Update: Distributors are no longer carrying this product, and we have received many complaints from customers who report that they ordered the Benchmark portable work table directly from the company only to receive no product and no refund.
New Warning: Do NOT Buy a Benchmark Work Table
Hagar Tools just released the Benchmark portable work table, and a couple of accessories to go along with it. The table’s frame is constructed from extruded aluminum and steel, and those green supports you see are made from ABS, a tough but lightweight plastic. ABS is usually easily machined as well, so you can probably mod the cut paths if possible.
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The Benchmark looks to be a completely different than the other portable work tables on the market today. An array of gaps and channels on the table surface allow for saw blade clearance wherever you need it. Benchmark says that all surfaces are available for clamping. This looks to mean that you can clamp workpieces to either the top or sides of the crossbeams. That could come in handy!
Accessory-wise, there are adapter plates to which you can attach plywood boards and various types of stationary tools or jigs. Riser pegs allow you to support workpieces above the table surface. Tool trays and a power tool cord whip are included with the Pro model, and are optional add-ons for the standard model.
The standard model is currently priced at $350, and the Pro model $450. Both work tables have an 80″ x 37.5″ footprint and 64-1/4″ x 37-1/2″ work surface (~5×3 ft). When folded the unit is 6-1/2″ tall, and when unfolded the tabletop surface is 32-3/4″ off the ground.
I have to say, the crossbeam and surface configuration looks very appealing to me. The only thing I’m not in love with is the unit’s price, but I don’t think I could put together a comparable aluminum and ABS DIY cut station for substantially less using off-the-shelf parts. Thumbs up to Benchmark/Hagar for a great design!
http://youtu.be/J4UYHN4ieCs
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Most of the time when I’m preparing to cut a large sheet of plywood down to size, I lay spare 2x4s or 1x4s on the floor and place the plywood on top. This ensures that the plywood is properly supported and won’t pinch or bind the blade. It looks like Benchmark took this common practice to the next level.
With limited shop space, I am always on the lookout for feature-rich and effective portable work support products. In regard to cutting plywood sheets down to size, Workmates are tool small, Skil’s X-Bench is no longer made, the Vika TwoFold offers no clearance for saw blades, and the Festool Multifunction Table seems to lose much of its versatility when used with non-Festool tools.
Saw horses, even modernized and more flexible ones such as Dewalt’s work stands, also typically require extra support when cutting larger wood boards or plywood sheets. More recently, I have been testing out the new Rockwell Jawhorse Sheetmaster, which also works quite well for the job.
Bottom-line, the Benchmark is unlike any portable work table, support, or clamping system that I’ve seen thus far. Pricing is a bit steep, but if you break down a lot of sheet goods and could use a versatile cutting support station, the efficiency of these tables will be an easy sell.
Michael McMahon
Also in this family is the EZ Smart system from Eurekazone, http://www.eurekazone.com/ but the prices make this table look like a bargain! Has anyone used one of these?
Ktash
I have a Eurekazone table and love it! Love their clamping system, too. I believe it is much more flexible than this table, since you can make it different sizes, etc. They have great sales on it.
Eurekazone is an honest business, with good customer service. I had something I couldn’t find from my order months later (I bought on sale and left it packed pending setting up a shop). They sent me a new item, no questions asked. Some people use it with Festool saws but it needs some modifications. Or you can use any circular saw if you add their base. You can also buy many parts to modify it and they are less expensive than the Festool parts.
Tom Witmore
This table is just what I have been waiting for! I purchased the Benchmark Pro and love that it is a full-sized table yet portable enough to throw in the back of my truck.
Tim Smith
I ordered a Benchmark Pro Table on April 10, 2013 and was told there was a 4 to 6 week ship date. After 6 weeks I asked for an update and was told that they had problems with their investor and had parted company and were in the process of seeking new investors to re-start manufacturing tables. I asked for a refund of my $550.30 and was sent a bogus refund notice with the wrong credit card number on it. I am now unable to get any answer for them at all, either by phone or eMail. My advice is to stay away from these guys, phony as heck!!!
Gena Holmes
STAY AWAY!!! We paid $653.65 on January 31, 2013, for the portable work table and several accessories. Ship date was to be up to 6 weeks as they said they had been victims of their own success, were sold out surprisingly early, and having to suffer the consequences while they awaited shipments from their suppliers. Every few weeks I would wrute and get a nice reply with apologies & a new excuse why no worktable had been shipped. It is obvious to me at this point that our $653.65 has been stolen, and I am notifying law enforcement and internet fraud units now. Yet, it appears from the website that these people are still taking orders! Do NOT provide these people with your hard-earned money. We did not have $653.65 for them to scam from us, and yet that’s exactly what’s happened.
