Frequently Asked Questions

We've gathered some of the typical questions we've heard over the years to give you more information about our clamps. If you haven't found the answer to your questions here, please contact us.

Are Birds Safety Clamps ASME compliant?
Yes. As of June of 2014, ALL of our lifting clamps are fully compliant to the requirements of ASME B30.20 and ASME BTH-1. Further, any clamp we have manufactured prior to this date can be brought into compliance. Contact us for details.
Do your vertical lift plate clamps rotate plate 180 degrees?
Yes, when you put a Birds Safety Clamp on a plate in the flat position and LOCK THE HANDLE FORWARD to activate spring tension, then you can take it to vertical or rotate it over and lower it down the other way to flat position. You may need to block the plate up a bit because the clamp is upside down, then you can flip clamp over to lower plate further. See the picture on our Vertical Lifting Clamp page.
Do you make special clamps for special needs?
We specialize in creating custom clamps to solve specific lifting needs. Often clients contact us with special lifting challenges and we design a new clamp to handle their requirements. You can see some examples in our Custom Clamps section and contact us with a description of your project.
Do you modify jaw sizes and throat depth on your clamps?
Yes, modifications are not a problem. For example, we recently made 12 inch adjustable horizontal clamps for a customer. We have also made 6 inch deep throat in 1 ton VL clamps. Contact us with your needs.
What is the maximum and minimum weight your clamps can lift?
Our clamps will lift from zero lbs to their maximum rated capacity due to a spring loading of the jaws when the clamp is locked in position, however gripping is most effective at 10% of the clamps rated capacity. Make sure the handle is locked closed to preload the spring pressure on the cam teeth and bite into the material before lifting. See our spec sheet for more details.
What is the hardness range your clamps will lift?
The normal operating hardness range of our clamps is zero to 375 brinell (40 HRc). Our clamps will lift up to 450 brinell (48 RHc), provided the cams and swivel die are inspected more frequently due to faster wear. Special gripping components are also available for extra-hard and stainless steel lifts. See our spec sheet for more details.
Is mill scale on plates a problem for your clamps?
Birds Safety Clamps are capable of handling any mill scale on hot rolled plate. Care must be taken if the clamp is attached to an area with excessive scale.
What is the temperature range your clamps can operate in?
The operational temperature range of the standard gripping components is -30° C to 260° C (-22° F to 500° F). The clamp may be briefly used outside of these two temperatures, allowing the clamp to warm up (or cool down) before putting it back into service. For the operational temperature range of our stainless steel and extra-hard gripping components, see pages 5 and 6 in the Operational Manual.
What is the standard life of your clamps?
Clamp life depends on usage. We have a customer that uses our non-locking clamp every 2 minutes. The clamp survives for years but the cams are replaced every month. We have customers who use our clamps only once per day and they replace parts just once a year. Consult us if you have a special situation; we may be able to suggest a solution to lengthen the life of your clamps.

We have kits for the standard replacement parts and individual parts are available as well.
I'm not sure how to use the repair kit. Do you have a video to show me how?
We have prepared videos to show you how break our clamps down and add the replacement parts.
Are you looking for more distributors?
Yes, we're always happy to speak with distributors who would like to add our clamps to their line of products. Please contact us for more information.

Manufacturing and Distributing Auto-Locking Clamps, Beam Clamps, Custom Clamps, Girder Clamps, Heavy Duty Clamps, I Beam Clamps, Lifting Clamps, Plate Lifting Clamps and Safety Clamps

Website by Build Marketing