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France, Paris
1 Level
734 Review
35 Karma

Review on ๐Ÿ”จ Melissa & Doug Hammer and Saw Tool Bench - Complete 32-Piece Wooden Building Set by Kevin Duhon

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Mediocre quality and incompatibility with other kits M&D

I am a craftsman and always have tools and materials. It was only natural that my son would be interested in my screwdrivers, hammers and wrenches. So this playset on the workbench seemed perfect for our collaboration! We've had success with other M&D products, but this doesn't live up to the standards of their other products. First, the quality of the wood was pretty low. The fuzzy plywood that had to be sanded was annoying but not dangerous. But then, while sawing on the Velcro board, it caught on a splinter and ripped a tidy chunk of veneer off the saw! Glad I found it and not my son. Let's go back to the sanding station, then the painting station, then the finishing station to make it smooth again. Colored wooden boards with holes are also disappointing. This is a type of chipboard, not the plywood that makes up the rest of this set. The paint started chipping almost immediately. The clamp and attached screw are too loose to clamp anything and I'm pretty sure the clamp's threads have already stripped (after 3 weeks of random use). It's an awkward shape and can basically just push the yellow block against the workbench. I noticed that the screwdriver has some sort of film coating and the handle color retention is better and noticeably smoother than the other items in the set. I don't know why it didn't make sense to apply the same finish to the rest of the parts. My second complaint is that none of the tools, bolts, nuts or color charts are compatible with other M&D constructors. We bought the M&D constructor in box at the same time (https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Construction-Building-Developmental/dp/B00D3IMEUA) and I was shocked to find that the key was too wide. for these screw heads and that the threads of the screws and nuts are not compatible with the threads of the screws supplied with this workbench. I can't understand why they don't make all their constructors the same size. Unfortunately, I only found this out after modeling and cutting a few different parts of the board on my CNC so we could build bigger things. I think more maple for a bunch of junk. Suggestions for M&D: Tap the top holes. Make this thread diameter the same for all board/bolt/nut toys you sell. Resize the clip so it can be used for something. Sand the plywood a little. Consider a film finishing spray to minimize chipping and prevent paint chipping. Use plywood or pine for boards, not chipboard. I would pay you a little more so that I don't have to bring one of your toys to my workshop and make them from scratch before giving them to my son. I would return both sets to M&D but they were drooled and sanded and the paint was chipped so I suppose I'll just rip them apart and make a copy out of material that will last. Does Amazon sell a wooden dowel threader?

Pros
  • Decent performance
Cons
  • Other Other