Thread: Ripa Grip Clamps.............Any Good????

Simon has a point about the expensive price when compared to the price of DVD players when they were released. It took a few years for the price to be affordable by the majority of the workforce. Personally, there is no way that I'd spend that kind of money on one clamp as I don't have a use for this particular type of tool, though others might. Sure, the application is important, so they have an idea of their intended market at this stage. Simon also stated that they may start producing offshore, so Australian made now but not guaranteed to last under certain circumstances (in this scenario, are buyers actually funding the move offshore? What's the long term business plan...).

I'd rather spend my time and hard earned money looking for nice old tools at flea markets. We all know what you can get if you spend $329. It's one clamp or a few planes, chisels, clamps and then some.

Hello Simon,

I in no way desire anything I write here to be construed wrongly. I also am completely aware that I am not Australian. My perspective is completely from a woodworker's point of view.

I desire that your company indeed prosper. I whole heartily believe, to use the trite saying (that I altered here), that we sould think globally and purchase locally when possible. In that spirit, I wish you the most complete success.

When I look at your product, I cannot for the life of me see it for use in woodworking--as is. I would suggest that perhaps you privately ask a few notable local woodworkers to evaluate it and give honest feedback as relates to a woodworker's use.

Just from the few pictures I looked at on the web site, I couldn't tell if accessories directed at woodworkers exist. The extremely small clamp pads would harm a wood surface. And using with cauls the small and medium jaws would have their clamping capacity limited.

Too, while the ultimate clamping pressure is impressive, it is far more than any woodworker needs. (Even Bessey F-style clamps can produce too much pressure, but far less than this clamp.)

I would start by, if you haven't already, designing some sort of clamp pads to broaden the clamping surface, a softer pad, that would not mar a wooden surface. I would also seek to show the clamp in real-life woodworking situations in the promotional literature and the web site.

How to do this, is another issue. The feedback from local woodworkers to whom it was made available for feedback could enable you to penetrate this (large) market.

I wish you the best of success.

Mike

Hey Guys

Wow ... it's amazing how many responses came in, thanks for all of those I will certainly be printing them out and showing to the other directors. Our biggest concern has and probably always will be the PRICE. It's very difficult for an Aussie company to be able to produce a quality product in Australia and have retailers then add their 30-50% margins before you the end-user can purchase it at a resonable price. So we are doing are best at attempting to reduce the price in every conceivable way.

There are 4 of us in the company and 3 of us had our own wood working company called Prestige Jarrah (about 12 years ago now), the clamp came about because of the lack of reach of all other clamps available to us. We really only did produce them for our own use until we realised that it does some amazing things.

Also we have just had a big revamp of the website and as of yet we have not put our woodworking shots back in, we need to reshoot them from scratch.

Please remember that the Ripa-Grip Clamp does everthing that a normal 'C' or 'F' clamp will do. We have sold many clamps to wood workers and sure they say that they are expensive, but after doing some after sales contacts with them they also say that they are more than pleased and would have no problems buying more and recommending them to others.

Thanks once again for your replies and I hope one day that the price will be at a level so that you can purchase one.

Happy wood working

Simon Lyne

Left Field:
Seems to be a few negatives here ...go easy fellas... Mr Rippa Grip didn't start this thread, and replied only after there were a few posts on the topic. Ahh it strikes me - he's on the forum as a market research method, very proactive. A company that listens to the users and potential users. Good.

Also, who has said its a wood working product?? Being able to apply 1 ton of force would seem to put it in an engineering/agricultural/metal working product arena. Their website photos have them holding metal bits and pieces. I think the point was well made about the Dozer being down, and needing quality tools.

NewLou started this - being the serial 'link poster' that he is - and I'm glad he is as I've gone to a lot of his links. thanks Lou, good one.

Perhaps their 'mistake' was in getting them manufactured here, maybe they should go the way of the majority of our manufacturing and get it made where subsistance wages are paid. Then I could buy ten and hang them on my wall and feel good at the bargain that I got.... and not think about helping to keep a worker (read fellow human) in conditions that I wouldn't tolerate in my own country.

Back on track:
Are they any good, from the demo I saw (brother-in-laws got a couple - a diesel mech) - Yes - shed loads of applied force, can hang onto just about any shape. I'd like to see them with a wider jaw and wide nylon grip points - then they'd be great for wood. And they can crush rocks ! - which probably voids the warranty. (Shhh don't tell Rippa Grip)
Cheers and good to see an Aussie inventor getting up and on their feet.

Good luck with the business and hope the learing curve is gentle on you.
My $0.02, don't flame me too much, I'm a hairy man and I like it that way

Originally Posted by Clinton1

Snip...
Also, who has said its a wood working product?? Being able to apply 1 ton of force would seem to put it in an engineering/agricultural/metal working product arena. Their website photos have them holding metal bits and pieces. I think the point was well made about the Dozer being down, and needing quality tools.

From Simon's reply posted before yours, if nothing else:

Also we have just had a big revamp of the website and as of yet we have not put our woodworking shots back in, we need to reshoot them from scratch.

But like I said, I wish them the best of success. And I'll be first in line if they can show me an application in woodworking that I cannot solve as easily without them. Price matters, but not that much in comparision to a quality, lifetime tool that has useful applications in my work.

MikeW

G'day Simon,

Thank you for your reply.

All of your points are fair and good ones. However, the retail price is still much too high to attract the casual buyer or even fairly dedicated hobbyist (folks who wouldn't think all that much about spending several hundred dollars on a decent hand plane).

I can't help but think of Monsieur Bic. His agents told him (rough approximation) 10FF - he said 50 sous. Guess who was right?

I guess that you'd have to look at volumes; the numbers that you claim to have sold over the past eighteen months seem, actually, very low. Of course, I don't know what your projections were based upon, nor what unit costs you assumed, but I would still suggest that, for volume acceptance, the price-point would be closer to around AU$75 for the mid-sized model.

Regards!