Skil X-Bench for $69 @ Big Lots Black Friday

[Monyet]

Does anyone have any experience with this bench?

Reviews in Amazon seem favorable, although there's some slop here and there. It looks like it comes with a multipurpose plate, for a router or jisaw, or it that a separate purchase?

Forgive me if this has already been posted and discussed, if so I missed it.

Thanks.

[bigstick509]

That's a great price, I bought one last X-Mas for around 125.00. I use it all the time, easy set up and very handy. The only negative is its heavy. I would not want to use it at a job site,but for shop use its manageable.

[JoeyGee]

THANKS! I have been looking for one of those for a few years now. Man, I don't want to get up to deal with that mess, but I really, really want one of those. It's the perfect size for what I need.

[thrytis]

That is a great price. I picked one up early this year after watching prices for a year or more when they were on sale for $100.

It comes only with a blank metal plate - other plates are additional. I haven't used it for anything besides a bench so far, so i can't really comment much on the other functions. It is surprisingly heavy. The legs are pretty stout, but they only adjust in inches, except for one which has a knob on the bottom for leveling. The tops are MDF, 5/8" or 3/4" with about a 1.5" edge around it. I have chipped the top pulling out the bench dogs which was a little disappointing, but it doesn't affect functionality at all. The two sides of the top also are not perfectly aligned. Overall i'm happy with it for what i've used it for so far, but my use has been pretty limited. I would buy it again for $69.

[JoeyGee]

http://bfads.net/Big-Lots/Name/Page2

According to bfads.net, it's a Saturday only deal.

[unknown poster]

Thanks for the heads up. I have a Black and Decker Workmate that I use all the time as a makeshift workbench but it's really too small. This looks like a good upgrade, and for a good price. I'll be up early on friday anyway because we always do something for black friday in my family.

[Monyet]

As JoeyGee made mention, its a Saturday deal, which in my mind is a good thing as the mad rush would have died down, I hope. Now to figure out how I'm going to sneak this past SWMBO.

[thrytis]

Thanks for the heads up. I have a Black and Decker Workmate that I use all the time as a makeshift workbench but it's really too small. This looks like a good upgrade, and for a good price. I'll be up early on friday anyway because we always do something for black friday in my family.

I have both the workmate and the xbench. I like the workmate and think it is better for some things, but the xbench has advantages with the larger surface, higher maximum height, and more height settings.

[Ed62]

That looks like a winner, but the Big Lots around here just closed the door about 3 months ago.

Ed

[toolbelt diva]

Thank you for the heads up. Since we have a very full 2 car garage I need a work table that I can fold up and put away when not in use. I was thinking of a workmate, but this one looks like it has much more room to use as a workbench. I hope to find one at our Big Lots.

[toolbelt diva]

Amazon's price has dropped to $99 on the x-bench: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0010ODQ1U

[annunaki]

Thanks for the heads up- just picked up two this am.

[RJD2]

I picked one up this morning. Big Lots is giving a $10 coupon when you buy $50 or more of merchandise to be used towards a future purchase. This makes a good deal even better.

Ron

[djkert]

Does anyone use this as a router table? I am wondering if you can drill new holes in the skil router attachment to custom fit a router or has anyone used an aftermarket plate that fit in the router plate area?

[gfc62]

Non-sale price is $79

For anyone interested in buying a Skil X-Bench, the Big Lots in Woodbridge, VA had one on the shelf for the non-sale price of $79. The Gaithersburg, MD store didn't have any on the shelf.

If your local store is helpful give them a call, they may still have some you can buy for $79, a better deal than Amazon's sale price (which has gone up to $105 at last check) or CPO outlet's $94 price.

Man that thing is heavy! I should have grabbed a scale from elsewhere in the store to weigh it, the box says it weighs 49 pounds but it felt heavy for 49 pounds. I'm not sure if I'd want to lug that far from my truck, it should have wheels.

It looks well made, I thought most of the weight would come from the MDF top but the top is only 1/2 MDF (with another 3/4 around the edges), below that there's a steel frame that's pretty substantial. The legs are good-sized (>1.5") aluminum & steel telescoping tubes.