Reader Find: The Gorilla Gripper
By Chuck Cage
Patrick writes: “The Gorilla Gripper helps you carry sheet goods. The demonstration video looks pretty good, but some of the ratings on Amazon make me a bit skeptical.”
I’m with you, Patrick. It’s a real pain in the ass to carry large sheets of plywood or MDF. Not only are they quite heavy, there’s also no way to get a good grip. My standby is to use a hammer’s claw end to grab the sheet from the bottom.
One drawback to the ‘Gripper: It’s your upward-pushing force that holds the sheet in place between the ‘Gripper’s jaws. Would it drop the sheet if you released a little pressure to shift positions or descend a step?
Check after the jump for a picture of the ‘Gripper in use.
As promised:
It sells for $50 direct — a bit expensive compared to the won’t-drop-the-sheet-on-you hammer solution. Froogle returns it at similar prices. Patrick’s right, though. The Amazon reviews seem a little fishy.
The Gorilla Gripper [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
The Gorilla Gripper [What’s This?] [Amazon - Check out the reviews]
Related:
January 20th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I currently use a Stanley panel carry, but it’s still a bit hard to use:
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-93-301-Yellow-Panel-Carry/dp/B00004UDN8
Woodcraft sells something similar to the Gorilla Gripper, but it appears to work at the ends of the sheet, so it probably requires two people:
http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4829
I also recall seeing a pocket-sized carrier that unfolded.
But by far my favorite plywood carrying tool is Glenn, my brother in law (and yes, generally he is a big tool).
January 20th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
It seems to me that the Stanley Panel Carry would be a whole heck of a lot cheaper, and IMHO, safer. (Considering it holds the panel from BELOW.. )
The only thing i would add to the Panel Carry would be a small piece of neoprene foam to the bottom of the slot where the sheet goes in. This should help keep the sheet from sliding out of the holder.
January 21st, 2007 at 11:10 am
Rick: I remembered covering a tool just for this purpose, but I couldn’t recall the name — good eye! I’ll add it to the post.