# Workbenches sold by Grizzly? What do you think about them?



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

My son in law's father has just moved up here from Florida. He is partially retired and also has been a beginning woodworker for a year or so. He has a few tools but knows only what he's read in a few books and he's a friend of mine so I'm going to take him under my wing and help him however I can.

He has a workbench made by Grizzly with a 36×72 top that he bought a while back. He has moved into a small apartment a few blocks from my house and he put the workbench in the kitchen for lack of a better place. He wants to learn how to carve and do other crafts like making boxes maybe. He's mostly interested in hand tool work but he does have a drill press and a scroll saw and maybe a few power tools.

When I went over to see his apartment I was really impressed with his workbench. For $575 I thought that it is reasonably priced. I need a better workbench than what I have. The weekend after I finished closing in my carport so that I would have a proper place to work I quickly built my workbench the following weekend with the idea that soon I would build me a nice heavy duty European workbench. I only have the weekends to do my woodworking so time is precious to me. For the last year I've mostly been carving. Now, however, I have some woodworking projects in mind that I want to get on with so I'm going to partially pull off the woodcarving in order to accomplish these other projects. Likewise, I don't have the time to commit to the kind of workbench that I want to have in the long run. I already have the material for such a bench and I have nothing in the material. Right now I feel that I don't have the time to commit.

After seeing this bench I got to thinking that this could be a good temporary solution. All I would have to do is mount my two vises and drill some bench dogs holes into the top. I figure I can do all of this on a Saturday and would be in business. Then after a year or so I could build the bench that I want and sale this temporary bench on Craigs list for half price or less - maybe $250 or so.

I've seen other benches that sell for comparable prices and I wouldn't have them because they are just not heavy enough. This bench seems to be well built and is heavy.

$575 bench, the one I'm thinking about.

Here's another and here's another but these are more like the bench that I want to make for myself but are more expensive than the $575 model.

What do you folks think about the wisdom of such a plan? I really want to build my own bench for the satisfaction and pride of ownership, but…... right now may not be the time to do it. If I hadn't have seen one of these benches with my own eyes I would never have considered the possibility of buying one.

helluvawreck

https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

buy all means charles
get the bench

it seems like a solid one

you can make your dream bench
at your leisure
using this one to do it

i have some old cabinets (with drawers)
and a melamine 3/4" top
( never had and still don't
have a woodworking vise)
it is the best i have had in all my years
from sawhorses
to chairs and a piece of ply
or just milk crates on the ground

using any bench is the point to me
probably never make another
but you never know


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

You won't go wrong. Just get some help puttin' it together. That sucker is heavy.
Bill


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

*David*, I surely do appreciate your kind words. You've always been a good friend and always have good words of encouragement. I've got enough laminated 3×3 maple that is 8 - 10 feet long and strait as an arrow to build 5 or 10 work benches. A customer ordered it and decided he didn't want it after we ran it. Needless to say we no longer do business with him. If you weren't all the way out into NM I'd give you more than enough to build one. Freight would be prohibitive. If you get near here one of these days I'll probably still have it. God bless and thanks for the advice.

helluvawreck

https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

*Bill*, one of my son in laws weighs 300 lbs and it's all solid muscle. He has some sort of important record for a certain kind of weightlifting record where he lifted over a thousand pounds. If I get the bench and after my two son in laws help me put it together I could probably stand on the top and do a tap dance with my steel toed Redwings on while he lifted the bench and me up over his head.

helluvawreck

https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Elizabeth (Oct 17, 2009)

I don't have those benches but I do have this one from Grizzly and I love it. It's one person assembly, two person flip-over and never moves an inch. But it's not as big as the one you're eying.


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

we have seen your benches Charles you just need a few holes and two wices 
then aaadddd some sandbags to those you have 
and they can stand up for the work the next coupple of years tooo 
until you are ready to build your dreambench

when you buy the vices for the bench you have bee sure you can re-use them in your dreambench 

I´ll nearly would bett you are going to make your own vices with something from your treassure room …lol
I remember your carvingvice very well and I know you can make your own vices as well as that one 
I´m sure we will make a back salto in awe when we see what you come up with after you have 
tinkered around in your little cave at the plant

take care
Dennis


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

That seems like a reasonable plan, and that bench for $575 looks like good value. Those other benches are very keenly priced too compared to a Sjobergs. You might be interested in this.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/sjobergs-elite-2500-cabinetmakers-bench-prod724476/


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## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

My niece's father in law bought the one you first posted ( the less expensive one) and seems to like it. He said it is well made and sturdy.


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