HZ-16 16-Inch Cam-action Wood Clamps

C'mon, how badly can you screw-up a simple clamp?Many of my old Klemmsia clamps "walked away" recently and I had to buy replacements. I chose these from Gross Stabil. I mean, a wooden, cam-action clamp is a wooden, cam-action clamp, right? Apparently not.Every one was different, from various cheaper woods (not maple or similar, as it should be) to different styles of metal bars and end-rivets.Mostly they were all severely misaligned and useless in the condition I got them. With some sawing, grinding, and sanding, I managed to fix all the problems, but what's the point in that? These ought to be a no-brainer, with established jigs and known supplies. One ought to be as well made and aligned as the next. Not from Gross Stabil, however. I get the impression they buy these pre-made, at any quality level they can find, stamp their name on them then resell them.Plan on these fixes:1. The metal bar extends beyond the fixed jaw at the end. That's a problem because these clamps are designed to stand flat on the end jaw, bar pointing upwards. However, with the bar extending below the jaw, the whole thing wobbles and falls over. Grind the bar back down below the edge of the jaw so it works like it should have done out of the package.2. The cam jaw has a slit cut in it. This slit is what the cam pushes against the fixed jaw. The cam is supposed to ride just on, or perhaps just shy of, that slit piece of wood when the cam is fully retracted. This is to allow the slit piece of wood to be set parallel with the fixed jaw. These clamps have the cam already far too low, pushing the slit piece downwards and out of parallel with the fixed jaw. You'll never get parallel unless the run a piece of sandpaper (coarse grit, and many, many passes) under the cam edge to sand it away from the slit piece of wood.3. In addition to no. 2 above, the whole movable jaw should be aligned parallel to the fix jaw. None of what I ordered were parallel. They were canted too far forward or aft. I had to remove the cork pad, and, using a block plan, angle the surfaces of both jaws so they could be set parallel. Then I had to go buy more cork pad to replace what I removed for fixing the problem.4. The two back ends of the jaws are supposed to be parallel with the bar so that clamped work can be balanced on them (with the bar horizontal and close to the bench). Just as no. 1 above, the idea of these clamps is to give you a balancing position while your work is in progress or your glue dries. But the backs of these jaws are never in alignment, and they won't balance. Since it's end-grain that has to be trimmed, I had to saw (rather than plane) the back ends of both jaws to be in alignment.OK, so after all that work, all my clamps are usable. I would have been more appreciative had they simply sold me a kit with loose parts and let me assmemble the thing myself. That's much easier than trying to correct sloppy workmanship.And that sums up my opinion. Sloppy workmanship. Very, very sloppy. I'll never buy Gross Stabil again. Money is better spent with someone who delivers what is expected, especially since clamps like this are SO very simple to get right the first time.2 stars only because, after working with them, I was able to actually say that yes, I have cam-action clamps and all that that term is supposed to imply.