Harbor Freight's sale fliers will list all of the part numbers for any item with multiple suppliers. When I stocked up on these bar clamps last fall, I picked through them to get the blue-handled ones.
Another good mod is for use holding round stock such as rebar to a welding table is file a groove or round slot into the fixed jaw and tighten clamp from under the table.. Works great holding the rebar in place!
I find that a lot of harbor freight stuff can be hit and miss. You really need to inspect the tool before buying because the manufacturing consistency can all over the place sometimes. I bought a bunch of welding clamps when I first got my Everlast welder. I made sure to check every one of them at the store before buying.
One thing i have noticed is some of the grooves on them are cut deeper than others. I dont know if they sell the black handle anymore. Soo far no problems with the blue handles.
I just bought the 6" and 12" clamps at HF today and all they had is the black ones.. I found they all moved smoothly and a great deal for the price paid! Maybe they had a bad batch or improved them? The cast parts are blue with crinkle paint and they actually look pretty nice too.. I plan on using on my welding table so the plastic pads aren't that important to me but I saved them in case I want to use on wood..
I don't think they make the blue model wit the flat black shaft anymore.. I do have the black ones with the shiny shaft and they have held up pretty good for welding.. I have noticed they don't want to release at times.. I will try lubing them and see if this helps.. Still a great deal for $2.99!
Another thing worth mentioning is the newer black handle ones are always threaded crooked and the lower jaw is on a bad angle which looks like it may make your work piece slip when tightening
Out of 20 of the blue clamps I’ve returned 3 for the locking mechanism. The 6” clamps are the only metal clamps I’ve had issues with. The plastic I’ve replaced all.
Not sure if this was different back then, but it seems they are now listed slightly differently on their website. The Good one is sold under the "Pittsburgh" name, and the bad ones are actually sold as "Pittsburgh Automotive". Maybe they are used for different purposes? I can't think of anything automotive wise that would need much clamping pressure. Maybe having the rubber feet being easily removable is intended for the Automotive version (just a guess, have no idea). Wood Working: www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-bar-clamp-96210.html Automotive: www.harborfreight.com/6-in-quick-release-bar-clamp-62239.html I'll have to check my local HF to see if I can snatch a couple of the good ones up, thanks for the tip.
Mr Pocket thank you for sharing the information,on the change in the clamps,is there a actual problem with the clamping force or is the problem just in what you specified,i purchased some clamps from there awhile back the problem i found with them if you tightened down on them during a glue up that the actual long flat bar portion of the clamp would bend long before you achieved enough force to hold it together securely,all the best to you and yours
Ron Sanford Is your model similar to either of the two pictured here? Because I found no such strength limitations. Also, are you sure that you are not over-tightening? Because I expect that they would all have a reasonable limit; F-clamps just cannot be expected to be as hardcore as a good old C-clamp.
I just ordered 6", 12", and 18" clamps from their website making sure I ordered the blue ones. They swapped all of the part numbers and sent me the black ones. Guess they don't have the blue ones any more.
Noted. I'm heading out today to get a new set of Bessey pipe clamps. I love love LOVE them! I'm also a firm believer that you can never have too many clamps.
I also like the blue-handled ones, the only kind they sold the last time I was at my local Harbor Freight. Hopefully they don't phase them out and start stocking only the crappy ones.
I went and bought a bunch of different clamps from Harbor Freight and bought one of the black handle clamps in the vid. I will comfirm that it is crap. I like the long trigger grip clamps I got though.
Fix for HF Black Clamps! I just figured out how to fix the main problem I HAD with HF #62239 6" Bar Clamps! Problem solved was the clamp sliding along its bar and not holding in one place. You simply remove the spring, retention it, and reinsert it! OK, look for the part of the chrome latch that has a curl in the end. Now check that a spring is loose in there, as all mine were. It's a black "V"-shaped spring, but you are seeing just a round bend in the spring as it has two halves. Now get a Good Light. Illuminate the edge of gray-colored clamp body just opposite that curly latch part. you should see the two ends of the spring. With small screwdriver and needle-nose pliers pull each end of the spring free of the step that's holding it captive. Now pull the spring out. When out, all my non-working clamps' springs had about a 30-degree bend in them. Bend each arm of the spring to about 45-degrees. Now put the spring back in -- yes, it's a fiddly operation, but you can do it! Put each arm back over the step with screwdriver and/or NN-pliers. Make sure the rounded end ends up under that curve of the chrome latch, and you are done! Note: this won't even address other problems with the black clamps, but the lack of retention of the body was the Deal Breaker for me. Do this quickly, as this author removed my other comment!!
