outdoor living products

I really like this bench. It takes up less room than my previous table and it's extremely sturdy. I tried standing on it just to see if it felt sturdy (this is NOT recommended, by the way). The specs say it holds 550lbs and i believe it. I have sawed wood with a hacksaw, drilled holes in wood, and made keys on this workbench (I'm a student locksmith, which is why I bought this item).

The bench has these posts that stand up high enough to rest boards and other flat items on it so that there's space between the item and the bench. This makes it good for drilling. The three table-top pieces can be used for clamping, but i have not used this feature yet. They are easily moved however, with the hand cranks on the front. My unit came mostly assembled, but the box had been opened so I'm not sure if that's normal or not. (I bought this from Lowe's, not Amazon, for $90.) I think this is best for people who don't need too big a table surface, but need the sturdiness of a larger workbench.

I bought the Workmate WM425PS project center from a local home center (their price for the Workmate 425, which included a 25 ft. extension cord and multi-outlet power strip was $25 less than Amazon's). I was expecting to spend an hour assembling it but, surprisingly, it was almost completely assembled right out of the box. I only had to put on the plastic handles which took only a minute to install. The stand sets up easily and intuitively and is quite sturdy. For such a stable stand it is not heavy at all, and I could easily carry it from one end of my basement to the other. The owner's manual is almost useless. Illustrations and instructions for assembly and usage are very poor. If it had not come preassembled, figuring out how to put it together would have been difficult. Black & Decker's web site will be of no use for this. However, using the Workmate is fairly intuitive and not that hard to figure out. The Workmate will be a handy work bench for small tasks, and the clamping is acceptable for simple things like holding boards for sawing. The clamp is too flimsy to use for any serious clamping. The stand is solid enough that it could be used for most any portable bench tool like a miter saw, planer, etc.

Overall, I'm glad I purchased this product and will find it useful over time. I suggest that you price around before purchase. I was quite surprised to see that Amazon's price was substantially higher than the local home center.

This is not a quality cabinate makers work bench. But using this bench you could build one. I got one because I have no room to store a real bench. Besides I like being able to bring a bench to the job vs taking the work back to the garage/shop.

On mine the belt which drives both handles is plastic, but the clamps are steel screws. What this means is that when I start to tighten both handle turn until one starts to skip. That means its time to grasp both handles and tighten. When its skipping it means the plastic belt can't drive the steel screw tighter. Oh well.

It is heavy but on the other hand it holds the work firmly. I'd like a way to one hand open/set it up when lifting vs the two hands and foot I use now.

Anyway I agree after you buy a drill get this.