Frontline Interlocking Clamps Review
Disclaimer: My apologies in advance as this fairly comprehensive review (and slight comparison) might be a bit lengthy and is based purely on my opinion and experiences, which may not align with yours, or others views. In essence, I wanted to detail the many reasons I became such an immediate fan of Frontline Interlocking clamps, along with as many technical details as possible, so people can see exactly why these are so different to anything else in this market, and are well worth every cent.
Spending large amounts of hard earned cash can be daunting for anyone, especially if you aren't entirely sure what you buy will work as required or will potentially be a waste of money. I think we're all guilty of having bought tools thinking they'll be perfect for an intended purpose, only to find they didn't perform as intended, were difficult in some aspect or function, or just a damn PITA to use generally.
But every so often a product comes along that is just so unique, so well designed, and is just a joy to use. For me the first time I experienced that was when I bought my ELU flipsaw some 35 odd years ago. At the time it was utterly unique and was THE bee's knees of a contractor mitre/rip saw, and so well designed that close to 40 years later they still command a very good price second hand. Fein did it with the Multi Tool, an amazingly useful product when it hit the market, and now pretty much an essential tool for most people. Festool did it with their Domino, again an absolutely amazing tool improving upon dowelling jigs and biscuit joiners, producing a product so unique and with such high precision you'd display it on the mantel piece!
That's exactly how I felt when I first got my Frontline clamps, and it was further reinforced the first time I used them, any thoughts I'd had of "well that was a lot of money spent" went out the window, and I have never regretted them a single day since!
While these clamps seem expensive, and I hear comments to that effect in the forums, the value for money these clamps provide is just astounding. They are purpose built and borne out of a need of a (clearly very entrepreneurial) professional woodworker who ran a large cabinet making company for many years. So after looking at them, and especially after using them, it's quite obvious to see they are not only designed to perform, but are also clearly built to a standard, not down to a price. There's a number of very good reasons why you'll see these clamps used extensively in cabinetry and furniture making businesses, instead of other types or brands of clamps.
I can see numerous ways in which Con could have chosen to save on materials, manufacturing costs, increased limits, etc, but of course all at the expense of the high standard he set. Do the assemblies really need 10mm thick hardened steel plates? probably not, would one high quality spring instead of two do the job? maybe, does the aluminium profile really need all the edges chamfered when other brands simply square cut the ends of their clamps? not really, etc, etc. But these are the design touches that show the inventors pride in work and help set this product apart from all the other ones on the market, it's immediately apparent absolutely no corners were cut, and everything has been over engineered to guarantee maximum robustness, performance, quality, and longevity.
These are the clamps you buy once, and use for the rest of your life. Or if unfortunately circumstances change, resell them if necessary, as the resale value of these as with all really high quality products is very good, Festool resale type good!
Agree that these are the absolute rolls royce of panel clamps
I have 6 of these bad boys. Have used them for over a dozen panels so far of various lengths and depths. All came out dead flat and with a little sanding they are just fine. No biscuits, dowels, splines or dominos required, just mill, apply glue and clamp - simple. The only thing you need to watch out for is that you DO NOT add too much clamping force; they don't take much to get them clamped up tight. Great if your hands are not what they used to be.
And as others have mentioned built like a brick s***house!!!
