MAC ALLISTER FOLDING WORKSTATION. Ideal For Indoor and Outdoor Workshop Use

Product Information

The Keter is particularly impressive, offering loads of horizontal space for resting drills, saws, spirit levels and other essential items while clamping an object. The two bench boards are fixed horizontally, but the clamping edges are shaped to grip smaller items such as pipes or fastenings. The stated maximum weight capacity is 100kg, but it felt wobbly even when we loaded it with a wheel and tyre. It’s best left for lighter duty jobs such as painting, where the price means you won’t be so worried about messing it up like you might a more expensive workbench. Clarke CFWB1 That saving is almost enough to buy the third-placed Minotaur. It’s flawed in many ways, but we loved the ability to tilt the jaws to work on awkward items. Any workbench will be between 800mm and 900mm high once assembled, though taller patrons, in particular, should look for products approaching the latter height to avoid stooping.

It feels solid and stable too, and has a decent 150kg load capacity, which should be enough for a small engine. The downside to this is a comparatively heavy 11.7kg overall weight. To save costs it comes as a big bag of bits, so you’ll need to do about 40 minutes of assembly yourself, but once built you are left with a pretty basic – and small – bench. But it is uncomplicated, easy to use and folds up to a smaller size for storage. The 4.5kg weight means it’s not too much effort to lift off a hook on a garage wall either – that’s less than half the weight of most other benches here.

We value your privacy

Adjustable pegs also simplify the job of positioning objects on the table. The only product which doesn’t come with clamps is the Stanley – the main reason it achieves a lower points score than our test-winning WORX. Maximum Load Weight Even the Wolfcraft, whose 180kg max payload is the lowest we recorded, shouldn’t be stretched by internal doors or cabinets. Our shortlisted benches all have grippy (if compact) feet, reducing their propensity to slip on anything other than polished surfaces. Vertical clamping, inboard measurement markings, tool storage, and wobble-free chassis design are some of the attributes we valued highly in testing.

If money was no object, we’d choose the innovative Mac Allister Folding Workbench. It is easy to use, and the size of the surfaces makes it much more useful for most automotive tasks. It also folds down neatly for storage. All of our shortlisted workbenches have pre-drilled holes which accommodate plastic pegs (aka bench dogs), allowing you to move them around and create a flexible work surface area. Mine have had a hard life and they still function although one of them has sagged a little in the middle so that it's no longer flat. They're heavier that they look but very easy to carry and store/transport and for that reason they have made my B&D Workmates redundant. They take literally seconds to erect or collapse - much faster than anything else I've ever used.By the time you reach the 450kg weight limit on the WORX, you’re talking about being able to hold an object as heavy as a concert hall-standard grand piano. And when was the last time you felt the need to clamp a grand piano in place and do some sawing? Measurements and Markings There are some downsides though. The half-hour it takes to assemble the bench might be forgotten after a while but is certainly an irritation at the time. But the weedy 100kg capacity means you’ll be a little limited as to what the Minotaur can be used for, and it feels a little wobblier when faced with a heavy wheel or other weighty component. If you want something cheap and cheerful to hold your timber in place occasionally, it’s hard to argue with Draper’s value for money. Pros