Merle Band Clamp Review
Merle Band Clamp Review
Subscribers to my YouTube channel can attest to how many wood boxes and picture frames I make. In doing so, I’ve looked for a solid clamp that helps me to glue woodworking projects together while also keeping the parts aligned. A few years ago, I purchased a few Merle metal band clamps by MLCS (now HValley Tools), hoping they would be up for the task. After using them extensively, I feel like I can now give a proper review of their performance.
First, when shopping for a band clamp, rule out any that clamp from the side of the project. Those types of clamps significantly reduce the size boxes or picture frames you can glue together. Any small to medium size projects are a no-go if trying to use a side band clamp. The Merle, just like many others, clamps from the corner.
My initial thoughts when I first used this particular corner clamp is that… it’s weird. It took me a few projects to get used to how it behaves. There are several types of band clamps on the market, but I don’t know of any others with a metal strap instead of a nylon one. I can see this being polarizing for some woodworkers. It’s metal and obviously will be more rigid and unruly than a fabric or nylon strap. But here’s the tradeoff - it quickly and easily wraps up into a small metal spool for storage. No more tangled straps!
The downside (if you want to call it a downside) is the after effect of turning the spool's handle to reel up the metal band. Immediately after letting go, the spool handle quickly spins back about one turn due to the tension in the band. The first few times this happened it hit my fingers and hurt like crazy! Now, that never happens. I learned how to crank and release the handle to prevent any sort of issues. It's the one thing I greatly dislike about these clamps. That being said, I don't dislike it enough to stop using them. Regardless, it's important to know in case that's a deciding factor when considering buying one.
Like the band, the clamp’s jaws are also metal, giving it a sense of heaviness and durability. This band clamp feels like a beast! The metal band is pulled through the metal clamp jaws and then held in place with a metal rod that you tighten down. (Should I say "metal“ one more time?) It's a simple design that works well to lock the band in place.
The drawback I've seen is the rod handle sometimes ends up facing down, not allowing my clamp to sit flat on workbench unless I flip the whole clamp upside down. It’s very possible that I can unscrew the rod completely and reposition it. I haven’t invested the time to investigate it further, which may say something about how little this is an issue for me. But, it's still worth noting to someone shopping for clamps and weighing options. The metal band shows slight signs of wear from the rod pinching against it. This has had zero issue with its functionality or overall performance.
We all have our preferred processes for assembling projects. After applying glue to the joints, I like to assemble wood boxes using blue painter’s tape. This keeps the sides upright until I can clamp them together. The Merle clamp’s jaws do an excellent job of keeping the box sides at 90 degrees. I can't recall using another type of band clamp that did as well of a job at this. I also admit I haven't used every band clamp on the market. During box glue ups, I almost always use two of these clamps, positioning them on opposite corners, one low and one high.
In this review, I probably spent more time describing the flaws than the positives. That's for two reasons: you should be informed of things before spending your hard-earned money; and explaining those drawbacks tends to take more written words than describing the positives. Don't let that fool you into minimizing the positives. Frankly, the clamps work and they work really well! Despite their quirkiness, I would absolutely buy more of them. Ultimately, what I care about is my woodworking project gluing together correctly. These do that exceedingly well and are worth looking into if you're in the market for a new band clamp.
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