Mastercraft Heavy-Duty Workbench
3.8
5
9
9
Good bench
I bought my bench on sale for around 150 I believe and for that price it was a great purchase. It's a pretty solid bench and with the option of fastening it to a wall I imagine this thing can take some pretty rough tasks that being said mine is currently freestanding(its basically a computer desk atm)and I've had no issues. It took a pretty good amount of time to set the thing up, around three hours I think and if you like to lay all the pieces around before you assemble it you are going to need a big space. Instructions were fairly simple to follow and I wasn't missing any peices which at the end of the assembly as you can imagine was a huge relief. It's got lots of storage space between the two top cabinets and the four drawers. The only complaint is it didn't come with levelling feet so you will have to that yourself. all that said its a great bench and its going to last a long time.
April 8, 2013
good value and quite sturdy
Went together well, a couple of tips:
- orientation of some of the pieces is important and not well illustrated, so look forward a few steps to see how a part is used next to ensure you have it the right way
- to make the lighting more effective, paint the underside of part 15 white before assembly (not so easy after...)
- it does not come with levelable feet, so figure out how to shim it if required before you complete it, around step 6, as it gets heavy to move around.
- one complaint - it comes with a power bar but no cord! You get an inset male plug that you have to provide an extension that fits to it.
- some nuts are not easily accessible with the provided nut driver, so having a 10mm wrench will help.
- if you're shorter than 5'6" consider mounting the light above the top row of peg board holes, or you may find it shines in your eyes.
November 21, 2012
Great value when on sale.
Purchased two of these to place side by side against the back of my garage wall. One kit had 3 missing pieces for the drawers, but a quick call to the number listed in the instructions had them Fed-Exing them to me overnight.
I assembled the frames slightly loose then got it straight with a square for the final adjustments. Same with the upper doors and shelving, assemble loose than line everything up and tighten. I also took additional time to make sure the drawers were straight and even, adjusting the sliders on each side.
I finished off the bottom of the bench frame with some 5/4" decking. Great place to store tool boxes and jack stands.
My floor jacks slide right under the frame, I was quite amazed at how much stuff I was able to fit into it all. Really helped to clean up the garage space.
November 18, 2012
THIS IS A GOOD VALUE ON SALE!!!!!!!!
I always read reviews and check-out other options out there. After doing that I bought this on sale. The directions are iffy, the panels are numbered incorrectly and there will be some do overs. There were also the clips to hold the light in place missing.CT is excellent for supplying any missing components. All of these things were mentioned in reviews and not a surprise. I should also mention that you should set aside the better part of your morning and maybe part of the afternoon for assembly.Once assembled when the unit still empty I reccommend to find studs along your wall and position so the upper portion of the table can be secured to the wall and studs. I purchased some brackets for this seperately, makes for a very stable work bench this way.Once you make your way through these inconviences will have a very good work bench for most small jobs.I am know very pleased with unit as the memory of putting it together fades. On sale it will to a good job for a long time.
August 1, 2012
Slightly disappointed
I bought this bench on sale. At the regular price I would not consider it. Although it was not difficult to put together, some parts didn't line up as they should. Some of the screws stripped easily or the screw driver couldn't be used on some. Some of the parts were mislabelled so had to be taken off and reassembled. I even had one part that was not cut properly and had no holes to attach to the frame. I did get a replacement part the following day by returning to the CT store.
The bench will work for what I need it for. I will be doing some adjustments and additions to make it a little more functional
June 18, 2012
Very good but a couple of problems
Pros: I think it is a very good work bench and a good value when on sale. You will need some mechanical aptitude to successfully put this together but it went together ok. A couple of parts needed adjustment with a rubber mallet.
Cons: The power bar that came with my unit was utterly useless and failed to accept a power plug after a few insertions. I bought a good one and screwed it to the peg board near the frame. The overhead florescent light is a bit weak. Also, mine came with some minor scratches.
That's all.
