Sjoberg's Nordic Plus 1450 Workbench - $300 at Woodcraft

[Vincerama]

I'm sure everyone here already has a nice bench (except me) but here is a ready made one for $300, down from $440 until Nov 25th.


http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200...Workbench.aspx


V

[tropicaffair]

Also, if you get their flyer there is an additional 10% off card that you can apply to any item in the flyer. You should also be able to get this flyer in the store. I just used mine the other day and got another flyer with another 10% off card in it.

Long story short, I was gettng new tires on my truck at another stre in the same plaza and talked myself into the bench - I've been wanting to build a better outfeed table system and this is quicker than building one from scratch.

[Vincerama]

Hey Russell, what do you think of the bench? My DIY bench is not very good for woodworking, due mostly to lack of an overhang and I have two nice big vices that have nowhere to hang. This bench already has two vices and seems like a good price, especially with your extra 10% coupon!

Vince

[tropicaffair]

Vince,

I haven't assembled the bench yet, however, I spent some time inspecting the display model and it seems quite solid. Depending on your shop floor you might have to deal with some type of levelers. The two vices that come with the bench can be mounted in several places. The bench is set up with pre-drilled mounting locations for the vices - one on each end and two on each side.

[radhak]

I got to work on a Sjoberg bench some years ago, and felt it was the ultimate there could be; if I had the money I would think that a good deal (but as it is, the price might as well have another digit behind it ).

But keep in mind, the photo is a bit misleading. The 'bench storage', ie the shelf/cabinet beneath the top is extra, for $165. Without that, the bench is gonna look a bit bare, and too light at 66lbs :

[gerti]

Rockler has the same one on special for $199 (not all models at all locations).

[Vincerama]

Rockler has the same one on special for $199 (not all models at all locations).

Do you see it online? There isn't a Rockler near me.

V

[gerti]

The Rockler deal is an in store special and not available at all locations or online. Sorry!

[R-squared]

save your money

I've used that bench - it's too lightweight and racks too much. Marginally acceptable for cutting dovetails but has neither the heft nor the stability to handle planing. If you're looking for a bench that accomodates hand-tool use you'd be better off building your own or buying a bigger bench. If you're just looking for a flat work surface go with a solid-core door on a pair of sawhorses - you can even slap a face vice on it for the occasional hand-cut dovetails. Not trying to be negative but that bench lacks two of the most important features of a hand-tool bench - weight and stability.
Just my unsolicited opinion - worth price charged.
Rob

[Vincerama]

OK, well, just as an FYI, Woodcraft has free shipping for orders over $50, so this qualifies. It said there is an excess weight fee maybe...but since the shipping weight of this bench is < 80 lbs, it might not be excessive.

Thanks for all the input!

Vince

[mpc]

I did buy the mid-sized bench (1660) from Rockler over the weekend. They're unloading the Sjobergs to bring in their own benches. My store had 3 Rockler benches still in boxes; the manager said he hadn't looked at them yet, didn't know what the prices would be, etc. They just showed up basically... He'd already sold out of the larger Sjobergs, had about 5 mid-sized ones, and 3 or 4 of the 1450s left.

Anyway, to add to Rob's note:
I'm just getting into hand planes which is why I bought this bench. I had plans to make my own but the price (about 50% of normal retail while Rockler clears them out) for the bench with two non-quick-release vise setups was worth it to me. Using it to hand plane I did get a little "hopping" on the floor (bare garage concrete) that was fixed by gluing strips of an old mouse pad to the legs. Mine doesn't rack unless I've got the plane blade set to take "chunks" instead of proper shavings - my bench seemed rigid enough to suite my needs. The picture in Radhak's post isn't quite what my bench is though: instead of two skinny sticks joining the bottoms of the two leg assemblies, mine has 1x6 boards (oriented vertically) at the mid-points. Maybe that extra height helps stiffen things? These boards also hold a hardboard shelf for tool storage. These boards are held only by a single bolt on each end; it'd be easy to add dowel pins so they'd do even more to prevent racking.

The two leg assemblies (squares of pine boards joined by mortise and tenons, reinforced with a screw) join to the top with a single lag bolt (per leg set) though. That is probably the weakest point leading to the racking possibility. It'd be simple to add some extra buttressing if necessary. I ended up adding 3/8ths dowels to my tabletop to "index" into the leg assemblies because I have to collapse the whole thing for storage. Plus, with 4 dowels poking down from the tabletop, I can plop the tabletop onto my garage work bench: a beefy structure great for working on car parts but lousy for woodworking - especially lousy since it has no dog hole capability nor vice capability. Most of the time I'll be using the Sjoberg this way - and not using the leg assemblies. The dowels fit into holes drilled into the garage bench and lock it down sufficiently.

mpc