MAC ALLISTER FOLDING WORKSTATION. Ideal For Indoor and Outdoor Workshop Use

Product Information

The Keter is particularly impressive, offering loads of horizontal space for resting drills, saws, spirit levels and other essential items while clamping an object. It feels solid and stable too, and has a decent 150kg load capacity, which should be enough for a small engine. The downside to this is a comparatively heavy 11.7kg overall weight. All our products, bar the Stanley, have cross-pieces providing additional bracing between the legs, with the WORX and Keter turning these braces into practical tool storage.

If the Keter resembles a Transformers robot, the PWB 600’s emerald paint colour and the bamboo top could only have come from Bosch. Offering a maximum clamping depth of 34mm, its full width of 525mm achieves a mid-table finish in our comparison chart (below).Most of us will have some Silverline tools in our garage or shed. They are good value and useful for jobs which you don’t do often or won’t need anything too sophisticated, such as chisels and hammers. The TB01 follows the same pattern and is excellent value; in fact it is the cheapest workbench we could find. We reviewed six of the best-selling workbenches to see which stood out for the motoring DIYer. We tested how well they gripped a radiator hose while being cut, held a wheel while it was being wire brushed, and provided a platform to hold a differential. Weight is more significant, especially if you’re going to be lugging a bench up and down your stairs alongside tool bags and other equipment.

There are some downsides though. The half-hour it takes to assemble the bench might be forgotten after a while but is certainly an irritation at the time. But the weedy 100kg capacity means you’ll be a little limited as to what the Minotaur can be used for, and it feels a little wobblier when faced with a heavy wheel or other weighty component. Even the Wolfcraft, whose 180kg max payload is the lowest we recorded, shouldn’t be stretched by internal doors or cabinets. If you want something cheap and cheerful to hold your timber in place occasionally, it’s hard to argue with Draper’s value for money. ProsAdjustable pegs also simplify the job of positioning objects on the table. The only product which doesn’t come with clamps is the Stanley – the main reason it achieves a lower points score than our test-winning WORX. Maximum Load Weight The load-bearing capacity of just 200kg is the second-lowest we recorded (Draper hasn’t published figures for their product), though we did like the PWB 600’s integral storage tray and grippy feet. Some manufacturers etch measuring tapes, angle compasses and even operating instructions onto the surface of their benches. This approach can be confusing if you look at them upside down, but we’d always recommend a product with these markings over ones that don’t. It’s a simple addition, yet it can reduce the need for additional tools and streamline the process of fine measurements mid-job.

That saving is almost enough to buy the third-placed Minotaur. It’s flawed in many ways, but we loved the ability to tilt the jaws to work on awkward items. The really remarkable feature of the Workmate is the maximum load capacity – a whopping 250kg. That’s enough to hold a Rover V8 engine. We didn’t test it to that extreme, but it certainly felt perfectly secure with our heavy wheel and differential. Mac Allister Folding Workbench 850MM – Recommended By the time you reach the 450kg weight limit on the WORX, you’re talking about being able to hold an object as heavy as a concert hall-standard grand piano. And when was the last time you felt the need to clamp a grand piano in place and do some sawing? Measurements and MarkingsMac Allister seem to have reinvented the wheel with this workbench. Unlike the others in the test, it doesn’t follow the ‘replica Workmate’ formula, instead using a mainly plastic construction and a clever folding mechanism. Clamps range from basic handles to more sophisticated affairs, but any clamp ought to pin even heavy timbers firmly in place. The two bench boards are fixed horizontally, but the clamping edges are shaped to grip smaller items such as pipes or fastenings. However, we must praise Bosch’s combination of an aluminium frame and a waterproof bamboo top. Not only is this the most aesthetically pleasing product to store in your tool shed, but it’s also convenient. All of our shortlisted workbenches have pre-drilled holes which accommodate plastic pegs (aka bench dogs), allowing you to move them around and create a flexible work surface area.