Cabinets Face Frame Clamp – Fine Homebuilding

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Written By Jim J Neal



Cabinet clamps by Bessey (BES8511), are a secret weapon in cabinet installation. These clamps have a 4-in. wide clamping capacity and a 1-1/4″ depth. throat depth. To protect cabinet finishes, they come with adhesive-backed felt pads. The jig also features a handy pilot hole jig, which flips out of the way to allow you to drive a bolt. This arrangement allows you drill and screw face frames together with the clamp in place. This pilot-hole feature helps me align my drill bit so that you don’t drill through cabinet faces.
These clamps are great because they can not only hold the face frames side-by-side but also align them from front to back. You can use the clamps in pairs. One at the top, one at bottom, depending on which cabinets you are fastening together. Open the clamp and slide it over your face frame. Then, tighten it just enough to hold it in place. To align the stiles of the face-frame, tighten the face screw. After the frames have been aligned, tighten your side screws. Drill your pilot hole and then screw the face frames together. For larger cabinets, you can repeat this process until all frames are aligned. These tools are far more efficient than traditional clamps or pulling or pushing stiles by hand. They are $50 per pair and provide great results.

Andrew Steele, Remodeler. Photo courtesy of Bessey Fine Homebuilding #311.