50" ProGrip Straight Edge Clamp and Guide

I bought this clamp, the Bora WTX and the Emerson CW-50, the wide jaw version. I'm bad at making decisions and wanted to see all 3 in front of me. Here's what I came up with: Profile: The Bora and Emerson were the same height (37/64") and the ProGrip was about 3/64" taller(40/64" or 5/8"). Advantage to Bora and Emerson as your saw will be able to cut deeper (not by much) if you cut the direction that puts your circular saw motor on top of the clamp. Width: The CW-50 was the widest (too wide for me) with the Bora being slightly narrower and the ProGrip being there narrowest. About an inch narrower than the others. Jaw width/depth: Emerson and Bora had similar width jaws, and the Emerson and ProGrip had similar height jaws. Bora had about 1/4" taller jaws and ProGrip was about 3/8" narrower on jaw width. Clamping: Emerson and ProGrip have the bar running down the middle that the sliding clamp grips, similar to a pipe clamp. And the Bora grips micro edges cut into the walls that the sliding clamp runs between (shown in picture). The Bora had the longest handle by far but the lowest clamping pressure, which seemed weird as the handle gives you the most leverage but it was also pretty flimsy. Emerson and ProGrip have similar handle sizes but Emerson had a lot of clamping strength, too much in my opinion. I understand it's supposed to leave marks in the bar when gripping but these were deep (pictures shown) and the pressure seemed unnecessarily high. I'm not using the clamp to bring boards together, I'll leave that to the parallel clamps. ProGrip has the ability to grip that hard at the max setting but also had lower pressures in case you don't want to smash your piece. Pictures are also attached of the marks left in the ProGrip bar, they're the less deep ones. Weight: They all weighed pretty much the same. I couldn't tell anything apart from holding them. Final Thoughts: They were all straight out of the box but always check for squareness when clamping. No reason not to. The bar running the length of the ProGrip didn't deflect as much as the Emerson with pressure applied to the side which points towards a thicker/harder metal, a bonus. The sliding clamp on the Bora had a tendency to slide around while handling the clamp which made it hard to set it off to the side and keep the distance the same. The sliding clamp on the Emerson was hard to disengage after releasing and the width of it just made it hard to move around. It also had a low profile edge which I think could lead to your saw/jigsaw/router jumping up on it if you don't always have a good down pressure. The sliding clamp on the ProGrip is accessible from the top which was very handy and easy to disengage. The ProGrip in general just felt sturdy in my hands. The others were made from softer materials which were lighter but they were bigger which accounted for the weights being similar. And the three clamping settings are not a gimmick, they're very nice to have. I did a detailed review as this ProGrip is relatively new and I was kind of skeptical of the people who just give it 5 stars and say, "Works great!" But for the price, it's the winner between the 3 so don't hesitate to buy.

Review for ProGrip Straight Edge Clamp, 50 inch model. I was nervous that it would not be heavy enough, or robust enough, but this is a very heavy, very rigid straight edge. What is amazing is just how strong the clamping mechanism. The mechanism has 3 stages of clamping, and when you lock it down all the way (pushing the lever down so it faces straight towards the ground) it puts a tremendous force on the board. I actually think you could use this guide as a clamp, and if you had a few of these, you could definitely use them as woodworking clamps for gluing panels or making boxes out of sheet goods. Because the clamp lies totally flat against the wood, the clamping pressure is very straight and even. The metal feels heavier and more dense than aluminum typically feels, because it's not a cheap (trash) product. It's a very good product, and you can tell they went the extra mile to make sure it's extremely rigid. The best part is the clamping mechanism, it's so easy to operate, and actually seems better than most expensive modern parallel clamps, it slides so easily, and has zero play in the mechanism, the construction really feels high quality. I'm extremely impressed with the build quality, and relieved, because there were a lot of other models on the market and I didn't know which one to choose. I think this has good reviews for a reason!

First one received was 2 stars but second was 5 stars so taking one off --> read on... Ordered this and received it quickly. was in a cardboard tube inside a box. The tube had a wad of brown paper taped over the end looking like it wasn't a factory seal and the clamp could rattle around inside the tube. Since this is a clamp for cutting/routing straight lines I checked it with a straight edge. Over the length it was curved a little more than 1/16". I thought maybe this is how they all come and reread the reviews with no sign of a similar complaint. I thought maybe if it was tightly clamped across a panel it might straighten out - nope. I returned it through Amazon and within a week had received another one. This one was just in the tube with no outter box but it appeared factory sealed with plastic caps shrink-sealed at each end. Opened this one and it was securely packed in the tube and was straight as can be. I'm very happy with it but could have done without the minor hassle of returning the curved one. I'd recommend buying one and even with the possibility of a similar issue, Amazon's return policy is awesome and you'll eventually get what you want.

This is a luxury item. Don’t really need this to saw plywood with a circular saw, but wow, does this make it easier and quicker and guaranteed to be perfectly straight. One unavoidable issue is hard to use with 1/4” ply. Just too thin to clamp easily. But 1/4 “ ply a pretty rare need for me. Seemed pricey, but very high quality, clamps well and easily. Well worth the cost for me.

Very sturdy and easy to use. Great purchase that provides straight cuts. Wish I had this years ago!

Fast Amazon shipping on 50 inch ProGrip Straight Edge Clamp Ideal for Cutting Large Sheets of Plywood Out of the box no set up needed. Came with clear direction how to use and how to maintence the straight edge clamp. I used this item on 1/2 inch plywood and works great with a very good grip and used the guide for my circuler saw for a straight cut this will save you money in buying a table saw. Another positive point is you can you this to mark a straight line once you measure on plywood so serves as 2 purposes. I would recomend this to any DYI that is working with wood for a straight cut !!

The first one works good, never received the second one I ordered, Amazon keeps losing the package

.. you still have to compensate for the distance from the edge of the saw's shoe to the blade, in my case 1 1/2 in. It holds well on sheet goods and is fairly easy to use. Frankly, I wish I had just made one that has the aforementioned compensation built in. I may yet, but I feel I need to use this until it pays for itself. It's well made and easily dimantled for cleaning.