Kreg Bench Klamp System Review
A clamp that drops into a plate flush with your bench top, holds work down from above and gets out of the way when it is done.
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The awkward thing about holding flat work is that most clamping methods take up the edges. A vice grips one edge, F-clamps land on two, and the router base or the sander then runs into them. Meanwhile the thing you actually need is downward pressure somewhere in the middle.
The Bench Klamp solves it from above. An insert plate is recessed into the bench top so its surface is flush with the bench. The clamp drops into the plate, twists to lock, and applies pressure down onto the work through a swivelling pad. Remove the clamp and the plate is just part of the bench surface — nothing to catch a workpiece on.
The commitment
Fitting the plate means routing a recess in your bench top, usually with the supplied template. It is a permanent modification. That is fine on a bench you built, and worth thinking harder about on one you bought.
Position matters more than people expect. The clamp reaches a fixed distance from its plate, so a plate in the middle of the bench holds small work beautifully and cannot reach the far corner of a door panel. Most people who use this system end up with two or three plates in a considered layout rather than one in the middle. Work out where your typical workpiece sits before the router comes out.
Where it is weakest
A thin bench top, or one made of MDF, gives the plate much less material to anchor into, and the difference shows as flex under load. On a solid timber top it feels like part of the bench.
It is also not a substitute for edge clamping when you are gluing up — this is a hold-down for working on a piece, not a clamp for closing a joint.
What works
- The insert plate sits flush with the bench top, so work slides over it and the clamp is only in the way while it is clamping
- Downward clamping from above leaves all four edges of the workpiece clear, which a vice or an F-clamp at the edge never does
- Once the plate is installed, mounting and removing the clamp is a one-handed twist rather than a setup
What doesn't
- You have to rout a recess into your bench top to fit the plate — a permanent modification, and one you get one attempt at
- The clamp reaches a fixed distance from the plate, so a large panel needs more than one plate installed to hold it at the right points
- On a thin or MDF bench top, the plate has much less to bite into and the whole system feels less solid