# Used Sjobergs Value



## J749 (Jun 7, 2015)

Hello all - I am a long term lurker, and finally came up with a reason to post. I have already gained a lot of knowledge from everyone.

I'm looking to get a workbench. While I am trying to decide whether to build or buy, I ran across a possible deal - a Sjobergs Elite 2000, less than 10 years old (but probably more than 5), good condition, for $1,000. Is that a reasonable deal? I'm unsure how used benches are valued.

I know that building can be a better value, but one issue I have is a lack of hand tool experience. It seems like buying a used bench could be a good starting point, and then building exactly what I want … whenever I figure out what that is.

Thanks in advance!


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## BubbaIBA (Nov 23, 2011)

Not sure of the value of a used bench but that is half the price of a new one with no extras.

One way to look at it is what would be the cost of building one. Depending on wood and vises you could very easily spend well over $1000 USD building a bench. The wood alone (European Beech) in my last bench was over $1000 USD, I used a English QR vise I've owned for many years or the vise would have added another $300 or so USDs to the cost. The bench before the last was built with construction grade SYP so the wood cost was under $400 USD but I had a round trip to Austin, TX to buy the SYP which added another $300 USD to the wood cost. Then add in the cost of Benchcrafted vise hardware and the SYP bench cost more than the Beech one to build.

All that is a long way around to; if the bench feels solid and is clean it could very easily be cheaper than building one and much faster to doing what is important….making furniture.

I've built a number of benches, build very simple benches, know how to build a bench and it still takes the better part of 4 to 6 weeks to build one. I see guys hung up on building "the" bench take a year or more to build one. I guess, bottom line, I'd go for the ready made at $1000 USD.

ken


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

A bench is more or less a project. If you want to work on different projects then buy a bench.

As far as learning hand tools, building a bench is a good way to go. Most of the joinery isn't too fine and can be a good learning experience. You can make it as cheap or extravagant as you want also.














































It's taken 5 months working on it a few hours a week. almost done. Learned a crapload. Did some good work and bad work but in the end it was nothing I couldn't figure out how to fix and/or learn from.

That's pretty much what building your own bench is about. Learning.

Edit: I paid about 30$ for the 3/4 acme screws and nuts. The rest were a cabinet shops scraps. In in it for about 75$ maybe.


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## stinger (Feb 9, 2015)

That's a solid bench. I'd be tempted to buy it and just get on with woodworking. If in the future you want to jump on the roubo bandwagon then you can use that top, saving you the hardest part of the project.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

I'm thinking my two vises were in the neighborhood of $400
Yes, I could have gone cheaper, but I could also have spent alot more.

Assuming this, that leaves $600 for wood and labor.

Its a close call. I would think about the time saved building one.

Of course, you'll miss the experience of building your own bench, but on the other hand, you can get right to work on projects, right?

If time is a factor for you, I'd say go for it.


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## BroncoBrian (Jan 14, 2013)

Save the time, unless you know exactly what you want and know you can build it is reasonable time, $1k for a usable bench is great. Especially if you can sell it next year at the same price after you do build one.

If it is close, easy to pick up, and in great shape, no issue with a used bench at all.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

It is about 1/2 of current retail based on a Amazon search. Does it come with any cabinets?

https://www.google.com/search?q=a+Sjobergs+Elite+2000&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

My philosophy on something like is. I would rather spend the money on the tools and materials needed to build the bench. That way when I'm done I have both the tools and the bench. Surely the materials for a bench would cost far less than $1K. Those are based on my money/time constraints, yours may differ.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

> My philosophy on something like is. I would rather spend the money on the tools and materials needed to build the bench. That way when I m done I have both the tools and the bench. Surely the materials for a bench would cost far less than $1K. Those are based on my money/time constraints, yours may differ.
> 
> - bondogaposis


Also, you get the experience from the build..


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Add me to the list that says you are better off building your own. Here's my reasons:


Less cost. See Exhibit A
You can work on skills while you build without worrying about messing up a piece of furniture. Refer to Exhibit A again.
Better quality. Sjobergs are OK, but not top notch, as far as I'm concerned (the stores I work at are dealers). If you build your own, there is only one way to point the finger if something is not right. It also means you are much more likely to fix the issue because you know how it all went together.
Customize the bench to your needs. See Exhibit B One thing you will find is that after working on any bench for a length of time, you will find thing you would like to change. If the change is easy, you just do it, but if the changes are extensive, another bench can be built. For me, that meant removing the tail vise on my bench-it just wasn't getting used. Now I know that when building another bench, I don't need to budget or plan for that.


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## stinger (Feb 9, 2015)

I don't think you're save tons of money building a bench of equal quality to that one.


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## stinger (Feb 9, 2015)

> .
> * Customize the bench to your needs. See Exhibit B
> 
> - JayT


That's one smart little bench.


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## Pezking7p (Nov 17, 2013)

I say build one.


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## J749 (Jun 7, 2015)

> * Customize the bench to your needs. See Exhibit B
> 
> - JayT


That is a great little bench. Thanks for sharing!


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## J749 (Jun 7, 2015)

Thank you all for your feedback! This has given me a lot to think about. I'll let you know what I decide.


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## J749 (Jun 7, 2015)

I did a lot of thinking, and I decided to buy the Sjobergs. It was $1000, in great condition, and I can get started right away with projects. After a while, I'll learn what I like and don't like about it, and can build something that suits me better.

Thanks again for all of the input!


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## BubbaIBA (Nov 23, 2011)

Smart move…..One of the factors not mentioned is it is much easier to build a bench if you have a bench to build it on, the old chicken and egg thing. Another is only by working on a bench can you find what works and what doesn't.

First builds tend to be like a Swiss Army knife, second or third builds usually lose a lot of fat.

Ken


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## stinger (Feb 9, 2015)

Congrats on the purchase. That's a nice looking bench.


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## Newbie17 (Feb 20, 2017)

Jumping in to say I just obtained one of these. I have another smaller workbench that pales in comparison to this beast. It took me, my wife, a spare tire and a lot of creativity to hoist the top onto the base. With the cabinet included, it is a dream bench. If anyone is one the fence about this and can afford it, you won't be disappointed. This will be my forever bench.


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I wanted to build a bench well, just because. I am in that funky zone of I need a bench to build a bench. I think buying this one with the ability to sell it later works well for you. Happy woodworking!


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