Work Bench from Grizzly

[Ed Gibbons]

Grizzly sells a European style work bench for about 1000. Anyone here have one?

[John Schreiber]

A 2006 review of an earlier model by Fine Woodworking: http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=28400&tab=_editor

The price is great for the mass you get though. I think it might be worth while if you were willing to reinforce it where needed.

[Scott T Smith]

I have one; what would you like to know?

[Ed Gibbons]

Scott,
Which one did you get and are you happy with it? Would you buy it again?

How do the benchdogs work>

Thanks.

[Scott T Smith]

Hi Ed. Sorry that I missed your pm!

I have the H8110 bench, and on a scale of 1 - 3 I would give it a 2. On the plus side, it is stable, heavy and solid. On the negative side, the vice's are not as precise as I would like (loose tolerances on the hardware), the top has a slight bow from end to end (it's about 5/16" higher in the middle), and the handles kept popping off of the drawers until I reworked them (easily fixed by countersinking the screw hole). It is manufactured from a lot of shorts too - much more so than what you'd find on a higher quality bench.

The square dog hole are fine, although round holes are probably more versatile. However, those are easy to add.

My particular bench is one that Grizzly used at Trade Shows (I originally saw it at the IWF show in 2008), and I purchased it "as is" at a slight discount as a show special. In hindsight, the bowed top is disappointing (I did not realize it was bowed, nor do I think that the Grizzly folks did either) but "a deal is a deal" and I don't feel right asking them to warranty it.

Compared to the "price" of an Elite workbench from Woodcraft, the Grizzly bench is a good value.

Since you are in NJ, it may be worth a road trip to Muncy to check out their benches and compare them in person (as well as comparing them to your other options).

[Jim Laumann]

I know this is a older thread - was wondering if anyone can add any newer information to this thread?

I have enough money for this one, but not enough to step up to Woodcraft's units.

Thanks

Jim

[David Helm]

I also have the H8110. Bought it from Grizzly for $895 about 5 years ago. It has none of the issues presented by Scott. Certainly it is not perfect, but for the price it is of very good quality.

[Biff Phillips]

I don't know what model you are buying, but be careful.
Some of the tops on Griz workbenches are only 3/4" thick, but then they put an edge skirt around the top to make it appear 2", and they spec it as such.
I got one like that. It had a woodworking vise on it, drilled for dog holes, but the top was not thick enough to use it lol.
So I glued wood up underneath it, but the ad was kind of misleading.
I'm not saying you should rule it out, just be careful.

[Jim Laumann]

For the record - looking at the H8110...

[Mike Wilkins]

With all the magazine articles on bench building I have seen lately, my money would go to building my own. Popular woodworking mag former editor Chris Schwartz (sp) wrote a book on benches. Construction grade pine can be made into a fine shop tool that will serve you well for years. Just my two cents.

[Scott Vigder]

Woodsmith Vol 29 No.173 (Oct/Nov 2007) featured a workbench that I ended up building and slightly modifying. In the 7+ years since I built it I have never had a problem with it. Coincidentally, I ended up moving about two years ago, and Lo and Behold I re-read the article and it showed how the bench top and legs easily separated for easy moving. Bonus!!