Alpha JackClamp

July 8, 2009 | by Ethan (email) |

If you ever do any woodworking, you probably have a fair share of clamps. Not only are they extremely useful, but there’s a lot of different clamps to choose from: pipe clamps, bar clamps, quick grips, wooden hand-screw, spring clamp, C-clamps, and more. No matter what clamps you use, good clamps have a couple things in common.

Qualities of a Good Clamp

Aside from any bells and whistles, a good clamp needs these qualities to hold it own.

• Durable Construction: Any worthwhile clamp is made from quality materials. Many clamps are made of lightweight or flexible parts. They aren’t built to last. You can immediately feel the difference when you pickup a heavy duty clamp.
• Secure Clamping: Clamps need to…. well.. clamp! You may be locking down a jig, clamping furniture, or gluing a picture frame, but the clamp needs to securely hold whatever it is in place.
• Variety of Applications: I think a good clamp can be used in lots of different scenarios. It saves you money and space when one clamp replaces two others.

Alpha JackClamp

Lowell Thomas Tools manufactures the Alpha JackClamp, and this clamp does it all. The JackClamp is set apart because it features two parallel metal bars. Both parallel bars are easily adjustable, reversible and removable to tackle any project.

• Clamp- The JackClamp can act as an L-stock clamp, securing up to 13″ materials, and it can act as a C-clamp too.
• Jack- Reversing the main bar allows this clamp to work as a jack. This feature can be used to align trim, hard wood flooring or even installing overhead cabinets.
• Spread- You can spread rafters and wall studs for alignment or put gentle pressure on warped furniture when refinishing.
• Hoist- Both bars feature hoisting holes allowing you to anchor the clamp and hoist heavy objects.

Other Features

• Vertical and horizontal, shock-mounted, levels incorporated into the main bar.
• The main bar can also be used as a square & a 18″ or 44mm ruler.
• Attach two or more bar clamps together for a longer reach.
• Glue resistant jaw pads.

What do you think? What clamps do you use?