Review on 🔧 Versatile BLACK+DECKER Portable Workbench and Vise (WM425-A): The Ultimate Project Center Solution by Hunter Schneider

When people say "You get what you pay for" it's usually a negative, but in this case it's also a positive. This is a great little workbench. I used it for several hours and found it very helpful. As for stability, this portable workbench is actually much more stable than I expected. I really appreciate the large platform which gives me more room to put my feet when working with my hand plane. I think it's really important for healthy ergonomics. Some other workbench/platform solutions don't offer this and I found it quite limiting to work around a part when your foot is constrained to be in one position. This meant you often had to move and re-clamp the part to maintain the most comfortable working position. A large step surface mitigates this problem fairly well. Not quite, but definitely better than comparable competitors. It would be nice to have tiered platforms on either side. I would pay 20€ more for that. (Black & Decker, are you listening?) This would further increase the base for an even more stable surface. Yes, it gets a little longer when folded, but the width remains the same, and increasing the height doesn't affect the occupied area when folded. On the worktop: Most people agree that bamboo is much softer than hardwoods such as oak or birch. . However, this only applies to the inner pulp. The outer skin of the grass is extremely hard and resilient, generally harder than most common hardwoods. Luckily for this portable workbench, the outer surfaces of the three sheets of wood that make up the surface are laminated with this piece of bamboo stalk. Therefore, they are impressively strong. The middle consists of softer bamboo parts, which reduces the weight. In terms of stiffness, all three boards are pretty stiff for most purposes, although I very much doubt that any board can handle the full load capacity (550 pounds) and I don't think anything like that is included in the load capacity. This is usually the maximum line load. Anyway, to give you an idea of the flexibility, if I'm standing on the footrest and leaning hard on the thinnest bar (clamp bar) with most of my 130-pound frame on it, it will flex a bit ... somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. It more than meets my expectations. About fit and finish: This is one area where I wasn't surprised. The fit and finish reflect the price more than anything. The thing works very well, which makes me very happy. What I didn't get was accuracy. Of course, accuracy usually means very expensive, and here we have a very inexpensive workbench, so I wasn't expecting high accuracy. While the finish of the painted metal and wood was excellent, the edges of the metal frame finish were lacking. They all felt very rough. Thankfully there aren't any edges cutting me just yet, but I just have a feeling they might. And throughout the unit you can see the lack of tolerances during assembly. For example, the pinched bamboo board did not perfectly match the adjacent board when fully closed. He was 1/32 inch taller. Manipulations with all moving parts seem pretty free. The clamp grips have a lot of play, as does the release lever shaft. But if everything is blocked and jammed, then everything is fine. This is the most important aspect. and I'm glad they made sure things stayed in place. Likewise, the legs and platform are strong when engaged. A small issue I had was the springs attached to the levers used to fold and unfold the unit. ME: You could spill some of your blood if you're not careful. The quick fix was to grab my needle nose pliers and bend the ends of the spring so they don't stick out so much. Anyway, just a quick reference to "Made in China"? I know a lot of people have said older models are more reliable, but these days when almost everything is made abroad, you get what you get. If this device was manufactured in the USA. , it could be $50 more and I would happily pay for it if offered, if at all, just to support my fellow Americans. But the truth is this unit is more than adequate for the casual handyman or woodworking novice and for the price it represents excellent value. I don't expect it to last forever due to the plastic used in the clamping mechanism. But if you look at the yoke's design, it's quite smart, and I think the plastic parts weren't just chosen for cost reasons - they offer smoother operation than a cheap cast metal part. For the clip to be all metal, it would need to have very high tolerances for smooth operation. At $110 (street), those are unrealistic expectations. The last very important point. I always try to buy the best no matter where it's made and I'm glad I did this time. I have not found any other product that works better than this device. For my purposes this was a great buy in terms of what its design suggests. Pros/Cons: Pros: - Stable - Compact. - light. - Good materials are (mostly) used. - Good clamping force - sufficient for woodworking. -Excellent technique. Extremely easy to use. The clamp has a spring design to prevent over-tightening. The benches are semi-permanently fixed and remain in place even when the device is folded up. The best ratio of price and quality. Extremely easy to assemble. It comes 90% assembled. It's really just a work surface and clamp knobs. Only 6 screws. That's all. If you can't, you should probably stay away from tools. Cons: - fit and finish could be better - rough edges, but thankfully not where it matters. - Tolerances could be better. The work surface was not 100% flush with the clamping surface which was 1/16" higher. - Use of plastic parts in the clamping mechanism. UPDATE 08/22/15: This is a must! realizing that this little sucker has become an essential tool in my There have been many occasions when on my two massive gladiator benches (8ft each with vise and woodworking machinery) I have needed the extra degree of freedom it affords (moving around a clamped part. Clamps fitted). I use it so often that I don't even bother to fold it. It only returns to storage when I need more space. It has become my indispensable assistant while working on larger or unusual parts that require more movement from me .Much easier than pinching new Damage or minimizing wear and tear on my main jobs (e.g. using a torch, gluing, etc.) Yes, these workbenches were den designed to handle abuse, but if I had the choice of leaving burn/glue/paint marks on a durable workbench and a cheap replacement workbench, I would choose cheap :) This is a must have for any DIY workshop.