There’s a new Husky mobile workbench and tool cabinet out at Home Depot, and it’s got an adjustable height worktop.
We checked this out at a Home Depot Spring Preview in NYC a few months ago, and I’ve been excited about it ever since.
Advertisement
Why would you want a workbench to have a height-adjustable top? Well, generally you want a lower bench height when working on heavy duty projects. But for high precision work, a higher table is sometimes going to be more comfortable. Or let’s say you’re reading plans or a repair guide off your laptop. A taller worktop and reading stance will keep you from hunching over.
Features & Specs
- 52-inch width
- 10 ball bearing drawers
- 75 lb weight capacity per drawer
- Deep bottom drawers have double drawer slides
- 5″ x 2″ casters
- 1-inch solid wood worktop
- Elevated top has 200 lb rating
- Cabinet has 1,000 lb load rating
- 2 work trays under the elevated worktop
- Tubular side handle
- Crank-operated adjustment mechanism
- 38″ to 48″ height adjustment range
Price: $348
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
First Thoughts
When I briefly demoed the Husky adjustable height workbench, I tested it for stability. This was a very sophisticated test, where I rocked the top back and forth to check for flex. While not rock-solid, it was more stable than I expected, and certainly stable enough for casual home use.
If you want a *pound on it* worktop, choose a fixed height mobile workbench, or even one with fixed legs. Or build your own.
For the price, you get decent storage capacity, and a feature that some will find handy.
Advertisement
This is definitely something you might want to try out in-store if you can.
Josh
I was looking over one of these in store. The height adjustment lever uses a hex key to attach to the drive, which means with a tiny bit of ingenuity you can have a powered height adjustment. I wind up putting a lot of long workpieces on my drill press, and the height adjust seems like it would be an awesome stock support for that.
Benjamen
I eye this adjustable height table every time I go to Rockler. They have it on display.
http://www.rockler.com/motorized-adjustable-height-work-station
I can’t justify $600, though. I might have to build my own someday.
Aaron
If you have an IKEA nearby, check out the SKARSTA Sit/Stand legs. They aren’t motorized but it would be a piece of cake to chuck a drill to it. Only $200 and they feel at least as sturdy as Rockler’s table.
Jerry
I have a fixed height work table, and it is too !ow for small precision stuff, but too high to reach up on tall projects. I built a little stand (2 actually) so I can have 3 heights. Adjustability would be great. To answer ahead of time why I didnt modify mine to adjustable height, it is because the main table is 1/4 steel, on steel legs, for welding, and is low for that reason. I can clamp on one of the little stands depending on the work surface I want. One for a clean, scratch free shurface, (think sanding) the other more utility, like for bluing, or where there is mess potential.
BikerDad
I saw this in store this past weekend, played with it a bit. Pretty cool, and it looked like the supports and channels for the top are pretty beefy. Top is thin from my perspective, but my old workbench has a 1 3/4″ thick top, while my new workbench’s top is 4″+ hard maple, so my perspective isn’t a common one. Of course, this Husky isn’t a dedicated woodworking bench either.
As a general purpose bench/roller cabinet, this looks like a winner. I think they’ve made most of the drawers a little taller than they should be, but that’s a minor quibble.
Lynyrd (Lynn)
This is a great solution for Furniture Woodworkers. Most of us who do this type of work/hobby, have an additional workbench set at about 40″ for final furniture assembly or have built our own adjustable bench. For the money this is a great way to go and saves space having two or more workbenches.
mikedt
I’ve lusted after this setup: http://adjustabench.com
They demoed a unit at our woodworking group and it was crazy simple to adjust – although you’d need 2 people to do it at the same time if you needed to keep the top perfectly level during the adjustment proccess.
Diplomatic Immunity
Always thought the jackbench was pretty cool.
http://www.jack-bench.com/
Nathan
perspective is funny isn’t it.
I put hands on one of these with my Dad this weekend and he tried to talk me into buying one.
I don’t want a long roll around in my garage currently – but I could see buying one. Step one it’s not for major work, IE I wouldn’t put an engine on it and then try to raise it to work on it – but I’d put some heads on it. maybe even a transmission
the rest of the device felt good for home owner use – I don’t know how it would hold up in say a hangar environment. but I can see the benefits. I could also see leaving it partially jacked up – and keeping stuff under the table.
Lor
I’m an at home chef and baker. I am getting this for all my baking items. We are putting a good grade stainless on top.