I have several of the black ones, as well as several Bessey clamps of the same size. Yeah, the HF clamps aren't as well-made as the Bessey clamps, but they're not as expensive as the Besseys either. On my black HF clamps, the pads kept falling off, but a spot of hot glue fixed that. I did notice, as you did, that the threading wasn't as smooth as other clamps, but a bit of lubricant also took care of that. Mine do what they're supposed to do, so for $2.99 each I can't complain. The blue clamps are still available at HF...next time I'm in, I'll give them a comparison look.
A timely clamp advisory update - I had gone to see these clamps at my local Harbor Freight just this week, remembering your first clamp post, but saw that there were two colors. Same price. I left, clampless and confused lol
I confirm this. Have been bought some *blue* 12" ones. They are quite comparable to Bessey. Went to HF the other days trying to get some more but notice the clamps didn't feel the same. Remember this video and understood why. Check my receipt and all clamps I bought were 9xxxx (number). Almost got the *black* ones with 6xxxx (model). Always get the *blue*. They feel like day and night.
I've been using the black ones now and I do a lot of woodworking had no issues or no problems I kind of like the hard rubber better than the soft I like the longevity of a hard rubber last longer
The blue clamps are actually the new line, made in Taiwan. The black clamps are made in China. Pittsburgh manufacturing moved to Taiwan. The HF in my area hasn't sold the black clamps for a long time. This is also true for Pittsburgh tools. Like their impact sockets... the China version has a gloss black finish, while the Taiwan version has a flat black oxide finish. Check the manufacturing location, & only buy the Taiwan made tools.
My mom ordered 4 clamps online for me, 2 of 6" and 2 of 12" And I Inspected them and they were the black ones, And one of the springs broke already. Geez
I agree with your opinion on both clamps. I love the OLD blue ones. I stress "old" because the last time I went to my local HF I went to get more of the blues and, well, there's a NEW blue that looks almost just like the originals but the lower jaws do not line up properly with the upper. Every one had the same skew so that the jaws don't actually have the same line of contact. And there seemed to be other subtle differences as well. But I didn't have an old style to compare it with and I wasn't going to buy those pieces of crap. Someone on Facebook also noticed that change. So buyer beware: The days of the good ole blues may have run its course, which sucks because they are genuinely good clamps ate a great piece. The blues I have all work better than they Bessey, red-wooden-handled counterparts. The handles provide more torque.
Actually, now that I think about it, maybe they were black. I'm not sure now. Is the movable jaw of the black clamp you have there really sloppy and off centered?
To be honest, I have a ton of BOTH types (blue and black) of clamps, for a long time too. I have higher end clamps, and I have these for "grunt work". They are honestly fine for their intended purpose. Ive had zero issues, and I do agree, the boots on the news gotta go. I use cauls anyway, so I just removed them, and no harm no foul on that end. One good thing about the newer black ones are the jaws are a bit thicker and they dont flex nearly as bad as the blue ones under clamping pressure. The black ones are 17mm at the base (where the taper meets the ratchet post), the blue ones are 15.5 mm. For the money, they are still easy to recommend for general use clamps. And just to show Im not talking out my ass... i.imgur.com/t5XWRP9.jpg
XombyCraft That makes no sense.. he said what if they only offered the black model clamp (the shitty one) and you go and say "spraypaint." If you actually gained any knowledge form the video, then you wouldn't have posted such a stupid comment.
XombyCraft Spray painting the black ones blue doesn't improve performance at all you moron. You sound like an idiot. The point of the video is to tell people not to buy the black model because it's garbage.
I looked at both closely at my local HF store last week, and I found out the black handle one has deeper and consistent square grooves just like the Bessey, while blue handle one has bad grooves cut... All the other aspects are identical. I see higher quality control on black handle ones and I picked up 6 of the 6" ones.
Richard Roby Yes, I just inadvertently left the store with one of each. The shiny black bar version is item 62239 and the flat black version is item 96210. I agree that there is a difference between them and I too prefer the one with the flat black bar with the blue handle.
I have the 6", 12" 24" 30" 36" sets of the black handled clamps. All have rubber protectors, and all have worked perfectly for me. Some I just purchased last month. I do agree with you that you must do your homework and read reviews before you buy.
fiberinspector Ok me bad, after watching I went out to shop and looked at my clamps, most of mine are the blue handled ones. I do have a couple of the black ones and will keep tuned on how they perform.
