BESSEY 50 in. K-Body REVO JR Parallel Clamp with 3-1/4 in. Throat Depth

these clamps are great for building face frames the parallel jaws help keep things square

These clamps are decent quality, and are great for applications that don’t require quite as much clamping force as the full size K-Bodies are capable of. They’re very easy to adjust, just like the standard full size K-Body clamps.The bars are slightly lighter weight than the full size model, but the most weight savings is in the smaller clamping heads. The total reduction in weight is about 40-45% from the full size models. However, I don’t think that weight plays that big of a factor into ease of use, since clamps don’t exactly require hands-on use for most of the time I’m doing a glue-up.I measured the deflection of the jaws over the depth of the throat, and it’s 1/8″ out of square from the 3-1/4″ distance from bar to the tip. This is compared to the full size clamps deflection of only 1/16″ over a distance of 3-3/4″. I performed this test by placing a 15″ section of 2×4 between the jaws at 2-1/4″ away from the bar and tightening up the handles almost as tight as I could get them. I included a picture of the K-Body JRs in this setup, and you can see the bar is slightly bowed. It’s 1/16″ bowed from center to edges over the span of 15″. I realize that in an ideal use case, the workpiece will be much closer to the bar, which will eliminate most of the deflection. I was simply looking for a performance measure between the two models.One big downside is that I’m not sure why Bessey priced them higher than the full sized K-Body Revos. The only advantage I can see is that the JRs are about 40-45% lighter than the full size ones. Otherwise, the JRs feel slightly cheaper, and their jaw depth is about 1/2″ less. The bar standoffs are also lower quality on the JRs, without the right angle “T” that helps hold the workpiece square to the clamp.The only way I can really recommend these is if the price drops below that of the full size models. Either that, or if you just can’t deal with handling an 8 lb clamp over a 4.5 lb clamp. Otherwise, go with the K-Body Revo full size model, which is cheaper and performs better.

They are not as beefy as the original K-Body clamps but still offer plenty of force for glue ups and the parallel clamp faces really help with keeping things square. The 50 inch length lets you clamp 48″ cabinet casings too. The operate smoothly and also have a spare face pad in the event one needs replaced. Nice medium duty clamps that make glue ups much easier.

Adequate but cheaply made. Steel rail instead of aluminum really adds weight. The clamp assembly being plastic with rivets instead of welded steel means you better not drop them on the ground accidently. I suppose the price reflects the construction quality. My Jet clamps are much nicer. In hindsight, I should have paid more and have a clamp that will last a lifetime.

When you’re building larger things, especially out of wood, clamps are a necessity. For most of my woodworking projects, I end up using the smaller Irwin Quick Clamps as I like how easy they are to adjust on the fly, and they are the right size for smaller projects. For larger projects though (like a floor dresser I am designing for our closet), I want something that will be able to hold the whole thing lengthwise at once.These clamps are the right size for larger projects, but adjusting them is a little bit hit and miss. The throat depth is great once the clamp is adjusted; it’s just getting the clamp in place and tightly clamped that’s a little more challenging than it should be, especially for one person doing a job. Unless you’re building something particularly heavy, you don’t really need more pressure/grip than these provide and really, anything over 200-300 lbs. of pressure is overkill and can potentially damage the wood. The clamp ends are good at not marring material so far, but I don’t have a good idea of how much pressure I’m applying until I pop it loose and see if things move around. And then I have to readjust it.The size and pricing is the selling point here, and they do work. I just think that the full size clamps instead of the “Junior” model is probably a better choice for most, at least if you’re working on larger projects.

Positive: Ease of use. I’ve had these (two) for three weeks.Negative: Still have not figured out what the little black items that slide on the rail our for. There are no instructions/explanations that come with this product,

Wow, These are the longest clamps I have ever had or seen but do they work. I am building a gate that will close off a set of stairs to keep our crawling grandchildren from doing the baby bounce to the basement. The gate is 3/4″ pine and it has 4 slats that are 6″ wide and one slat in the center that is 8″ wide. I used the clamps to hold the wood stationary while I put a frame on each side. I fit each slat to insure that the gap between boards was minimal. I did not have clamps that would fit this project so I was super excited to get them. They are so easy to operate and for as big and long as they are they are very easy to manipulate. The twist handles insure a good hold and a tight fit. I like the wide pads that hold the project in place. The slides took some getting use to but they lock easy now that I understand how to use them. These are perfect for building cabinets that I have put off doing because of the length. I am excited to use them and I am not afraid of them any more. These are worth their weight in gold. GREAT ASSET.