What have we look at when we want to buy a Quick Clamp? This kind of clamps are used by amateur user and by professionals as well for light works. They are not as heavy as steel jaws clamps. Therefore they are not as powerful, but they have a great advantage: you can use them easily just with one hand.

Let’s go to review the most important points you have to test in this kind of clamps. As others clamps you have to check the opening and depth according with your needs. At the same time you have to test the ergonomics and usability. But the Quick clamps have specific features to check.

1. Advance and Brake

Check out the guts of the Quick! Every model has two sets of plates; one set or plates focus in the advance and the other in the brake to keep the pressure force. The more plates it has, the better it works. A high quality quick clamp use to have three plates in the advance set and other three in the brake.

2. Strong Bar

The bar must be made of tempered steel. The brake plates must to not hurt the bar during the clamping work. If the bar is marked by the plates the life of the clamp will be short.

3. Protection Pads

The pad of the Quicks are made of plastic. The goal of the pads must be to keep the clamped material fixed and protected at the same time. Therefore these pads must to be…

• Big
  The bigger size the better grip .
• No slip
  In order to encrease the grip the surface of the pad must to have an anti-slip texture.
• Fixed
  This pads are removable, so if they are not fixed they could slip off, lose pressure and get lost.
• Stain free
  Some kind of low quality plastics under pressure leave oil stains in the material. Please, take care. This little details seems insignificant but it’s key in a professional tool and a professional work .

4. One click Release

There is a reason why these clamps are called “Quick”. The quick release trigger is one of the features that makes this clamps so attractive:

• Must release the whole pressure immediately and without effort
• Accessible in the same handle where we control de pressure.
• If you keep it pushed it must let the mobile jaw freely along the bar.

This way it is easier to use the Quick clamp just with one hand.

5. Easy Reversible

Lot of user don’t know this feature. The fixed jaw of the quick clamps can change the position to the other extreme of the bar, so the Quick turns from clamping to expanding. This reversible feature, as the other ones we have seen before, must be as quick and easy as possible.

Some models release the fixed jaw with a screw. But it’s easier and simpler to release that jaw with a button: with just one click.