HF Workbench any good ?


T.C.

T.C.

Active Member
I'm thinking of buying HF's 60" wooden workbench, I have read some reviews on it some good and some bad.
Anyone have one of these ?
If so how do you like it , is it sturdy, is it worth the money ?
They can be found on sale for 130.00 so it's not to bad a price if it's not total junk ?
Thanks for any comments or advice...............
T.C.

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I bought my workbench kit from Grizzly - my goto company for this sort of thing.

I got this one because of the drawers.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/60-Birch-Workbench-with-Drawers/H7724

Clearly the price is much higher but they have ones less expensive units.

However you want a workbench to be sturdy so keep that in mind when looking at prices - often you do get what you pay for.

A good workbench can last you years and years - think of it as an investment.

Frederick
 
Thanks for the reply, are ALL the parts made of solid wood or are some particle board ? It doesn't say?

T.C.
 
Hi,

As I recall it was all wood. Having purchased it sight unseen I was very pleased with the product.

Now being a lower cost bench the top is not as thick as it appears. It's still plenty sturdy for my needs but it isn't as nice as, say, one of these http://www.sjobergs.se/en/products/professional/ but you can pay thousands for one of their top notch ones.

Frederick
 
Thanks again for the reply's
I don't have the funds for those pricy benches, (wish I did) that's the reason I was asking about the HF bench.
I have heard that parts of the HF were made of particle board, but I could live with that as long as it didn't cause structural problems.
Thanks T.C.
 
T.C. said:
...were made of particle board, but I could live with that as long as it didn't cause structural problems.
Thanks T.C.
Click to expand...

Seems to me a workbench made of particle board is sort of the definition of a structural problem. ;)

Frederick
 
T.C. Could you reference a web location so we all could see what your thinking of? I have only built my own work benches and have been well satisfied with what I've built. My current one uses a door blank for the work surface. It is 40 years old and holding up well.
 
I made one from a Free pallet that sheet metal is transported on. 4x4x10 skids make great legs & other framing members. Used tongue & grove joints. Find a sheet metal shop and you will find some great framing matl.
 
Mark my dad used to make workbench tops out of old interior doors and they did work well.
This bench is going inside the train room where the "boss" will be looking at it every day so I was thinking that something with a more finished look may go over better with her ?
Besides I haven't the wood working tools to make my own and have it look professional.
Here is the link to the HF bench https://www.harborfreight.com/60-in-4-Drawer-Hardwood-Workbench-69054.html
Thanks T.C.
 
Yea I have one about 20 miles down the road, guess I could call to see if they have one set up .
Thanks T.C.
 
I have one and for the money it is pretty good. I added a back tray to mine and some work table casters from Rockler. There are videos on YouTube about upgrading it. I don’t think you can wrong for the price. I would send a picture but I am out our town right now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Eric, didn't think about U Tube.
Guess they have a video about everything ya can think of.
T.C.
 
Clean work shop...............First and foremost "don't do any work in it" lol
Thanks for the tip on U-Tube, after looking at a few video's the bench doesn't look to bad, in fact it looks better than I thought it would.
I'm not going to do heavy wood working on it, just train stuff so it will probably do just fine for me.
T.C.
 
I guess if your name is T.C., the acronym HF is self explanatory! I had bad dealings with Harbor Freight back in the early 1980s. They where called Harbor Freight & Salvage, back then. Since then I have stayed away from buying things from them. However, this bench looks to be a nice item, if I didn't know how to build a simple bench, had the free money to buy one and was afraid of what the wife thought about things down in MY MAN CAVE, I might be tempted! Once I got it home, I would make sure all surfaces are sealed against moisture, as big lumber tends to move "BIGGLY" per Mr. Trumps own words!
 
Mark D. or is it NP2626, thank you for your reply,
I'm glad you figured out the "HF" thing and T.C. stands for Terry C.
Here's a saying I live by "Happy wife, Happy life" That's rite I wear the paints in my family! As soon as I get them back from my wife I'll show you !
Yes I could build a simple bench that looked like it should be in a garage but I want something that has a more finished look.
In fact I have a fine workbench in my garage as I repair sewing machines for a living on my work bench in my garage.
I live in FLA. aka Florida and we don't have basements down here so my "man cave" is a spare bedroom in our home so the bench needs to look nice.
I don't know if I could buy the wood and hardware for 130.00 to build a bench like this, but I do thank you for the tip on sealing the edges although our house is not that damp inside.
Years ago HF was junk Chinese tools and you could go to you local hardware and buy good American made products.
Remember when Wallmart advertised all of there products were made in the USA?
HF is still Chinese junk but now all we have is junk Chinese tools unless you have very deep pockets and some of them are junk.
Take a look inside an old sewing machine then look inside a new one, nothing to repair inside a new one, Chinese junk!
T.C.
 
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