April 1, 2012
Mildly disappointed
I suppose I over estimated my construction abilities given the ease with which I can build IKEA products. This workbench was a huge pain to put together. The instructions are adequate, but in the end I had to buy some extra nuts and bolts as some that were included were stripped. I had a few challenges in construction. The right hand side wall for the drawer section was too snug. It would fit without some friendly rubber mallet persuasion. Thankfully the drawers still open and close even thought the side wall has some curvature to it and the holes for some of the bolts didn't line up. One of the overhead cabinets doesn't close properly either. The wheels seem to be excessivly loose and the whole upper half of the unit feels very cheap. I suppose it's worth the price when it's half off, but I would be extremely disappointed if I had paid full price for this unit.
February 19, 2012
Great product
I'll keep this review short.
This bench surprised me a lot. I don't think it's worth nearly $400 after taxes but if you catch it on sale this bench is an amazing deal. I picked it up at 60% off and i am more then happy with it.
The top cabinet is surprisingly nice, small but nice. The doors fold inwards and i use it for oils, paint and other things. The ball bearing drawers slide nicely but are a little too firm to push to "lock" shut.
My biggest gripe with this whole bench is how the drawers are made. I was amazed at how well this bench was built. Really strong, the little light could brighter but the MDF bottom to the drawers blow me away.
The entire bench is built really nice and then they put MDF bottoms for the drawers?!?!? what were they thinking!!!! It does hold weight but i couldn't believe it when i was putting it together.
Overall i absolutely love the bench. It's great for working on a lot of things i do (small engine work, electronic work etc)
I'm 6'2 and i honestly find the benches height isn't too bad.
highly recommend over many other benches of same price range with no storage, light or top shelf.
November 24, 2011
Good workbench, needs improvements
I bought this bench because it was small enough to fit in a one-car garage and included enough storage for storing everyday tools.
I’d bought the other MasterCraft workbench last year on sale, but soon returned it because it wasn’t sturdy enough and the drawers had problems. I’ve had this heavy-duty version of the bench for a couple of months and here’s my comments and couple of fixes.
The medium duty bench did a lot of flexing and shifting when I was sawing or hammering. Canadian Tire has beefed up the frame on this version so there is no motion when doing sawing, etc. It easily holds the weight of my lawn mower when I was doing some maintenance work this spring.
The workbench is kind of short if you’re over six feet tall. I just screwed a 2x4 under each pair of legs and then screwed the wood to the garage floor.
The work surface is too small for working with anything like plywood or really long boards. There’s enough space if you are working on a small project (think birdhouse or wood car) or some repairs on gardening equipment.
The workbench top is thicker than the other CT bench, but it’s still just painted MDF and it can’t stand up to a major pounding. I ended up adding ¾” plywood with ¼” hardboard to the MDF so the top can take a beating and stand up to oil stains, etc.
Forget trying to use a woodworking vise or a clamp on vice with this workbench. The metal frame gets in the way. You can mount a mechanic’s vise to the top, but I’d reinforce it with a plywood base.
The drawers are a good size and easy to put together. The fasteners loosen after a few months and you need to tighten them up to keep the easy to pull in and out.
The cabinet was easy to assemble, but it needs to be bigger. It is too small to store even small power tools like a sander or jigsaw.
The shelf on top is too small for storing tools that come in a case (e.g., a router, a drill). I added some plywood to make the shelf a little larger.
Canadian Tire could have used the empty space next to the drawer unit to install more drawers or a shelf. I ended up installing my own MDF shelf and use it to store large tool cases. It’s easy enough to do, but I can’t figure out why MasterCraft didn’t add it as part of the kit.
The overhead light is kind of dim if you are trying to read a low-contrast ruler or tape measure.
Assembly was pretty easy, but the instructions seem to have been translated by some kind of software, not by a person who might actually have gone through the steps of putting the workbench together.
This workbench is an improvement over the other MasterCraft or Jobmate workbenches offered by Canadian Tire. It isn’t too helpful for a woodworker (too small, no way to mount the right kind of vice), but it’s okay for an average homeowner or a casual mechanic. If you’re handy with a jigsaw and drill, you can easily add more storage and strengthen the bench to make a truly heavy duty workbench.
CT workbenches regularly come on sale. I haven’t seen it come on sale yet, but it’s worth picking up when you can get it half off.
May 23, 2011
