Harbor Freight Tools

Bought six of the F clamps for 2.99 each based on this. Thanks for the tip, as well as the suggestion to avoid the quick clamps. Noted.

 

Anytime, bud! A note for the F clamps...they will seem like they aren't tightening all the way, and I think that's a feature, not a flaw. The F clamps will crank down to the point where the shaft bows, but then the handle will seem to spin once the max pressure is exerted. I've glued a few body blanks with these, and I've always had excellent results.

 

I've been using those 6" F clamps since I first started building, so all of my builds have been done with them. I also have 6 of the 24" jobs for gluing body blanks together.

I recently bought a few of these 8" deep throat (giggity) C clamps for when I glue wider things together (like tops and body blanks), in order to help persuade the centers to stay aligned.

Like so:

 

It's comforting to know that I can expect that kind of life out of a $5 clamp. Harbor Freight is a lot like shopping at Aldi. It's great if you know exactly what to buy and what not to buy.

 

Pawn shops! That is how I "tool up", on a budget. Who cares if a tool has been used a little, when it is in good shape, and a quality name brand? Just need a good eye. And some knowledge of what you're buying.

 

I have had good luck with some of their tools. A couple of their angle grinders sound like the bearings sent the best but they have worked fine so far. There F clamps have worked great for me.
I bought their brad point bits and they worked well for a while but now don’t cut though much without a lot of pushing on my part. So for me I will need to buy another set somewhere else for better quality.