Oak Workbench From Harbor Freight Review
This “Saturday” tool review is about the Windsor brand workbench I saw at Harbor Freight this week. Click the buy button below the image to go and check it out on their website. When I saw this item, I was totally shocked that a real OAK hardwood workbench could be purchased for such an unbelievable price. Well isn’t that what shopping at Harbor Freight is all about, getting things on sale? The one I saw was less than one hundred and thirty dollars. I call that a steal of a deal.
If you had to buy all of this material in the raw and fabricate this on your own, it would take a huge amount of money and a large investment of your time.
This thing is solid. I tried to shake it, rack it and rock the bench and it would not give under the pressure.
Now, you may be thinking; “this thing will cost a fortune to have shipped to my house.” Not so! It only costs about $12.99 to have this thing delivered to your doorstep. That’s what I call bargain shipping.
Bench Dogs-You’ve got adjustable tabletop pegs that are useful for holding any type of project in position while being worked on. I particularly like using the shorter metal inserts for holding wood in place while I belt sand the pieces. The longer bench dogs work well for supporting things in an upright position, particularly while you are working on things placed on their their thin edges such as cabinet doors.
Powerful Wooden Vice-I really like the large handle. It works great for torquing things down with ease. If you are a woodworker, this is perfect for holding your delicate custom hardwood or softwood pieces in position. Unlike some metal clamps, there are no rigid grooves in the jaws that will mar the wood. As a cabinet maker, this is the type of feature I need in a workbench.
Top Coat-The workbench appears to have a polyurethane top coat on it for protection. So, once everything is assembled all you will need is something to work on.
All-in-all, this from Harbor Freight is an excellent buy. It would make a great addition to any garage for Do-It-Yourself projects at home. As I was looking it over for this review, I thought it would work great in any commercial cabinet manufacturing plant. Yes, it is built well enough to withstand daily, commercial use. This thing is made out of solid Oak all the way through. You will not find any MDF overlay or particleboard in this unit.
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I think Harbor Freight gets a lot of undeserved bad press. I have been working on a major kitchen/dining room remodeling including 16 1/2 feet fo cabinets (see my posts under “Home Depot cabinets). I bought a couple of power tools from HF for this project, that I am VERY pleasee with:
1. Their variable speed vibratory multi-tool. This this has been great for cutting off the excess under door frames when installing the floor, electric cut-outs for new switches/outlets in paneling/drywall (You can control the depth of cut-something that difficult with a recip or jig saw) $50!!! with a coupon. Catch: You have to use their blades, but they have a large selection, and they are less expensive than anywhere else. The bi-metal blades last well.
2. Their multi speed router. This tool seems to have adequate precision , speed and power to do cabinet trim, ie trimming end panels flush, and laminate. I was contmplating routing my own glass panel recessing from solid doors (didn’t have to, AM Woodmark cabs were affordable with glass doors-all 14 of ‘em)and this router seemed to have more than enough to keep from slowing down. Again, $50.00 with a coupon!!
3. Chicago Elec 12 ” sliding compound miter saw. A 10″ saw would be fine for cabinets, but I knew I needed a bigger saw for other projects. (I’m going to be re-doing a curving landscape timber wall, and will need this beeefy saw for that. But, this monster is cutting my trim and crown perfectly. Granted, I did spend about an hour getting the fence and saw blade angle set perfectly square. $112.00 with a coupon on sale! Also, this saw can witha 60 tooth carbide tipped blade, which actually is OK, but I plan to get a 96 tooth blade for laninate cutting. HF has the blade for $30!
4. Chicago elec recip saw. $20.00. Hasn’t been stopped yet!
5. Chicago Elec 1/2 inch hammer/drill. $20. Again, going srong.
Notes: I do buy their “better” or upgraded products. Get the best price by shopping their sale circulars and on-line deals. (Sign up for their e-mails. Deals not otherwise available.)
buy the best blades/drill bits you can. Usually the ones that come with their tools are pretty cheesy-exception: miter saw blade. Very good, I just need a finer blade. Take the time to set up the tool: miter saw.
I am a homeowner and minor landlord. HF/Chicago Electric tools (have had drill and recip saw for several years) seem to be up to my needs. I suppose if I were making a living with these tools, I might want better, such as a true Milwakee Sawzall, but for more, for the money, these get the job done. I’ve also used their pneumatic nailers with success.
TJ in AR
Thanks TJ, my experience with them overall has been pretty good. Mom used to say; “you get what you pay for.” Most of the cheap power and pneumatic tools I’ve purchased from them have broken rather quickly. By the looks of that Oak workbench I saw there…that thing is built to last a lifetime!