Tried using cheap harbor freight clamps on a big cabinet build, lost 3 days of work

Ngl I thought I was saving money buying those $12 bar clamps but two of them snapped under pressure and my whole face frame shifted overnight. Had to take apart a $400 sheet of walnut ply and start over on the glue up. Anyone else had cheap clamps ruin a project?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookep625d ago

Is it really a woodworking project if you don't lose at least a weekend to something you should've known better? I feel like those HF clamps are secretly designed to break at the worst possible moment during a glue up. I had one that looked fine but then just started bending like a wet noodle halfway through tightening it. Now I just use them to hold trash bags open or something dumb like that, not for anything that matters. Sucks about the walnut though, that stuff ain't cheap.

valsullivan5d ago

Yeah those HF clamps are fine for light stuff but they just don't have the clamping force for big glue ups. I learned that the hard way too.