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Corner clamps are highly effective, easy to use tools for all woodworkers. While many people believe all clamps are the same, corner clamps are meant to facilitate the attachment of two or more pieces together (at a 90 degree angle). Examples include right angle clamp for making 90 degree corners and a strap clamp that fastens your pieces together with a long strap.
As a go-tool for most woodworking enthusiasts, corner clamps offer high precision in different projects and can be used to make things like beehives, picture frames, desks and much more. Theoretically, all corner clamps should function the same, but the vast number of designs makes so corner clamps much more attractive than others when looking for the best one that will help you complete your project.
This article samples and reviews 6 best corner clamps on the market that will help improve your woodworking experience without breaking a bank. Below you can find a glossary of several terms so it will be easier to understand the article. Additionally, if you are looking for a clamp, but not sure what kind you need check our index of different types of clamps here.
Glossary
90-degree corners – a section where two pieces are conjoined at 900 angle
T Joint/ T-handle – a joint made from joining one end of a piece to the middle of another piece/ a T shaped tool that sometimes comes with a corner clamp to help with adjustments
Quick-release mechanism – spring tension felt when operating corner clamps
Pocket screw notch – cutouts made to allow users to screw pieces together easily
Please see the summary of our top picks below!
Pick #1 Kreg KHCCC 90° Corner Clamp
The Kreg KHCCC 90° Corner Clamp is made of well-balanced steel frames and cast aluminum pads to ensure that it’s lightweight, durable, and gentle to softwood. To make woodworking easier, it also features pocket screw notches that help users save time because it allows them to screw the pieces together without un-clamping it.
As the name suggests the self-squaring design automatically adjusts your pieces to a 90° setup, a quick-release setup, and an L-handle. Therefore, if you are looking for “the best” corner clamp, then the Kreg KHCC 900 should be a perfect fit.
Despite having a unique swivel head for adjusting the thickness, there are complaints that it’s hard to adjust its tightness and it’s expensive too. This clamp is perfect for cabinet assembly and shelf installation projects
Pick #2 Can Do Clamp
The Can-Do clamp stands out as an affordable corner clamp but typically isn’t one of the usual most premium clamps in the market. It can easily be mounted on a workbench for secure clamping and thanks to its lightweight nature, it is highly portable. And is highly portable because it is so lightweight.
The Can-Do clamp can be used as a corner clamp and a vice alternatively interchangeably. It’s made of aluminum and is extremely sturdy when joining pieces of the same thickness. This makes it perfect for framing projects especially works on picture frames.
Compared to other corner clamps, the Can-Do clamp has a wider wood width capacity of 2 3/4 inches, a sliding T-handle for making precise adjustments, movable jaws for increased clamping pressure, two swivel heads perfect for framing projects, and oblong shaped mounting holes.
Allegedly, the paint used on this model is below par and it has been noted that this red color is sometimes rubbed off on wood. Being an easy to use and fairly priced, the Can-Do clamp can be also works great for doweling and drilling projects (see also ‘How To Change A Drill Bit‘) (see also ‘How To Change A Drill Bit‘) (see also ‘How To Change A Drill Bit‘).
Pick #3 Wolf Craft Quick Jaw Corner Clamp
The Wolf Craft Quick Jaw corner clamp is another great clamp that is perfect for assembling box-frames. In terms of usage, it has a very easy to follow process. Clamp your boards in place, screw them, and you are done.
With its 2 1/2 –Inch capacity, you will be able to use the clamp for various custom projects such as working on large frames for huge portraits. This clamp is also great for include holding pieces together for welding, gluing, nailing, and screwing.
The Wolf Craft Quick Jaw Corner Clamp is made of aluminum and has a 5-year warranty. This is meant to back its durability and give users peace of mind.
Additional benefits include features like the quick-release system that saves users time by easily removing the clamp, a V-groove designed for projects that involve working with circular materials, and an ergonomic handle to help with the adjustment. However, the quick-release is said to sometimes fail or strip making it hard to tighten the clamp by other reviewers.
Pick #4 Miusuk Right Angle Clamps
Unlike most clamps discussed in this review, the Miusuk right angle clamp comes in a set of four pieces. Its unique design makes it very lightweight and well suited for small-sized projects.
All its four corner jaws are made of plastic, which improves its accuracy and makes it worth the set price. The jaws are meant for holding planks of 5-22 mm making it excellent for assembling case tight fittings and cabinets. Most users claim that it’s good for fast simple works that require 900 corners only.
However, its makers state that it can also handle T-joints. This model also comes with a mounting aid that conveniently allows users to glue or screw pieces together. The Miusuk is designed for quick setup and easy adjustments.
