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Quick-Grip Quick Change 518QC 18-Inch Bar Clamp/Spreader

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Average Customer Rating:	3.0
Brand:	IRWIN
Model:	38548518886
Weight:	2.4 pounds
Dimensions:	18 inches [Length]

Product Categories

Bar Clamps; Quick-Grip; Bar & Pipe Clamps; All Woodworking; Clamps & Vises; Vises & Clamps

Product description

Versatile quick-grip bar clamps are ideal for clamping or spreading. Quick advance trigger moves jaws twice as fast as standard clamps. Head or tail can be used anywhere on the bar for ultimate positioning. Heat treated steel bar with resin head and tail provide lightweight strength and durability. Clamp pressure: 250 lbs. Throat: 3 1/4in. U.S.A.

Features

2 tools in 1 - converts to a spreader by reversing clamp pad

Quick one-handed operation

Non-marring, stay-on pads, that protect finish and yet can be replaced

Made in the USA from the makers of vise-grip locking hand tools

Full lifetime warranty

Customer reviews

« No Warranty+++No Response at all. »

One of the clamps we had broke and I sent it back to them as instructed. I never received a reply, no clamp, no response at all. I would consider their Warranty USELESS. We are going to buy a few of the Craftsman brand and try them out.

Rating: (1 out of 5) @ 2006-07-13

« buy the craftsman instead »

do not waste your money on this item. the craftsman version (from sears) is far superior to this. it features a trigger action that allows you to open and close the clamp, which is really nice when you are holding something together with one hand and trying to set your clamp with the other. the craftsman for about the same price, even cheaper when on sale thru craftsman club, is hands down a better tool.

Rating: (1 out of 5) @ 2006-01-19

« Nice tool, really BAD Customer Service »

Very nice clamps, I really like them. I have 15 of various lengths. However, try and get their Customer Service to back up their "Lifetime Warranty". I have filled out their forms on their web site -- no answer, I have called -- no return calls, and I have talked to some of their people and they just pass me on to someone else, never to someone to fill a part order. Call 1-800-GO-IRWIN or www.irwin.com. Find out they won't even respond. The "lifetime warranty" is worthless.
Craftsman makes a similar product. I'll try them next time.

Rating: (3 out of 5) @ 2004-08-28

« Mate the size to your work needs, but all of them are great »

The big benefit to these is that you get true mobility out of them. While holding a piece of work, lined up, in one hand, you use these quick grips in the other hand to secure the work. If it slips while clamping, it is still a one handed tool to release it, and reclamp it again. Enables you to maintain a professional flow to your work. I feel awkward when using regular clamps in comparison. They require two hands. You could use a spring clamp to hold it together, then get another clamp to give it a final hold, but the quick grip saves you from having to do that.
Having these clamps in a few different sizes is beneficial as well. Small ones are more frequently used, and don't get in the way. The 33 1/2" is great when you need to hold larger projects together, and you can't effectively use two smaller ones to substitute. Additionally the macro clamps give you deeper jaws for a farther reach, enabling you to use them for securing work, to your radial arm saw table for example. They are fast enough to be used for almost any application. Sometimes I use them to secure work when sanding with a power sander. A couple squeezes and they are on, and one squeeze and they pop off.
After getting the smaller ones, and using them, I immediately order two of the 33 1/2" for larger projects, and for tie downs on equipment, including the drill press, and occasionally the radial arm saw.
Their is a small rubber stopper, which you can readily remove, in order to reverse the end, and make it a spreader as well. Something not needed very often, but difficult to achieve without one of these.
One note is that these have built in rubber pads, that completely cover the metal internal end. That is an advantage when you do not want to mar the wood. That and the fact that you can squeeze these with one hand, creates a mechanism that is easy to use, but not something that you would want to use for strength clamping. As a safety measure, these clamp sufficiently for most operations, but a threaded bar clamp, is stronger. So for those operations where extreme strength is needed, these are not the clamps to use. You sacrifice mountain holding strength for the ease of use. For example if I was using a large bit on the drill press, and drilling into metal, I would clamp it with something more. Even the slightest movement in an operation like that, could cause a snag, sending the piece into movement. If you are using just one of them, at the end of a 24" board, and decide to rout the other end, it will move on you. Securing it with two of them, and it is super tied down. You get my drift.
The big advantage of quick grip clamps, is that they handle wood beautifully, even for glue up operations. Hold workpieces more than securely to do the job in most applications, and are so handy that they deserve more than 5 stars. I would feel lost without them. It is another tool in the must have category.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2003-02-24

« Good Clamp, Good Size »

This clamp uses the ingenius trigger grip design for unbelievable ease of use. This makes the clamp unbelievably easy to tighten using one hand. A few warnings about this particular product, however:

(1) Be sure the size is correct. I think the 18" size is the best all-around size. But, if you are doing very large projects, the 36" size may be better.

(2) The plastic construction makes the clamps best for holding items "approximately" in place. If you need total clamping for cutting precision, look elsewhere.

All in all, a good product if it is the right size, and used for the right purpose.