Kim Drako
I too have been stolen from. In December 2012 I ordered a table for my husbands jan birthday after seeing it on DIY cool tools show. Figured they are reputable if its on DIY. Never again, no replies. Company name is Hager Tools and their address is: 1545 W 134th Street, Gardena, CA 90249. In case you need it for your lawsuits. Going to file with dept of consumer affairs and the better business bureau. Also contact my credit card company for a chargeback. If they are accepting orders whatever account that money is going in should be frozen, and they should be denied doing business with any others. Companies like this need to be stopped.
Larry west
Try the California attorney’s office. They helped me in a similar situation
Larry west
Attorney general
Stuart
I sent an email to the VP of Hagar Tools, and it bounced back.
I don’t know what’s going on with this company, but here is what I would do if I ordered a Benchmark Table and didn’t get one after 6 weeks of delays and promises, let along 6 months.
1. Request a full refund, in writing.
2. If no refund is received, I would file a dispute with my credit card company, saying I never received the product or a refund. Some card companies only allow disputes on transactions within a certain time frame, so I certainly wouldn’t allow more than 6 months to go by.
3. I would file a complaint with the BBB, but I can’t find a listing for Hagar Tools or Benchmark Tables. I don’t think this would really help anything at this point.
4. If a credit card dispute is rejected or a refund cannot be secured directly, a small claims lawsuit might be the last best way to secure a refund.
Arax Mitchell
No refund, no benchmark table, no replies after the first few and now it’s too late to secure a refund from my credit card company,
The company has disconnected their phone line – but their website is still up and running,
BEWARE!! I too was misled by the fact that it was on Cool Tools.
John S
Any update on this Stuart?
Stuart
Nope. My emails bounced and I saw that the product’s distributors have listed it “not available” or similar.
The complaints keep rolling in, and so I have added a warning update at the top of the post.
D dukes
I also ordered the table and got a response that they were seeking new funding. I also contact hgtv to stop running ads about this product and got the standard answer
John griffin
I ordered the benchmark workstation in jan 2013 my credit card was charged 360.05 I received two emails from company stating due to the showing on cool tools they were experiencing back orders to be patient. Still no work table, can’t get a hold of benchmark, tried to call but phone disconnected . Contacted this old house who advertises benchmark also no help.
Lara Coutinho
I too am a victim of Benchmark Table, Hagar Tools, HGTV, Cool Tools, Mark Miller, Peter Garbowski, and Tim Malooly. They have stolen $409.07 from me since they refused to send me a refund or a table. I have talked in depth with 2 lawyers who both believe that there is no way to get my money back from these people unless I spend many months and at least $5000 to enforce the judgement of a small claims court judge. My credit card company refuses to help because it’s more than 3 months after the date of purchase. Since Benchmark claimed 7 weeks for delivery, then sent me a bounced check for a refund, that took up the three months and screwed me. I do not understand how they are not going to jail.
–Lara
Leslie N.
It’s a real pity they stopped making this table. I bought mine when it first came out. I guess they must have had issues making them and then things went haywire and they took peoples money and they didn’t get a table. This table is such a genius product and I would be lost without it as I am a remodeling contractor. I’d love to be able to get my hands on another one as a backup. I dread the day mine breaks. I have made a few repairs to it. Such a great concept and I don’t understand why nobody else will make a similar one.
Dempsey
My wife purchased me the Benchmark Pro years ago. I believe it was back between 2011-2012. Not sure when they stopped servicing customers as I’ve only hopped online to get replacement parts. But as you can imagine to my surprise here… it seems they are no longer a company. It’s all good though. The parts I need are manageable enough for me to grab elsewhere. The bench itself is in fact a very sturdy bench and fairly lightweight enough. I do enjoy the fact that it is lightweight enough for me to move from one shop to another and it’s very easily leveled using the adjustable legs. However, if there is one thing, I would love to change about this, it is the feet to this bench. If I could replace the threaded rods, connecting the bottom adjustable feet with threaded rubber wheels, so that I can just unlock the wheels and move this thing along with ease around the shop without having to drag it, that would make this one serious workbench.
Other than that, I cannot say that I have any complaints about it. Minor wear and tear on my turn knobs that lock the legs in the upright or foldable position are the only things that I need to have replaced (two of them). It’s still works. I just need to use an adjustable wrench to unlock them in lock them back into place sometimes.
For my understanding, what my wife paid for this shocked me, but for the cost of aluminum, and a set up like this, being as wide, and as sturdy as it is, this thing is worth its weight and gold, and I would absolutely buy another one. It just sucks that the company has pretty shitty. Customer service has I’ve been reading.