, strong spring etc… but there is a new feature included in these for about the same price as other high quality clampd. They feature a nifty inner rubber band that makes them the perfect tool for gluing on solid wood edging when you are doing woodwork or cabinetry.
The Rockler website describes it best:
The Bandy Clamp combines the easy one-handed operation of a spring clamp with the even pressure and no-mar qualities of a super-tough rubber band. Just open the clamp and stretch the band over your edging material—the deeper you set it, the tighter the pressure. Once the Bandy Clamp is in place, its jumbo ultra-grippy clamp pads simply will not slip, allowing all the clamping force to be transferred into the material. Since every contact point is a no-mar surface. the clamp is ideal for delicate moldings, even from soft materials like white pine. What’s more, the clamp works great for keeping power cables, extension cords and pneumatic lines out of your way as you work. You’ll find countless uses for it around the house as well as the shop!
Now, I will not argue with Rockler at all about the performance of these clamps as edging clamps. They beat the heck out of those annoying 3-way c-clamps or using bungees or rubber bands. But using them for managing cords and hoses? Sure they will work if they are handy, but they are a little pricey for that. The two-dollar CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap) clamps are fine for holding cords out of the way. These are edging clamps, and damn fine ones. If you build cabinets, buy as many as you can afford. They will change your life! If you are not a cabinet maker, a half a dozen or less will serve you well (you save 17% if you buy 3 pair). My point is, I wouldn’t pay the premium price for these if you aren’t using the edge clamp feature regularly, but if you are, they are a bargain!
Grab yourself a pair (or two or three) of Rockler Bandy Clamps at around $17-$20 per pair:
Wow. I’ve never seen the inner band before. Are these the first clamps to include this feature?