Saturday, March 13, 2021

Handy

 



                                                        Black and Decker portable work bench

13 comments:

  1. I have the original American Made one in my basement. I'll have to make sure I give it to someone who will appreciate it before I go.

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  2. OK for small light weight stuff. It's prone to tilt, which can be dangerous if you're using a power tool with a high speed blade.

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  3. Just went and read the negative reviews. No way I'd buy this thing. The one with the pulleys. If you want to know the perfect height for a workbench do this: Put your thumb right at the top of your ass crack and back up to the wall. Where your thumb touches the wall put a pencil mark with your other hand. Measure the height of the mark from the floor. There ya go! You can stand there all day long and your back will never be an issue. I'm 6' tall and my workbench is 43" high and it's the perfect height. Our kitchen counters are 36" high and if I have to do any serious food prep my lower back is tortured after about 15 mins.

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    Replies
    1. The original one allowed the table top to be set to various heights, the legs were much, much stronger and you could stand on the step putting enough weight on it to steady the work.
      This is why I go to flea markets and church thrift shops looking for 'old' American made stuff. Still more value and life left in them than the Chink stuff at the big box store.

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    2. Yep, I still have the original version. I still use it.

      Sadly, the plastic parts are starting to show their age. Really handy for small fast projects.

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  4. I've had one for several years and I love it. It's not a replacement for the work bench it's an extra hand for somethings.

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  5. If memory serves, this was invented by a Lotus engineer, who tried to sell the concept of a folding workbench to the major tool companies- after being rejected, he hocked his house and went into business, and it took off like a rocket. Many iterations of it over the years, most likely each flimsier than the one before, but there is a real use for this, as long as you step outside the conventional 3" thick beech top workbench box- like having a small table -bench-vice down in the hold, or up in the second story, or outside next to the work. It may be light, it may be cheap, but the leverage allowed by having ANY work surface ,at the work site, over just your bare hands is immense.

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  6. I have one of these things but have never found an actual use for it, so it just takes up space and collects dust. YMMV, but I wouldn't recommend it.

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  7. VERY handy. For one thing, I use it as an interchangeable base for my power tools.

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  8. Used mine earlier today. I have my chop saw bolted to a piece of one inch plywood that clamps in the top of it. The whole works loads in a wheelbarrow to go where the chores are. With a couple of adjustable roller stands on either side, I can handle sixteen foot material with ease.

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  9. I've had mine for about thirty years: it cost me £32. I's held wood, engines and everything in between and I recently altered the tops so that, reversed, they hold my hand circular saw as a table saw. I'm nothing if not cheap. Re: someone's comment - plastic parts are available on fleabay, among others.

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  10. I have one my wife bought me 20+ years ago. Severely battle scarred, paint covered, drilled into, cut into..and yet one of the most trusted tools in my garage. Still holding up perfect....it never fails.

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