Testing the New Bessey Track Clamps

A track saw is a wonderful thing but it really is predicated on the idea that once I get this track in place and I start cutting it's gonna stay in place. And one of the things I run into is that some sheet stock tracks are good at sticking to, some track stick better than others, some sheet stock, melamine is a great example, anything that's got plastic laminate on it is a great example, the track doesn't stick to. Also just in the world of cheap insurance, I wanna make sure when I'm making the cut that that track doesn't slip a little bit otherwise, we're losing the accuracy that we would otherwise gain from a track saw. So, a BESSEY solution for this issue is pretty cool. These clamps were made very purposefully with what we're talking about here on mine. So, this will slip into a variety of different manufacturers tracks, and then when it slides under here, because of the way it's created there, I can come up, grab my material, and now that's secure in place and of course, the same thing on the other end. And then what's cool about this is that is rock solidly secure so I can make this cut without worrying if my cut in my really expensive old plywood is gonna go kaflooey here at the end. So, lest you'd think that's a one-trick pony this is a trigger clamp that we can also use for other stuff. Cool thing about these clamps is the versatility that they come with. So this is the configuration that I just got done using it in order to hold the track in place. We can easily pop an end off, na na na come around, pop back on, and then we can spread with this. And if you've ever run into a scenario where somebody wants you to fix a piece of furniture, this is hugely handy. The ability to gently spread parts apart instead of rapping on 'em with a mallet to get the chair apart, it's easier on the furniture and easier on you. So that ability to spread is cool. And then with that extended jaw that can pop off of there, we can use that in either configuration here, on either side. And then also the pad will pop off of here and can go on here, so if we don't need that extender we can still protect our work. And then with the pads they've got little V-grooves cut in 'em and I found that to be really useful anytime I'm holding something round or if I wanna grab corner to corner instead of flat to flat on an item. Now, I wanna come back here. I actually want this guy back on because one of the gains from having this project out is the ability to reach around stuff. So, in this case, face frame style cabinet had I neglected to do my adjustable shelf holes ahead of time and we wanted to secure that jig inside the cabinet, like that, with this clamp because I can project past the face frame, I can reach around like that and clamp that in place because of the way that nose is passed the high spot, the inside edge of the face frame like that. So, great application using 'em with the track saw, like I showed you. But as I said, not a one-trick pony, just generally useful to have clamps that you can use with one hand that have a bunch of functions like these do.