DeWalt 36 in. (900 mm) Extra Large Trigger Clamp

I reach for trigger clamps more than any other quick-grip in my shop, and this 36-inch DeWalt has become the one I count on when reach and real force both matter. It’s long enough for furniture widths and small casework, stout enough to replace a pipe clamp in many scenarios, and still genuinely usable one-handed.

Build and design

The bar is a heat-treated, black-oxide I‑beam—substantially stiffer than the flat bars you see on lighter-duty clamps. At 7 mm thick and roughly 1140 mm long, it resists twisting and bowing well when you lean into it. The body is reinforced nylon. That keeps weight reasonable (about 2 kg), and the moldings are clean, with no flashing or sloppy seams to snag gloves.

The jaws offer a 3-3/4 in throat depth and full-face, non-marring pads. Those pads have enough surface area (about 90 x 40 mm) to distribute pressure without dimpling pine or bruising oak. They’re removable for cleaning or replacement, and the nose geometry sits flat on edges, so it’s easy to align under a panel glue-up.

DeWalt’s quick-change control is dead simple: press the button, flip the fixed head, and you’ve got a spreader with up to 1125 mm of capacity. There’s also a safety stop to keep the moving head from sliding off the bar when you’re juggling parts.

Clamping performance

Rated at 600 lb (270 kg), this is one of the few trigger-style clamps I trust for “real” glue-ups. On a 32-inch hard maple panel, a pair brought the seam tight without needing a pipe clamp backup. The last few squeezes ramp up quickly, and I didn’t notice any significant pressure drop over time—no creeping open after I set it and walked away.

Bar flex is minimal across the working span. If you crank it with abandon, you’ll see the expected trigger-clamp behavior: the movable jaw toes in a hair as the pads compress. But within normal workflow—bringing joints tight, holding a carcass square, cinching a benchtop to sawhorses—the I‑beam bar keeps everything aligned nicely.

The quick-release lever is progressive, so you can feather tension off instead of blasting the work free. That’s helpful when you’re clamping veneered panels or fragile miters and don’t want a sudden snap.

Spreader mode

As a spreader, the clamp is legitimately useful rather than a gimmick. I used it to tension new sling material on a patio chair and to ease a stuck drawer case apart for a shim. The conversion takes seconds and locks positively—no wobble in the reversed head. You do need to respect the geometry: keep the load in line with the bar. Side-loading or “prying” against an off-center contact can stress the plastic frame on any trigger clamp, this one included. Stay axial and it delivers steady, controllable force up to roughly 44 inches between pads.

Ergonomics and usability

The grip and trigger are shaped for gloved hands without being oversized for bare-hand work. It genuinely is a one‑hand clamp: I can position parts with one hand and set the clamp with the other, then ratchet to final pressure without regripping. The balance is good; even at full reach it doesn’t feel tip-heavy.

At 36 inches of capacity (about 935 mm between pads), this size is a sweet spot. A 24-inch clamp is often just short of useful on furniture widths and case ends; a 48-inch clamp projects awkwardly into your workspace. This one clears the work and still fits inside cabinet carcasses and across small tables without constantly bumping into other fixtures.

Accuracy and jaw behavior

On test cuts and assemblies, the jaws stayed close to parallel under load. The full-face pads help here—they resist point-loading that can skew a joint. On an edge-glue test, I saw no measurable racking with a single clamp centered across a 14-inch panel. On a cabinet box, two clamps front and back held squareness well while I drove confirmats.

If you do need more surface area, the pad faces are flat enough to accept shop-made cauls or sacrificial blocks, and the pads have enough friction that they don’t skate off slick finishes.

Durability and maintenance

After months of use, the bar’s black oxide has held up with only minor polishing where the head rides. Keep the bar wiped and free of glue squeeze-out; hardened glue is the enemy of smooth travel on any clamp. I’ve avoided obvious abuse—no cheater bars on the trigger, no hammering the handle—and the mechanism still ratchets cleanly with no slop in the pawl.

A note on the body: reinforced nylon is tough, not indestructible. Treat it as a heavy-duty trigger clamp, not a jack or a pry bar. In spreading mode or when clamping irregular shapes, keep the load centered and aligned with the bar. That habit extends the life of the clamp and maintains accuracy.

Size, capacity, and real-world fit

• Max jaw opening: about 935 mm (just under 37 in)
• Throat depth: 95 mm (3-3/4 in)
• Spreading capacity: 1125 mm (about 44 in)
• Weight: ~2 kg

That combination covers a surprising range: table aprons, chair frames, drawer cases, end panels, slab glue-ups under three feet, track saw guides to benches, and temporary fences to miter saw stands. I’ve also used it as a hold-down for odd clamping angles by spanning the bench and trapping fixtures—something a pipe clamp can’t do as easily.

What it’s not

It’s powerful for a trigger clamp, but it’s not a substitute for parallel-jaw clamps when you need dead-flat, symmetric pressure across wide panel glue-ups. It’s also not a replacement for pipe clamps when you need near‑limitless capacity or want steel-on-steel abuse tolerance. The 3-3/4 in throat depth is generous for the class but won’t reach deep into large assemblies the way a deep-throat F‑style can.

If your work regularly demands extreme force, high heat, or prying leverage, stick with steel screw-based clamps. Think of this as your fast, capable everyday clamp that can pull its weight in serious builds but doesn’t try to be a steel C‑clamp.

Pros and cons

Pros:
- Real 600 lb clamping force with minimal bar flex
- One-handed operation with a smooth, progressive trigger
- Quick, secure conversion to a spreader (up to ~44 in)
- Full-face non-marring pads that actually protect work
- Safety stop and clean quick release
- Manageable weight and a highly useful 36 in capacity

Cons:
- Reinforced nylon body demands proper, in-line loading—don’t pry or side-load
- Jaws can toe in slightly at maximum force, like most trigger clamps
- 3-3/4 in throat depth won’t replace deep-throat or parallel-jaw clamps in some setups

Recommendation

I recommend the DeWalt 36-inch trigger clamp as a go-to, heavy-duty quick clamp for furniture makers, remodelers, and DIYers who need long reach with true one-handed operation. It brings credible 600 lb clamping force, a stiff I‑beam bar, and a genuinely useful spreader mode into a size that fits most shop tasks without getting in the way. Treat it like the precision plastic-and-steel tool it is—keep loads straight, avoid prying—and it will handle everything from panel glue-ups under three feet to case assembly and on-site holding tasks with ease. If your work skews to extreme-force or deep-reach clamping, pair it with pipe or parallel-jaw clamps; otherwise, this is the 36-incher I’d buy again, and I’d buy it in pairs.