Foldable Work Bench

Absolutely a great unit for occasional garage work that is light duty. It is strong enough for heavier work but I would have a heavier duty model for that. This is simple to assemble, operates perfectly and is really a great buy.

I have two other workbenches, and they're nice enough, but I can't justify having a permanent 4' x 8' workbench in my garage. So having something I can easily break down but is still secure is a huge benefit. By itself this is not at all stable, obviously. And just laying a full sheet over it also makes for a wobbly table. But if you have a surface that locks into the upper supports, it suddenly turns extremely stable. Buying their MDF tabletops would have more than doubled the purchase price (or almost tripled, depending on the options) so I just made my own. I got pre-cut 2' x 4' quarter sheets from the hardware store and screwed some 1x2s on the bottom surface to align with the upper mounts. Once they lock into place the table feels almost as secure as my "proper" woodworking bench. No fasteners or clamps seem to be required. Great for breaking down full sheets or other times you need to work with longer stock. I think you'll be shocked by how utterly stable this bench becomes once it has a top that mounts securely. Otherwise, it's nice. Very easy to set up, break down and not unreasonably heavy. Comes with a perfectly adequate nylon bag to hold everything. It has straps to hold it closed once broken down but I'm considering removing them because I think they can be a trip hazard. Or maybe I'll get some velcro ties to keep them out of the way. When using the track saw I put some sacrificial foam insulation over my homemade tabletop to keep from damaging it.

I like it but it needs sand bags because it is too light and any moderately sized cutting job can cause it to tilt or slide around. I also noticed the vice function seems to have gone askew even though it was square after being assembled.

Packaging was very good and compact. The instructions were clear enough to follow. Put together, the little bench will be very handy for me.

This is a very satisfactory folding workbench / vise; substantially equivalent to the Black and Decker Workmate that I bought 30 or 40 years ago and that is still doing good work. I was worried that such an inexpensive unit would be weak; but this one feels pleasingly sturdy, once it's assembled with everything tight. A number of reviewers have complained that various designs of folding workbench are difficult to assemble. This one took a substantial time (1 1/2 or 2 hours), but everything was reasonably straightforward. Some suggestions for assembly: (a) A reviewer mentioned that he needed a lot of force to drive the wood screws that hold the table top boards in place. I agree; I worried about stripping the screw head. The screws will go in much more easily and hold equally well if you lubricate them with soap: Just roll the screw threads on a bar of soap so they pickup a bit of soap, and then drive the lubricated screw into the pre-drilled hole. (b) The M6 bolts that hold the legs to the cross-bars don't have any locking system: I suggest putting the flat washer provided under the bolt head to give a better grip on the large hole, and adding a lock washer under the nut. If you don't have a metric lock washer, a 1/4" lock washer works fine. (c) One end of the crank assembly is designed to pivot around a single M8 bolt with a nylon-insert lock nut. On my unit, the nut was much too loose on both crank assemblies, so the outer board of the vise flopped around. Tightening these nuts more than a turn gave a tightness where the unit moved and pivoted smoothly and didn't flop. Check this before you screw the top boards to the crank assembly. I didn't notice the flopping until the unit was completely assembled, so I had to remove the 8 wood screws in order to get at the problem nuts. One suggested improvement: These workbenches usually have a shallow horizontal grove running down the inside of each vise jaw, which is very convenient when you need to grip a round object. This unit had a flat face with no groove. If you have a table saw, it is easy to cut a groove: 1/16" deep and 3/16" wide is about right.

Decent quality considering low price point

Surprisingly strong and sturdy! Does not wobble and the center of gravity makes it one stable work bench. Very quick to assemble and the aesthetics are great--perfect paint job, excellent screening on the wooden parts. It does fold up very easily and compact. It's not too heavy but if you're going to hang the folded table up on a wall, I would use hooks which are embedded in studs. The plastic caps for the feet are rubberized and do a good job of preventing scratches while resisting age/fatigue cracking. There are 4 dogs for the peg holes in the table surface and they fit very snugly. I'm pleased with this purchase!

Ce produit est une reproduction grossière du Workmate original de Black and decker, mais fabriqué dans un métal plus fragile. J'ai comparé ce produit avec mon vieux Workmate de 40 ans d'âge et la structure métallique est 3 fois plus légère que le vieux modèle, donc probablement 3 fois plus fragile. Seul avantage: la plateau est fait de bambou qui semble très fort.