Review on Upgrade Your Cabinet Game With Neitra'S Heavy Duty Door Mounting Jig And Clamp - Perfect For Face Frame And Frameless Cabinets! by Bryan King

Cabinet Clamp Review1) PackagingThe item arrived in a plain cardboard box. Inside the box, the item was enclosed in a plastic zipper bag. There was no documentation included.2)ConstructionThe body of the tool is made from two pieces of anodized aluminum. The two pieces slot together via a dual T-track assembly and are secured by the bolt clamp that operates the door height adjustment of the device. This particular bolt appears to be made of stainless steel. The T-bar handle of this bolt appears to be chrome plated steel, not stainless.On the other side of the device, there is another bolt clamp. This one has a rubber foot that clamps against the cabinet face frame and a plastic knob handle to tighten the clamp. This bolt appears to be zinc plated steel, not stainless. It seems a bit rougher than the other bolt clamp assembly, but operates fine.All surfaces that come in contact with the cabinet door or frame have a rubber protective pad to prevent damage to the surface. There is also an overlapping bolt on top of the device, below the T-handle, which prevents the crossbar from over-travelling and separating from the main body of the device.3) SpecsThe face frame clamp does not fully close when empty, leaving a 1/8" gap between the rubber pad and rubber foot. The maximum open area of the face frame jaw is right at 2-1/4". This won't work well if you have overly large face frames on your cabinets.The crossbar has a maximum height of 1/2" above the top of the face frame, which is higher that you would ever want to set it in a realistic application. It has a maximum lower height of 1-7/8" below the top of the face frame.The main body of the device is about 3-1/2" wide by 3-1/8" tall by 1-1/2" deep. There is a 1" wide by 3/4" deep by 1/2" tall projection on the bottom, which houses the lower end of the crossbar T-Bolt.The inner jaw depth is 1-1/4". The inner jaw height is 2-3/4" or 2-5/8" factoring in a deduction for the rubber pad.The crossbar is 7-7/8" wide by 1" deep by 3/8" (1/2" including the rubber pad) thick. The crossbar extends about 2-3/16" past the body of the device on either side.The T-handle looks to be replaceable by removing two set screws which hold the lower ball end in the projection on the base of the body. The T-handle itself could be replaced with some effort. It has a splined area in the middle the handle and is pressure fit through the bolt. The rubber foot on the face frame clamp can be removed by an inner set screw, which allows the foot and/or the clamping bolt to be removed and replaced.4) OperationThis unit operates by clamping the main body to the lower face frame of the cabinet. Then the crossbar is adjusted to the desired height for the door to rest on. This unit does not come with any instructions, but it's so straightforward that I don't see a need for them. This may deter DIYers that are unfamiliar with how some basic tools work.5) ConclusionThis seems to be a pretty well built device. There are a few oddities in the variety of materials it's made from, but nothing that I see as an issue. There is very little slop in the assembly. The crossbar wobbles no more than 1/16" of an inch. There was a bit of roughness is the movement of the clamping bolts, but this had smoothed out by the time I finished testing the unit.There are not many devices like this available. I've compared it to the most common, the Kreg Cabinet Door Mounting Jig. The Kreg runs about half the price. This unit was $48 at the time of writing and the Kreg unit was $24.This unit does come with everything you need to use it, where the Kreg needs separate clamps to hold it in place. The advantage the Kreg has in that regard is that using a separate clamp allows you to mount it to a taller face frame if needed. You can just change your clamp size.This unit also has more granular control over the mounting height. The Kreg locks in at 1/4" increments and you must use separate shims for a 1/16", 1/8", or combined 3/16" adjustment. In theory the Kreg should maintain its setting better since there is no movement once it's locked into place. In practice, this unit does not have enough slop in it for that to be a real concern, especially if you just tape off the handle once you have your settings dialed in.I appreciate the all metal construction of this device vs the plastic construction of the Kreg jig. I've used enough Kreg tools in my time to attest that the plastic parts wear quickly in relation to similar metal tools.If I were to buy a cabinet door jig, this would probably be my choice rather than the plastic counterparts.