Workbench from Harbor Freight, is it any good??

[Duane Bledsoe]

My wife got me one of the benches from Harbor Freight for a Christmas gift, but she already gave it to me and I have assembled it and used it, so now it's non-returnable. I do like the bench too, but we bought it before I knew anything about workbenches at all. Actually we mostly got it because I just needed a work surface in the shop, and some extra storage with the drawers.

But since yesterday I've been reading about bench designs and seeing how the vises work, and I'm starting to wonder if mine is really OK for woodworking or if it falls short. It has a built in tail vise, made from wood with a large screw through the center. It has dog holes bored in parallel rows down the middle portion of the bench from end to end, and 2 bored in the vise itself. I've learned how to use them in theory with the dogs in the holes and how to apply pressure using the vise. But I've read that the holes need to be near the edge of the bench and these are not. They are about 6 inches back from the edge. Furthermore, there are two rows of 5 holes, one row per side, about that far in from each edge and they do not line up with the holes in the vise at all. The row on the back side doesn't even line up with the vise in any way. Without a front vise, there's really no way to use these other than for basic stop blocking. There are 4 more holes in a square pattern a lot closer to the vise that do line up with the holes in it, but they are only about a foot back in total from the vise itself. Also, the dogs, both the tall pegs and the short metal pegs, all fit fairly loose in the holes as well. Seems to me they should be a bit tighter.

As I was leaving the store with it another customer saw it and warned me that the dog holes go all the way through the surface so that I'd need to put something on the bottom of the holes above the drawers to keep sawdust out of them. I took his advise and did this during assembly and am very glad I did. That much was a blessing. And I've enjoyed using it so far, it's nice to have a solid, flat surface for assembly of things I make, as well as just general counter space and extra storage. Was it worth the $130 I gave for it though?? I was thinking of actually getting 3 more of these and using 2 of them along the wall as a counter top with the drawers and shelf underneath as storage, for woodworking or just general stuff not related to woodworking at all. I'd remove their vises, and then take the other two benches and push them together in the middle of the shop for one large center located bench, and add the extra vises to them as face vises. Having them this way, I could make a large square bench right in the middle for bulky projects, or arrange them longways to one another for extra long projects. I have the space in the shop and thought this would be a good idea. Now I don't know.

Also, the thought occurs to me that having the two in the center separated would mean that they may not be on the same plane of levelness due to ups and downs in the floor. That could be bad for trying to assemble furniture and relying on a flat surface for squaring up things.

[glenn bradley]

If it has been working for you, don't let outside influences make you see it in a poorer light. If it is falling short, keep using it and keep track of those things that bother you and you can factor that in to some future bench, if any. Through dog holes are a must for me as I have no patience for cleaning them out :).

[Neil Brooks]

Hard for me to improve on Glenn's comments, since I was thinking exactly the same thing.

This isn't an "I'm considering buying .... " post. I don't think there IS any better guide than your first-hand experience, over time, as you use the bench. You'll find its strengths and weaknesses, and then ... either decide it suits you fine, or that -- particularly if/as your needs change -- you'll know what your next bench must be and do.

At which point, you'll have a nice assembly table, either way.

[John M Wilson]

I do like the bench too, but we bought it before I knew anything about workbenches at all...But since yesterday I've been reading..., and I'm starting to wonder if mine is really OK for woodworking or if it falls short.

There are many wonderful things that the Internet brings us, but along with all of this useful information comes a unique opportunity for what I will call "over-informed buyer's remorse".

If you purchased something, and it fit your needs at the time, and it made you happy, it was a good purchase.

If later you found out about all the other options that were available, it's easy to shift from a perspective of "is this thing doing what I need, and making me happy" to the perspective of "is there anything else out there that might make me happier?" This is a whole different question, and pondering it too deeply can make you dis-satisfied with the purchase that formerly met all your needs, and made you happy.

I used to be a consultant for people purchasing computer systems, and one piece of advice that I would pass along to my clients is that once they made a purchase, they should stop shopping and start using!

My opinion (and I know nothing about the particulars of the Harbor Freight workbench) is that you can use this workbench for useful purposes in your workshop, so it's fine for now. If you would like a better workbench in the future, you can use this workbench to build it. If you are looking for the perfect workbench, you search will never be over, and you will never be satisfied.

Good luck, and I hope you build a lot of satisfying projects on your new workbench!

[Peter J Lee]

If your wife bought you a workbench, your "honey do" list must be long!

[John Aperahama]

It was gifted to you by your wife (who probably has a impressive lists of honey do's) but it was given in love . Appreciate it for that. Use it to help make another bench in the future. FWIW it doesn't look to be that bad of a bench.

[Stephen Cherry]

Duane-- for solid worktable tops, it's hard to beat commercial doors. I bought a bunch of these used for 5 bucks each. Add some 4x4 or cabinet bases and you will be good to go. Even recycled kitchen cabinets.

As for a traditional woodworking bench with dogs- a really good bench is several multiples of what you paid. Maybe even about 20 times what you paid, depending on what you want. If you are patient, they do come up used sometimes for less than what the vises would cost. Or wait until you figure out what you want and make one.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Duane,

Excellent comments already from the group here, so I won't go into great detail. What I will say is that look what you started out with (nothing) and now look at what you have - a decent bench. Sure, you could spend $2-3K on a top of the line bench, but in the end, is it really worth it? I've seen those benches at HF and I was pretty impressed by them myself. As Glenn said, I prefer holes going all the way through so sawdust doesn't collect in the holes. I think the only question you should be asking yourself now is -- "what do you want me to build you first honey?" That bench will serve you well for a long time I'd imagine.:)

[John Coloccia]

I would not put anything under the dog holes. The holes will fill up with wood and become useless. Cover the drawers, don't block the holes.

