LWM826

What an excellent piece of kit this is. I've had an official B&D Workmate before, which was okay. When it's working life ended I replaced it with cheaper clones (3 in total). At some point they all got wet, and with the tops being effectively made from laminated fibreboard, they didn't fair too well and snapped, making the workbench useless.I decided to give this a go, largely due to having aluminium tops which should cope better with a little rain or hose water, and I'm so pleased that I did. The parcel arrived with just a delivery note stuck to the side of the manufacturer's packaging. Some have commented that theirs were damaged and the box was not suitable, but to be fair, it is a sturdy enough box.I opened it up to check that everything was present, which it was, and also noticed that the workbench was already pretty much built from the factory. In fact, I'd say that it's already 70% factory built. I've docked a star from the 'Easy to assemble' category because although you are provided with a spanner in the box, you realistically need two of these - or maybe some pliers to grip the bolts/nuts so that they do not just spin as you tighten from one side. Also, a lot of the nuts and bolts in the factory-assembled sections could do with a tighten as some were barely more than finger tight. After I'd put it all together I went around and torqued up all of the factory nuts and bolts. Other than that, assembly is a breeze.The whole thing is quite heavy which helps give it stability, and the height adjustment is excellent. I'm 6'2" and no longer get back pains from having to constantly bend down to work on something. One thing that I find odd, and another reviewer has already commented on, is that the two handles used to tighten the clamping surfaces are reverse threaded, so you actually turn the handle counter-clockwise to tighten, which does feel counter-intuitive at first. Another reviewer mentioned that the feet would not stay on. Maybe they've changed the design or materials on the version that I have, but they're excellent and were a really tight fit going on.Somebody else complained that the bench does not fold flat - it doesn't, but it's not far off (see photos) and is actually free standing when folded, so it doesn't need a wall to rest against like other work benches. When it's folded up and standing on it's own, it's also still very sturdy and is very unlikely to fall over without a fair push.I'm really pleased with this, and once all of the nuts and bolts have been tightened up, it really is rock solid and so much better than I was hoping for. 10/10!

The usual wooden clamp type of workmate doesn't compare to the quality, strength and practically of this model. It's very robust and structurally solid so it doesn't waltz around as you cut or saw. Hence it's heavier than cheaper types but not too much to lift and carry about. As you can see from the pics it has a fully extendable height and slope adjustment and at every position it retains it's stability.

Love the idea of this and once set up it's a solid piece of kit. Two issues I personally found after a couple of months use. Firstly the tilting table top is difficult to pull to it's horizontal position with just two hands. Almost like it's designed for two people to set up. Either side there are spring loaded release handles. You have to pull both out then at the same time tilt the table top into position. I've cussed a few times while doing this as I'm using my knee to push the table top up whilst using my hands on the release handles.Next is the main tightening clamps that hold the object you are working on. Very hit and miss, great idea but I feel cheaply done.The upside, great to foldaway. Brilliant height adjustment.

After tightening g all the bolts, it works fine...and certainly saves my back

I like the sturdiness and versatility of this bench. Height adjustable, and can be angled. It offers much more than your average 'Workmate' work bench.

The workbench arrived in a box, and I checked that the box was reasonably undamaged (bearing in mind another review). It looked fine, so I opened it and began the assembly procedure. As this progressed I realised that the workbench was quite damaged, with one horizontal bar on the stand bent and a few dents here and there. It looks like it left the factory like that, as there seems no reason for the damage. Terrible quality control if so.I didn't fancy the rigmarole of sending it back, even though had it been from the shop in town I would have rejected it.So with a little gentle use of a hammer and block of wood I got the important part straight enough, so that it seems sufficiently sturdy for use. I'll have to tolerate the dents, and the twists where the bar had been straightened, and the slightly offset adjustment bar. It's a bit disappointing to have a new item arrive looking worn and damaged (even though it's clearly new). It seems useable once assembled, and assembly instructions were good.

Husband uses it a lot and loves way he can change the position easily

Brilliant bit of kit very sturdy great adjustability so can be used for multiple different things a really good well mate work mate