C-Clamps

A C-clamp (and its deeper-throated G-clamp cousin) frames the work in a solid C- or G-shaped casting, with a screw driving straight down through one end onto the workpiece. That rigid frame lets it generate real mechanical force in a small footprint -- more raw clamping pressure than an F-clamp of similar size -- but the fixed throat depth means it can only reach as far into a workpiece as the casting allows, nowhere near a bar clamp's reach.

That tradeoff makes a C-clamp the right call for holding a jig to a workbench, clamping a small joint, or securing a fence -- anywhere the work is close to an edge and needs serious pressure, not long reach.