Denali 30-Piece Bar Clamp Assortment
- Assorted bar clamp set; ideal for woodworkers, hobbyists and cabinet makers
- Removable bar design integrates longer or shorter bars as needed; quickly converts from a clamp to a spreader
- Malleable cast iron with removable jaws and nickel-finished rails; heavy-duty I-beam bar resists twisting and bending
- Includes four 6-inch clamps, six 12-inch clamps, four 18-inch clamps, eight 24-inch clamps, four 30-inch clamps, four36-inch clamps
- Unique jaw stop keeps bar parallel to work surface
Amazon.com Product Description
This 30-piece assortment of hardworking bar clamps will handle a tremendous array of clamping jobs, from the small and delicate to the big and burly. The set includes: four 6-inch bar clamps, six 12-inch bar clamps, four 18-inch bar clamps, eight 24-inch bar clamps, four 30-inch bar clamps and four 36-inch bar clamps. Protective jaw pads keep your workpiece from marring, and the easy-release clutch lets you adjust the opening effortlessly. Threaded handle turns cleanly and gives you a super grip every time. Quality construction means dependability and a long life…. More >>
Denali 30-Piece Bar Clamp Assortment
This set is an incredible deal, but be sure you can live with a flaw. The casting on the fixed heads, where it comes in contact with whatever you’re clamping on to, is slightly rounded and quite lumpy. The thin plastic cap covering it (hiding it?) will do little to help prevent the head from making an indentation on your work. It’s especially bad on the 6″ and 12″ clamps. My very similar Bessey clamps have a perfectly smooth head surface and aren’t covered with a plastic cap.
The package is very heavy, clamps are extremely well wrapped/packaged inside, but then shipped in a cheap box. The clamps were all very dirty, like they were made in a filthy factory. Clean them well before use.
Now the good news. I compared these to my Bessey clamps and found that the Denalis are very similar in construction. Thickness and width of the bars is the same as Bessey, size and perceived strength of the heads *looks* as strong as the Besseys (who knows). The movable head screw is heavier than Bessey, and the wooden handles are the same size as Bessey or larger.
The bottom line for me is that it’s like a 30 piece set of Besseys at a small fraction of the price, but now I have to figure out what to do with those workpiece-damaging heads.
You can do the math – this was $3.00 per clamp exclusive of tax (I paid 89.99 with free shipping during the 2007 Winter holiday season). This is much less than the cost of a Bessey or Jorgensen economy clamp. From a value perspective this is an extreme bargain.
This assortment focuses on the 24″ size, fairly useful in cabinetmaking, but there are at least 4 of each from 6″ to 36″. The clamps are constructed of steel bars with cast iron or steel jaws. There are plastic pads over the clamping surfaces and wood handles are used on the screws, like the more expensive units. The clutches and screws operate smoothly. The clamps as received were well-made, entirely clean and ready for use – no oil, mill scale, grease or dirt.
I found that the faces of the clamps were not completely flat at the parting line of the castings and the factory didn’t do a secondary machining operation to flatten them. The plastic / rubber pads are sufficient for non-slip clamp application but you may decide to use cauls to prevent damage to your work (sometimes a good idea anyway to equalize the clamping pressure). You can easily file the surfaces flat if it’s a big deal for you. I predict that the plastic pads will probably not last as long as the other clamp parts. I have used a few sizes of the clamps on projects so far and am pleased with the performance.
A word about the packaging – my 61-pound shipment came from Las Vegas to the Kansas City area. Even though the contents themselves were well-packed originally, external carton was practically shredded under the care of UPS. However, as long as the label was intact, it managed to find its destination. As a previous reviewer wrote, the external box is a weakness. A double-corrugated box with banding would probably survive much better.
I’m cheap… so I bought these clamps. I’m going to repeat a few other reviews…
The box that the clamps are sent in are pure crap… I had a set of clamps hanging out of mine. The box only matters for package delivery, which in my case was a bit scary. The quality of the clamps are just OK… remember you are buying cheap clamps. I had 3 clamps that if there was a simple process of returning I would. 1 clamp had a cracked handle, 1 clamp had a lot of reverse play, and the last one had a small crack in the metal on the head portion. Also the pads are better than nothing and that is about it. I bought the Denali 3/4 pipe clamp package as well and the quality is much better on those…
http://www.amazon.com/Denali-4-Inch-Clamp-Fixture-12-pack/dp/B000NDHN90/ref=pd_sim_hi_title_4
I bought a few clamps in this style from Harbor Freight that are better but cost a bit more as well. So for less than $4 (average) per clamp… they hard to beat.
Actually, I purchased these after reading all the previous reviews because I needed a lot more clamps asap without running my wallet dry.
First- shipping was fast and all the clamps were in a single box. THe box was in perfect shape- no signs of damage.
Second- All the clamps were individually wrapped in plastic, not protective, but they were also bundled to reduce (not prevent) banging into each other during shipping. No obvious damage!
Third- No broken clamps. Fit and finish looked good. No excess grease or oil like other reviewer mentioned. The clamping surfaces looked okay, not great. They weren’t REAL bumpy, but not ground smooth either. The rubber pads should alleviate 95% of roughness, I can easily grind or otherwise smooth the surfaces if/when I need to. I usually finish plane or sand most surfaces after glue-up anyway…
Fourth- Every clamp works as expected. No duds, no pop-releasing!
Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. For the money, i just may buy another set of them!
Greg
The above clamps arived without problem. UPS or the manufacter got it right. The clamps were clean and ready to use…with the exception of the flat surface on the molded section of the bottom of the clamp. I ground all of them smooth with a seven inch grinding disk. Took about 15 min. Repainted with a little grey paint. The cushions now stay in place and the surface will not mare your project.