The Best Spring Clamps for DIY Projects

Spring clamps are a great solution for when you need a “helping hand” on a woodworking or home improvement project. These strong-jaw little clamps hold materials together, tightly and indefinitely. You can use a spring clamp to prevent a joint from shifting while the glue dries, for instance, or to bundle a stack of boards for sawing. There are dozens of potential uses for a spring clamp, and there are a great many to choose from on the market. Our favorites are highlighted below.

Our Top Picks

BEST OVERALL: MegaDeal 6-Inch Spring Clamps

This 24-pack of MegaDeal 6-Inch Spring Clamps provides ample holding power for several DIY projects at once. The clamps come with nonslip, PVC-coated tips to keep them from shifting on the material, and they also have PVC-coated handles to make opening the clamps more comfortable on the user’s hands. The MegaDeal clamps measure 6 inches long and feature wide, 3-inch jaw openings, making them a good choice for clamping large boards. Though the 24-pack will keep DIYers from running out of clamps, the MegaDeal coated clamps also come in 4-pack, 8-pack, or 12-pack choices.

BEST VALUE: Evelots 6-Inch Spring Clamps

A great set of spring clamps doesn’t have to be expensive. DIYers and crafters can score a set of six Evelots 6-Inch Spring Clamps for a song, and still have plenty of clamping power for basic projects such as securing backdrops in place or clamping wood pieces together for gluing. The jaws on the versatile 6-inch Evelots clamps open 2 inches wide and their nonslip clamp tips adjust to firmly grip the material at various angles. The molded plastic handles have texture to offer a better grip, and the clamps themselves are made from solid, heavy-duty plastic for durability.

BEST FOR SMALL PROJECTS: PONY 1-Inch and 2-Inch Spring Clamp Set

For small projects such as clamping thin balsa or veneer in place as glue sets, look no further than the PONY 1-Inch and 2-Inch Spring Clamp Set. While they might seem small, these tiny clamps pack a lot of holding power. The set contains eight, 1-inch clamps and two, 2-inch clamps made from nickel-plated steel for durability. The 1-inch clamps offer a jaw opening of about 1 inch, and the 2-inch clamps offer a jaw opening of about 2 inches. The PONY spring clamps come with PVC-coated tips to reduce the risk of slippage, and feature PVC-coated handles for hand comfort.

BEST FOR LARGE PROJECTS: FactorDuty 9-Inch Spring Clamps

When projects require a lot of holding power for tandem cutting or gluing large joints, the FactorDuty 9-Inch Spring Clamps can hold up to the load. These bad boys come with powerful springs and they feature an extra-wide, 3.5-inch jaw opening that’s large enough to securely clamp two, two-by-four studs together. The PVC-coated tips help keep the clamps from slipping and the PVC-coated handles are easy on the hands. The clamps’ extra-long, 9-inch length allows the user to grip deeper on the material for superior holding power. The Factor Duty clamps come as a pack of eight powerful spring clamps, making this set a good option for DIYers who construct large projects such as bookcases or who make their own laminated veneer lumber (LVL).

HONORABLE MENTION: Feiyang Miter Spring Clamps

For constructing picture frames or installing trim and molding, any DIYer should have on hand Feiyang Miter Spring Clamps, which are designed to hold miter (angle) joints together for gluing. The sharp tips of the spring clamps hold the trim in place while the glue dries for a tight, smooth joint. These clamps are hard to beat when installing wood trim. Using the Feiyang clamps requires a special set of pliers (included) that spread the tips of the clamps up to 2 inches wide to help position them on the material. The pliers feature nonslip rubber grips for comfort and hardened steel for the clamps that will not deform with use. The set comes with 13 miter clamps, one set of application pliers, and a carabiner clip for storing the clamps when not in use.