This model’s release lever provides enough tension that enhances its quick-release during removal and clamping pressure during compression. It’s more user-friendly than most standard rail clamps, but can’t be used for bigger projects.
Pick #5 IRWIN Tools Light Duty Corner Clamp
The IRWIN Tools Light Duty Corner Clamp is another good clamp for framing projects. This clamp isn’t very sturdy, weighs 9.6 ounces, and can hold compression pressure of up to 200 pounds making it excellent for smaller projects only.
This model comes with nylon rounds that help protect your work, especially when working with tender wood. Its metallic body, steel screws, and IRWIN’s lifetime warranty all ensure its durability.
If you’re out looking for a semi-permanent and lightweight corner clamp at an affordable price, then the IRWIN Tools Light Duty Corner Clamp would be a decent purchase for you. For heavy-duty projects, you should opt for other premium-quality alternatives.
This tool is flimsy especially if your workpieces have a thickness of more than 3/4 inches and users should be keen on the amount of pressure applied. It is good for projects such as the construction of birdhouses and picture frames.
On the downside, several of the top reviews on Amazon have said IRWIN tools have a very high defect ratio.
Pick #6 POWERTEC Strap Corner Clamp
The POWERTEC strap corner clamp is an example of a strap clamp that uses a long strap to fasten and firmly hold workpieces together. It is made of a durable plastic frame and high-grade nylon-webbing band, which makes it extremely versatile.
Its non-marring clamping jaws allow it to be used when working with square, circular, and irregular shaped materials. The POWERTEC strap corner clamp is therefore perfect for making barrels, drawers, birdhouses, cabinets, chair frames, picture frames, and much more.
The clamp weighs 1 pound and assumes an ergonomic design with the aim of making it easy to use. It features a hand thread spindle/screw for fine micro-adjustments and band tension. It also has quick-release levers for rapid adjustments and easy removal.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a warranty and since it’s largely made of plastic, it is more brittle than a standard clamp. With no rigid angle to work with, it can be hard to make angled corners as the jaws might skew form time to time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Corner clamps are used to connect two pieces of wood in a 90° or 45° angle. Woodworkers use the clamps to hold the wood in the specific angle while they glue, nail, or screw the wooden boards together.
Yes, right angles are 90°. in trigonometry there are three types of angles: Acute (less than a 90° angle), Obtuse (greater than a 90° angle), and right angles which are exactly 90°.
The Kreg 90° corner clamp is our favorite right angle clamp due to its high quality and versatility. If you are working on a big project you use the Kreg corner clamp to hold multiple angles at the same time.
Yes! The Kreg right angle clamp is an extremely effective corner clamp. It is perfect for holding together wood and metal at a 90° angle when using glue, screws, nails, or soldering to fuse the two pieces together.
How We Picked The Best Corner Clamps
There are numerous corner clamps available in the market and while many of them seem very similar, there are differences that can greatly alter the quality of your project and budget. We understand the frustration of choosing the best corner clamp for your projects and here are some of the criteria that we used in picking the best corner clamps for this review:
Price
Price isn’t the only factor that needs to be considered but sure is very essential when sampling out your best choice. A general rule of thumb is that the price needs to match the value of the product. To be sure, you can start by comparing your favorite picks online. However, you need to be careful since cheaper prices might sometimes mean a compromise on quality. For instance, our top pick – Kreg KHCCC 90° Corner Clamp – is of premium quality and goes for about $38 while the brittle IRWIN clamp will cost you $22, isn’t versatile and doesn’t last long.
Quality of Materials
Material quality is a fundamental factor that influences the versatility of a corner clamp. To evaluate a corner clamp’s durability and its capability to be used for a wide range of projects, we reviewed the quality of materials used to make it. This varied from plastic, metals, and sometimes both. For sturdy, durable, versatile, and lightweight clamps, most manufacturers often prefer to use heat-treated aluminum. Others such as the Miusuk right angle clamp are made of plastic and/or any other metal such as zinc. These are delicate and can only be used for light-duty projects. Finally, we also kept an eye on the paint used to coat the surface as it prevents corrosion. Note that subpar paints rub off on your workpieces.
Versatility
Top-quality corner clamps are heavily drowned with the sheer vastness of corner clamp numbers in the market. Picking out the best one often means that you can easily use it to adapt to various functions or activities for different projects such as doweling, framing, shelving, and drawer construction. The Kreg KHCCC 90° corner clamp is one quick pick that can handle such versatility.
Longevity/Warranty
As noted earlier, the quality of material used to make a corner clamp influences its longevity. Here, we evaluated clamps largely made of plastics and metals. Plastic clamps easily break when used in heavy-duty projects while their metallic counterparts tend to be more durable. From this review, we recommend that you go for clamps made of cast metal preferably aluminum and if backed by a warranty of more than 2 years the better.