No, they don't. Details add up, and the blue ones are slightly better. I own dozens, and I've used them daily for years. If you can't see the difference, you simply aren't looking close enough.
pocket83² I noticed the differences in both and have used both on several back yard and patio projects and they both worked well holding the material weather I was sawing , cutting , grinding , riveting , tack welding , or, whatever needed clamping down ! I used them this past weekend cleaning barbecue iron grates with my harbor freight die grinder with a wire wheel and the black ones worked well ! Can't beat them for the price but I get your point . Just haven't had any issues with the one I have purchased , I ground the nub off the ends of a few of them so I could pass them through holes in my harbor freight clamping tables and it has worked well and holds the material securely !
Always looks over anything from harbor freight real good for defects, Casting quality ect. I will pick up ten hammers and check the handle look at grain, feel the balance look at the head of hammer ect... out of the they may all be junk but I try to find the best one. Just thought I'd share that... dont buy power tools from there you will end up returning them moat of the time.
Sigh… The few “ what do you expect for…” people need to get out and stay out of management…Hell, get out and stay out of AMERICA!… Them, the U.N. and the liberals are destroying this republic of ours…..
What I like and don't like about harbor fright!!! The nearest one to me is about 60 miles. The coupons I get by email, are mostly for the store. their products are sub standard for most, and it's hard to tell till you get them in the mail. The charge a shipping fee that makes small orders the same price, or near what you can get local. I'm getting to dislike online ordering more and more for the following reasons, the make it hard to know about the product till you physically get it, the added shipping price makes the item cost more than a local purchase, the time to get the item and then return it, Back to harbor fright, they make returns to the store impractical as the nearest store is too far.The thing I really like about them is??????????? Well keep looking at my comments, I'm sure to think of something.Well, I have stopped ordering from them.ed1
Well I have to disagree with most that's been said . That lil clamp is $2.50 and ( and if you use the 20% coupon even better ) is worth every penny. If you buy an Irwin you will be paying 3 times the money for the same result .The most expensive item on the menu dose not always taste the best!!! and yes you can never have too many clamps ....
+martino amello Build all the benches you want, but the blue clamps still operate smoother. Sorry that you're so angry over purchasing the shoddy ones.
+martino amello Man, I hear you. Half of mine are crap, too. And that's not all bad, because expensive clamps are heavier without doing anything special. But still, my point stands: Less frustrating is better, if all other things are equal. That's not operator error; it's optimization.
Sure, the black clamps work as they were intended. I bought 6", 12", and 24" clamps in one purchase and the 12" clamps were the only ones that were black with the shiny black bar. The 6" and 24" clamps were blue with the flat black bar. All had the hard plastic on the jaws. The blue clamps clearly turn more smoothly. The black clamps are rough turning. I'll try some moly d on the screw threads to see if it helps. That's the only negative difference I found between the two, so far.
I have found if you grip the short side of the clutch to release they slide just fine! They literally almost fall down from gravity this way.. Good luck finding the blue ones!
I don't owe you credibility. The onus is on you to be skeptical of anonymous internet opinions. That said, given both 1) the absence of any reasons to believe the contrary, and 2) the hundreds of original working ideas that I've already published on this medium, it would be a tad irrational to not consider even my unsupported advice. I like the blue ones better. I'll give you nothing further. Go buy whatever you like. Just be sure to apply that same tenacious rigor when you are picking yours out- because whether blue or black, some of them will still have mechanical misalignments.
This was a very weird review, this is all qualitative data, no hard evidence as to why the new clamps are "bad". The newer clamps have a bar and flexes much less
"Qualitative data?" I'm an experienced carpenter with a large online following. My opinions lean against this reputation, and it does not sway for sponsorship. The bottom line is that one clamp works smoother than the other. If you don't trust me as a source, or should you require further "evidence," feel free to run some tests and make a spreadsheet.
Right, it is a preference. There is no testing saying that one clamp works better than the other, just how you feel about them. It does seem like you have a lot of experience. To say something is bad from a few small hiccups without quantitive measures is a very weak argument. I clicked on the video because I thought it was a MAJOR defect, not someone because it is a little notchy.
Maybe you could check some university databases, and see if there have been some more conclusive recent studies. I probably lack the technical proficiency and mental equipment to provide you with the information you are after. I apologize that my argumentative rigor has failed to meet your standard.
