Hello,

Some years ago I bought a cheap and cheerful Black & Decker 301 work
bench, as sold by Toolstation but IIRC sold cheaper in Focus. Over the
years it has been fine but the bolts have wriggled loose and I'm
wondering whether to get out my spanners and build it back together or
buy a better model. Time has taken its toll and the work bench now has
bits missing that have been drilled or sawn or planed off
accidentally!

Toolstation sell a bigger, more sturdy B&D workmate but it is much
more expensive. They also sell a model halfway between the two, both
in appearance and price. I read a review of this middle model but
apparently the downside is that it is a different height to the other
models so if you are hoping to use two benches either end of a piece
of wood, the wood will slant!

I think the idea of using two this way is good but I don't think my
budget will stretch to two of the big models. What would you do? get
two cheap ones or one expensive one?

TIA

On Apr 7, 9:04*pm, Fred wrote:
Hello,

Some years ago I bought a cheap and cheerful Black & Decker 301 work
bench, as sold by Toolstation but IIRC sold cheaper in Focus. Over the
years it has been fine but the bolts have wriggled loose and I'm
wondering whether to get out my spanners and build it back together or
buy a better model. Time has taken its toll and the work bench now has
bits missing that have been drilled or sawn or planed off
accidentally!

Toolstation sell a bigger, more sturdy B&D workmate but it is much
more expensive. They also sell a model halfway between the two, both
in appearance and price. I read a review of this middle model but
apparently the downside is that it is a different height to the other
models so if you are hoping to use two benches either end of a piece
of wood, the wood will slant!

I think the idea of using two this way is good but I don't think my
budget will stretch to two of the big models. What would you do? get
two cheap ones or one expensive one?

I'd consider a pair of trestles:

http://www.toolstation.com/search.html?searchstr=51623

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C wrote:

I'd consider a pair of trestles:


This is uk.d-i-y. He should *make* a pair of trestles... besides,
wooden topped ones are kinder on your tools when you get it wrong.

Andy

On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:08:15 +0100, Andy Champ
wrote:

This is uk.d-i-y. He should *make* a pair of trestles

I already have some trestles; I bought a pair of B&D from B&Q in the
Christmas sale. They are plastic, so like wood, they are kind to your
tools if you miss, of course, it wouldn't do the trestle any good! The
thing with trestles is they are ok for most things but if you have
something with an unusual (i.e. not rectangular) profile or something
that needs holding in place, they aren't that good. I'm not sure how
useful G-clamps would be as there's not that much to clamp to.

On Apr 13, 7:26*pm, Fred wrote:
I already have some trestles; I bought a pair of B&D from B&Q in the
Christmas sale. They are plastic, so like wood, they are kind to your
tools if you miss, of course, it wouldn't do the trestle any good! The
thing with trestles is they are ok for most things but if you have
something with an unusual (i.e. not rectangular) profile or something
that needs holding in place, they aren't that good. I'm not sure how
useful G-clamps would be as there's not that much to clamp to.

With mine I use a couple of lengths of 5" decking and clamp to that
with 6" quick release clamps, or to the trestle as well if need be.

I also have a few 'sawboard' type jigs for use with routers/jigsaws/
circular saws, so it's just a matter of clamping workpiece and jig
down.

cheers,
Pete.

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Some years ago I bought a cheap and cheerful Black & Decker 301 work
bench, as sold by Toolstation but IIRC sold cheaper in Focus. Over the
years it has been fine but the bolts have wriggled loose and I'm
wondering whether to get out my spanners and build it back together or
buy a better model. Time has taken its toll and the work bench now has
bits missing that have been drilled or sawn or planed off
accidentally!

Toolstation sell a bigger, more sturdy B&D workmate but it is much
more expensive. They also sell a model halfway between the two, both
in appearance and price. I read a review of this middle model but
apparently the downside is that it is a different height to the other
models so if you are hoping to use two benches either end of a piece
of wood, the wood will slant!

I bought one of these Draper Compact Magnums a while ago & I am very pleased
with it http://tinyurl.com/5ep4e2

Incredibly sturdy, very thin profile when folded, fast clamp system & can be
used to guide a saw or router. None of the sites I've found on Google list
all the benefits, which are legion & manyfold.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:20:08 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Incredibly sturdy, very thin profile when folded, fast clamp system &
can be used to guide a saw or router.

How is it's side to side stabilty without any diagonal braces in the legs?
Thinking of hand planing along its length.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:20:08 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

Incredibly sturdy, very thin profile when folded, fast clamp system &
can be used to guide a saw or router.

How is it's side to side stabilty without any diagonal braces in the legs?
Thinking of hand planing along its length.

Very good. It doesn't have any braces true enough, but its built like a
brick sh1t house. Very heavy construction.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:04:03 +0000, Fred wrote:

Hello,

Some years ago I bought a cheap and cheerful Black & Decker 301 work
bench, as sold by Toolstation but IIRC sold cheaper in Focus. Over the
years it has been fine but the bolts have wriggled loose and I'm
wondering whether to get out my spanners and build it back together or
buy a better model. Time has taken its toll and the work bench now has
bits missing that have been drilled or sawn or planed off
accidentally!

Toolstation sell a bigger, more sturdy B&D workmate but it is much
more expensive. They also sell a model halfway between the two, both
in appearance and price. I read a review of this middle model but
apparently the downside is that it is a different height to the other
models so if you are hoping to use two benches either end of a piece
of wood, the wood will slant!

I think the idea of using two this way is good but I don't think my
budget will stretch to two of the big models. What would you do? get
two cheap ones or one expensive one?

TIA

==================================
Two cheap ones and a few assorted clamps can be very versatile. This is
particularly true if you need to plane or rout long pieces of wood. Many
of the clever features of the more expensive benches may be so rarely used
that they're not really worth the extra cost.

Cic.

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