About Bessey Tools
For over 130 years, Bessey has been a leading manufacturer renowned for their Bessey hand tools. By also originating in Germany and then expanding to North America in 2003, they are known today for their commitment to quality and customer service. Bessey offers expertly designed tools for woodworking, upholstery care, and metalworking. Particularly celebrated for their clamps, they also produce high-quality utility knives and snips. Ensuring efficiency and precision, Bessey hand tools are vital companions for any project, embodying the company's legacy of excellence.
Clamping Tools
Bessey is renowned as an industry leader in clamping tool innovation, with clamps being their standout product. Catering to a diverse range of applications, including woodworking, plumbing, and construction, their clamps ensure precise and secure holding for various projects. For woodworking, their clamps are indispensable for tasks like setting wood glue or creating pigeon-toe holes for bolts. Angle clamps help stabilize right angles while bar clamps ensure boards are held tightly together. For delicate materials prone to scratches or scuffs, Bessey's strap clamps paired with rubber-strap clamp pads are ideal, particularly when assembling squared items like chests. Beyond woodworking, Bessey's range includes specialized pipe clamps, designed with raised bases to protect knuckles during work, aiding in connecting free-standing pipes. The C-Clamp, their flagship product, is versatile and comes in various forms such as edge, double-headed, and heavy service, making it a staple in carpentry, automotive, welding, and numerous other applications.
Clamp Pads
Clamps, while essential, often require accessories like clamp pads to optimize their use and prevent damage to materials. Made typically from plastic, these soft and durable pads safeguard against the potential scratches, indentations, or markings that clamps, by virtue of their intense pressure, might inflict on materials such as wood, metal, or plastic. Serving as protective cushions, clamp pads allow users to tighten clamps without the fear of damaging their workpieces. Bessey Tools, renowned for their clamps, also excel in producing premium clamp pads, offering rail protector pieces, corner clamp pads, nylon vise jaws, and more, all tailored to complement Bessey clamps. Moreover, they offer parallel clamp extenders, perfect for extending the reach of their K-Body clamps. These accessories, especially the pads, not only shield materials but also facilitate seamless project execution, proving invaluable in tasks like cabinet assembly or squaring chests.
Utility Knives
Bessey's selection of utility knives, known for their precision cutting, are invaluable tools in various professional and home projects. Bessey offers an extensive range of these knives, including folding and locking varieties, some with distinctive wooden handles or extra blades. For those seeking comprehensive solutions, Bessey's utility knife set, which comes with ten blades and a zippered nylon case, is an excellent choice. Among their standout products is the Folding Utility Knife with Wood Inlay Handle, which combines an ergonomic ABS handle with traditional wood aesthetics. Compatible with standard utility blades, this knife boasts a foldable design for enhanced safety and portability. Uniquely, its one-handed operation, allowing users to open and close it using just a finger and thumb, is a boon in tricky situations, such as working in tight spaces beneath sinks.
Snips
Bessey snips, essential for those working with upholstery or tin, provide precise cutting for a range of thin materials, from sheet metal to canvas. The brand boasts a diverse snip collection, featuring several aviation snips known for their superior force, initially designed for aircraft maintenance but now employed in various tasks, especially for intricate shapes and dense materials. Alongside these, Bessey offers traditional tin snips equipped with ergonomic SuperGrip handles, and some even come in sets with carrying pouches. Their multipurpose snip stands out for DIY enthusiasts; crafted with stainless steel blades, a comfortable grip, and a thumb-operated lock, it adeptly handles metal, fabric, and paper. While specialized snips by Bessey cater to specific materials like canvas, nylon, or rubber, offering optimum results, their general-purpose snips present a versatile and cost-effective alternative for varied home projects.
Metal Working Supplies
Although they started as primarily a clamp manufacturer, Bessey Tools' expertise in metalworking led them to expand into metalworking tools. Today, they have a full line of equipment for metalworking, including Welder's Magnetic Setup Squares, Torque multipliers, and Magnetic Pickup tools. Aside from tools, they also have lab metals and solvents. They're mainly used for patching and repairs. Liquid metal is available in 12 and 14-ounce sizes, while solvents are available in 128 and 16 fluid ounce cans.
Bench Vises
For home workbenches, a bench vise is an indispensable addition. Bessey offers an extensive selection of bench vises, ranging from 2-3/4 inches to 6 inches, all constructed from solid steel and featuring drop-forged movable jaws, robust locking mechanisms, and user-friendly sliding guides. Bench vises are invaluable in carpentry, metalworking, and construction, serving as an extra set of hands by holding various items securely or aiding in loosening tough fasteners. While multipurpose vises cater to a wide range of tasks, Bessey's specialized vises, such as woodworking vises, drill presses, and vacuum base vises, deliver precision for specific jobs. Notably, vises with vacuum bases, using a rubber seal, ensure a firm attachment to almost any flat surface, streamlining the securing process.
Bearing Heaters
Bearing heaters help prepare bearings for easy installation. They use heat to expand the bearings radially. Plus, they remove any contamination commonly caused by an oil bath. Bessey offers a full line of bearing heaters with magnetic induction. From relatively simple crossbars to the top-of-the-line induction bearing heaters up to 22 inches, they have options for every need and budget. Their Induction Bearing Heater is a premium product used to extend the life of bearings, sprockets, gears, couplings, and sleeves. Although it's one of their pricier options, you can save money in the long run because the equipment you install will remain in excellent working condition for a long time. Improper installation reduces bearing life by half, so spending a bit more upfront to condition the bearings before installation is often the cost-effective solution.
Specialty Project Tools
Bessey excels at creating specialty tools. What are specialty tools? While they're not the most versatile option, they perform unique functions that other tools cannot. Specialty projects might require hand tools that are a little more specialized. For example, floor strap clamps are ideal for putting in hardwood flooring, while Bessey utility knives make cutting underlayment easy.
Why Buy Bessey Tools?
Bessey has remained an industry leader for over 130 years because they remain committed to never resting on their past successes. Their company motto is, "To stop improving is to stop being good," and they mean it. At first glance, a company primarily devoted to making clamps seems like a company that doesn't need to innovate. After all, clamps haven't changed in a major way over the years. How much innovation is required?
Fortunately for customers, Bessey is committed to refinement and quality. For example, they remain focused on improving the ergonomics of every clamp to improve your ability to manipulate it. You might not see the difference between a Bessey clamp and one from another brand, but you'll feel it in your hands and wrists! Additionally, Bessey doesn't just make tools. They forge relationships. Even though they're a multinational corporation, they're committed to personal customer service. All C-clamps, snips, bearing heaters, and many other products are covered by a Limited Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. If any problems not related to normal operation develop within a year of purchase, you can return the product for a refund, repair, or replacement. The right tools make it easy to get your project done right the first time. From clamps and pads to utility knives and snips, Bessey tools can help you finish your project with ease.
