All in One Clamp A-50 50-Inch Grip Clamp Guide w/T-track
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Our Price: $44.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of All in One Clamp A-50 50-Inch Grip Clamp Guide w/T-track
Customer Review: Save your money
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this in addition to the wide jaw accessory clamps. I fought with it and got it to work a couple of times, however it's not in the least self-squaring, even with the "wide jaws". I added 8" sections of hardwood to the wide jaws in order to increase the width of the clamping surface and that was a marginal improvement at best. Unfortunately it's still prone to shifting on you even when it feels like you've really snugged it up. Finally I was using it today and the movable side refused to slide smoothly or actually engage to clamp at all. I'm now back to using a quality level and clamps as my straight edge. Faster to set up and it doesn't slip.
After four mediocre uses of it and one total failure, in addition to it making me recut and replace two fair sized pieces of walnut because of it slipping, this is going out with my recycling.
Customer Review: Solid straight edge clamp
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good clamp for wide pieces. The 2 position clamping mechanism works well and it is easy to get on the mark. There was no noticeable movement in the jaws once clamped. There is a bit of flex in the clamp when used on wide pieces (like a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood), so use a light touch when routing, etc.Customer Review: Useful tool
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used this tool at least 5 times and found it extremely useful. I used with the additional fixtures and without them. Using the right touch with this clamp and it will not flex. I had no problem whatsoever with the clamp flexing. I recommend this item as a useful tool for your workshop.Customer Review: Versatile and useful clamp
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a useful and versatile clamp that helps you cut and rout on very straight lines.
Pros:
1. Very straight and sturdy- difficult to flex side-to-side, allowing you to keep your tool on the edge without distorting the guide. It allows you to make cuts approaching that of a table saw, if you are careful. Never been able to do that before with my Skilsaw.
2. Clamp - having just the one lever to clamp down rather than separately clamp both ends of a straightedge is very handy and saves time. Once fully clamped, it holds well. I have even used it at very slight angles and it seems to hold fine.
Cons:
1. The graduated measuring guide on mine was just plastic coated paper that moved within its slot. It is fine for very, very general reference, but I did not find it useful for precision measurements.
Other thoughts:
I found the clamping mechanism to be somewhat notchy. I've been using it for years, and have watched the how-to video intently, but I still have problems getting the clamp to work consistently. On this basis, I can only give it four stars. It may be that I am just lacking some technique or finesse, but I think the action should be more reliable. I can say that when it does clamp, it's a champ; my difficulty with the clamp does not rise to the level of the annoying, but merely quirky. This I can live with and still think it is a great clamp that I can recommend.
Customer Review: Worth the money in the time it saves.
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this a few weeks ago (from Amazon) with the wide jaws because of the recommendations here. I agree buy the jaw set, in fact I think they should just be sold as one unit. I am very pleased and did not have any problems using the tool. It sure beats using a board and clamps.
The distance from the edge of my saw's baseplate to the blade is not a nice even number. I made a little story stick (which I tend to misplace between projects) for this as I never remember the setting and would have to re-measure. I know there are many ways to do this but I like to do as few adjustments and measurements as possible. I did not buy the saw guide but was curious if it would eliminate or simplify the alignment step.
I attended a woodworking show this past weekend and the gentleman from Emerson had a booth and was demonstrating the different clamps. I stopped by to see if they had the saw guide. However after watching a few minutes I realized I did not need one, at least to ensure alignment. All you have to do is attach a piece of hardwood to the wide jaws that is wider than the distance to your saws blade and then cut off the excess. You now have an alignment tool calibrated to your saw. I like to think if I used it a few more times I would have thought of that but I give credit where credit is due. But watching the demo gave me many more ideas of how these clamps can save time and increase accuracy in my work. You can make other jigs and attach them to the clamp using inexpensive T-bolts that will fit in the tracks on top. I was so impressed that I bought a few more at the show.
I also learned that Emerson is a small company and I like supporting these types of businesses. And yes when you do deal with a small business sometimes you do run into problems with less than excellent response times. As the owner of one myself (I am the CEO and the guy who takes out the trash) I know all customers are important but you can't always respond the way everyone would like every time. I hope customers understand this and realize that if we don't have these small startup companies we will be missing out on a lot of new an innovating things. I also hope the reviewer who gave the poor rating has resolved the difference and will give them another chance.