Customer Reviews

Bessey BTB30 Tradesman 30-Piece Bar Clamp Assortment

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What can be said about these clamps? They're Bessey Tradesman clamps - some of the best and most respected clamps in the trade. Extremely strong, well designed, easily adjustable. Buying all thirty clamps separately would cost you about $350, so this is quite a deal for clamps of this caliber, especially for start-up hobbyists. It's also a deal for seasoned cabinet shops - as you know, you can never have too many clamps! However, my beef is with the packaging. I've seen this same package offered by other sites, so I'm going to have to ding Bessey a star on this one: the packaging was HORRIFYING. Completely unacceptable. All 30 clamps (over 70 pounds worth) were tossed haphazardly in a long, flimsy cardboard box. The clamps themselves were not individually wrapped in anything, nor was the whole set wrapped in anything. They were just thrown in a box that was held together by cheap packing tape. As such, the red paint on the wooden handles got torn apart by the rest of the metal in the box. The box itself was in shambles since the cardboard was so thin and the packing tape so cheap. HOWEVER, it's a testament to the longevity and durability of these clamps that they survived this shipping torture with nothing more than scratched paint. They are SOLID clamps that are definitely worth the buy, so long as you're willing to risk the gentle hands of "brown".
Word of advice: Considering the packaging, make sure you count the clamps when you get them! 30 - not 29, nor 28...30! I didn't have a problem, but when I looked at the box again I considered myself lucky.

I emailed the manufacturer and asked if they changed the packing on this set of clamps based on the previous reviews. I received no reply. My set came today beat up like the others had. There is nothing between the clamps and the wooded handles suffer with knicks and scratches. It's a good thing they make such a good product or we wouldn't put up with this poor packaging job.

Regardless of the claim made by J. Schwerdt "Bessey Management" last year (in response to DK's very on-target review) that the packaging problems have been corrected, the packaging on the clamp set I recently received was just as shoddy as it apparently ever was, with some of the bars sticking out of the package ends, and many of the clamp handles (and the paint on some of the castings) dinged up, some pretty badly.

Still, considering that the deal also included an HTC clamp stand, I'm very pleased with the clamp set. Incidentally, the stand included a broad, U-shaped bracket (approx 3-3/4" high), and two long bolts w/washers & locknuts, which were not discussed in the assemply instructions, and which appear to be intended to hold some kind of sign, as shown in the HTC literature, but which was not included with the stand.

the clamps are the best made and they have to be. the packaging is terrible. they are crammed in to a long box with all the weight to one side with the tape straining to hold its contents. its amazing they get here in one piece.

I was a little nervous after reading some of the reviews about the packaging of the clamps for shipping. I decided to take my chances because it was such a good deal, and when my box arrived it was intact. The clamps are great and work like a dream. I'm glad I have them and they will probley out last me.

Amazon kept delaying my order (placed in September; received in November) and I assumed it was a result of the "new and improved packaging" that the Bessey employee mentioned in another review. Apparently this was not the case, as my clamps were also stacked in a long cardboard box. The box was in good shape upon arrival, but the wooden handles on the clamps were a little dinged up because each clamp wasn't individually wrapped. It's a snug fit though, so it wasn't like they were banging around during shipping.
I'm impressed with the quality of the clamps. It looks like they'll last for many years.

Received my order today. Although the 30 clamps came in one heavy box they arrived without any damage.

Although Bessey clamps now come from Grizzley (which might mean 'made in Taiwan') the still are made with the same strong bar, and have much less deflection than Jorgensons. They still come with plastic pads to protect your work, which are handy, although they do fall off regularly. The 30 piece set for $300 is a fantastic deal.

I thought the substandard packaging was fixed, but it has not. All the clamps were stuffed into a long cardboard box, and nearly every wood handle is scratched, dented, chipped, or all of the above. A few even needed some sanding to remove particularly rough gashes.

Even after reading the reviews about the poor packaging, I still went ahead with my purchase of these clamps. Needless to say, I wasn't 'shocked' when the same cardboard packaging arrived and the handles were a little beat up. I have been using a couple of bessey clamps for the past 4 years and absolutely love them. I guess the 'beat-up' look was a small trade off for the quality of the clamps. As an added bonus, I received the clamp rack to make the deal that much sweeter...