I’ve had some of Bessey’s new EHK XL one-handed trigger clamps in the shop for the last few weeks. I prefer not to have vises on my bench, so I use a variety of clamps to hold anything and everything together and to the bench. These clamps worked like a charm, with enough force to hold almost anything securely and quickly. The composite handle was sturdy and easy to grip. It did not take a lot of force to obtain good clamping pressure, which is rated at 600 lb. The removable pads were non-marring with a non-slip surface, and were easy to take off and put back on. The clamps have a 35⁄8-in.- deep throat and come in 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, 36- and 50-in. lengths. The jaws closed evenly and smoothly when squeezing the handle. The clamps were easily converted to a spreader, which came in handy in taking apart some chair joints.

I found that the metal release lever was sometimes hard to operate with the clamp locked down. That said, I reached for them all day for a variety of tasks.

— David Douyard builds chairs and teaches chairmaking in Connecticut

From Fine Woodworking #281