Loose fittings dogs are fine as long as they don't fall. They just need to stay where you put them.

If you dont like where the holes are, drill new holes :). The guy making $.05 an hour didn't stress about drilling holes in the bench, and neither should you. I probably wouldn't buy anymore, but I would take a few hours to fix this up to your liking and then get to work on projects.

[Brian Kent]

I agree with John about drilling new holes. No problem. As for the usefulness, I built a nice woodworking bench and still have need for minor benches for sanding grinding and sharpening. Even as you grow in your needs, I bet this one is still useful.

Are you planning on using the bench for planing? If so, and if this is not substantial enough, I know of at least 3 techniques to make it more useful:

1) Add weight through sandbags or something else.

2) Add a triangular piece so it can't rack side to side.

3) Mount a board on the left that extends to a wall or beam, to provide soild resistance.

Brian

[Paul Johnstone]

I am going to assume you are just starting out with a shop now?
I would use this bench for 6 months or so. Build a few things.
Then if you like it, consider buying the 2 additional ones you have planned.
My concern is this.. We all run into a shortage of floor space in our shop.
I would give this advice no matter what brand of workbench you are using.
You might need that floor space to park a joiner on a mobile base or something like that.

If you do decide to get multiple benches and attach them togehter, don't worry about the unevenness of the floor.
You can put leveling feet on the benches to get them all in the same plane, or just use wood shims under the benches to level them out.

[Duane Bledsoe]

OK, it sounds like I should appreciate the one I have now, learn from it, and maybe build or buy one in the future that meets whatever needs this one doesn't. So far it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do. I hate that the top is starting to get banged up and dented some, it's virtually still brand new, but I'm already using it for wood projects and other things too. I got to assemble my grand daughter's Christmas presents from "Santa" on it already so she can play on Christmas morning without hours of assembly ahead for mommy and daddy. That was a priceless experience. Mommy and daddy helped, of course. With 4 of us in there, it still took 2 solid hours for just 2 items.

About the dog holes though, I've seen them get some wood shavings and sawdust in them already, but they vacuum right out with a shopvac that I keep close by. Seems this is an annoyance for some though, but I haven't had a problem at all. Maybe as time goes on and I use them more (haven't had to more than a couple of times so far) I might find that I want them open all the way through too. The drawers are directly under them though so if they're open then they get dust in the drawers and all over everything I have in them. I'm sure I could find a way to keep the dust out while keeping the bottom of the holes open too, but the dust would just be laying down in there on top of whatever I use to cover the drawers and need vacuumed out sooner or later anyway.

[John Coloccia]

The dogs need to be able to fit almost flush if you intend to use it to hold wood for sanding or planing. For example, if you have a 1/2" or 3/8" board, and the dogs stick up 1", the plane will hit the dogs. They're usually designed to extend far below the surface when you push them down almost flush so that you can reach underneath and push them back out. If they can go flush with the back of the holes blocked, you'll never get them back out :) I usually keep mine in the bench just below the surface.

[James Carmichael]

Yes, it's worth the $130. It will give you a surface to work on and figure out what features you want in your next bench, which may be years down the road.

[Jerome Hanby]

I played with one in my local HF. Other than the fact that it wasn't assembled correctly it looked okay for the money. In a better world, it would be a little sturdier and certainly heavier, but it looked serviceable to me. If nothing else, I'm finding out that the one tool you really need to build a workbench...is a workbench. You already have that base covered!

[Daniel Berlin]

Yes, it's worth the $130. It will give you a surface to work on and figure out what features you want in your next bench, which may be years down the road.

+1.
I bought a grizzly workbench like the harbor freight one about 5 years back.
The main issue with the drawers is edge clamping, but it's serviceable.

5 years later, i only now feel like i know enough to build a bench that works the way i work.

[Myk Rian]

With 4 of us in there, it still took 2 solid hours for just 2 items.
Did you read the directions first? :D
Enjoy the bench.

[Jim Matthews]

This bench has three things already going for it; it's paid for, it's in your house, your wife already knows about it.

It has been previously mentioned bears repeating, stiffen the base with a sheet of plywood.
Clamp a slightly oversize 3/4" sheet to the legs at the back. Apply a bead of glue down each leg and screw through the plywood sheet into each leg.
This creates a skin effect that will make the works rigid laterally. If you park it against a wall it will be plenty for your needs.

It's a good bench at a great price.

Now go make some furniture.

[Timothy Wolf]

I went to HF and was just looking at those today and thought if I had a few extra bucks to spare I would grab one and reinforce it. I have seen others use it and make great furniture with it. One thing is for sure, the bench you have in your shop is better than the one I don't have in mine.

[Rob Holcomb]

It's the most awesome work bench that there is on earth because it was given to you for Christmas by your wife out of love. I have several tools that my wife has given me over the years. Some were top of the line while others would make most creekers say they were garbage if they didn't know how I obtained them. I use those tools all the time because of who was thoughtful enough to give them to me. The worst woodworking tool known to man is far more valuable when given through love than the finest woodworking tool known to man.