Urko F Clamp

[Albert]

Most of us have bought cheap clamps, whether it is F clamp, sash clamp… I have bought new and cheap clamps from various occasions, out of all the cheap tools I have bought, the clamps probably last the longest amongst the cheap tools

As I pay more attention to my tooling/clamping, I start to appreciate better clamps.

Over the years I have slowly procured Bessey and Record T bar clamps, I still have some cheapo F clamps and T bar clamps but they are slowly failing through the daily usage. I have been looking out for clamps similar or better quality than Bessey – you can never have enough clamps!

I came across these Urko clamps online, they are made in Spain but I am not sure their quality, looking at the photo and its price range they should be a good clamp, I decided to give it a try.

Bought two of the 800mm Super extra duty (capacity 1700kg, longest available size is 3m... I wonder who needs a 3m long F clamp... But its there!), the Heavy duty from Bessey is 700kg. Most of us probably don’t need super extra duty of 1700kg, you may dent the work piece but this is not applicable to me for what I do, I need all the force I can get from my clamps, and the design from Urko is easier on the wrist.

The profile of the super extra duty is 40mm x 10mm. the standard duty is 35mm x 8mm (similar to Bessey), standard duty has capacity of 1200kg.

Having the clamp sitting next to the 300mm x 120mm Bessey, the Bessey looks like a toy.

During the testing the Urko just performed like what you expect. A quality solid clamp

One thing I dont like about the clamp is the colour... what is that colour? Turquoise? Red/Black/White/Festool Green suits the colour scheme in my workshop better.


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[ian]

is 1200kg the load beyond which the bar bends?

[shedbound]

They certainly look the part

[cava]

They look sturdy.

How much were they? And do they have a distributor in Australia?

[Albert]

is 1200kg the load beyond which the bar bends?

the bar probably start to bend at 1200kg? not sure. I notice my Bessey starts to bend if I put too much on it.

[Albert]

They look sturdy.

How much were they? And do they have a distributor in Australia?

they are $150 NZD for the 800mm.
$75 NZD for the 300mm.

urko | MyTools

not sure if they have a distributor in Australia.

they do have an interesting feature, check the picture below:

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it seems there is a hard ball bearing just beneath the plate, I think this will stop the twisting of the work piece as you tighten.

[Albert]

Just a quick update after 1 year of use.

The Urko performed very well after all the clamping I have been using them on. I use them mainly for post/beam glue up.

They performed so well that I bought another 10 (800mm) a few days ago - There is a side story to this; I was in need of extra clamps. a tool shop in AKL has "Record" style T bar clamp and has them at exactly half price of an equivalent Record T bar clamp. Its quite attractive when you buy them in numbers, even the guys selling the genuine Record T bar clamp tells me its probably the same, but as we all know it:

Poor Quality remains Long after the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten

We should all have this engraved in our workshop bench/wall... I bought the Urko after a bit of thought. its double the price of the Record copy. But. I have confidence in it.

anyhow, if you are using these you definitely need cauls to spread the load.

They are easier on the wrist compared to traditional F clamp and easier to use than T bar, which generally has limit of 1500kg and short throat.

Its an alternative if T bar drives you crazy.

I will be buying more for sure.


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The Urko made the Bessey next to it looks like kids toy.