Yet another portable workbench

[pixelated]

I've been casually shopping for a portable workbench lately and ran across this DeWalt "Express" workbench today at the orange home center.
It was the last one they had from the black Friday rush, so I decided to go for it.
It has plenty of 20mm dog holes in the top and along the sides, unfortunately, they are too deep to fit Festool clamps, but the large clamping slots probably compensate for that. The dog holes do fit Parf dogs, although the fit is very slightly loose, so you may want to anchor dogs with knobs, or else use something like the super dogs. It seems very sturdy, and has a 1000 pound capacity rating. It lacks amenities like t-slots, but I like the relative simplicity and the size. It stands on its own folded. I've not tried it with any projects yet, though based on my initial impressions, I think it will work well.

Toolnut shows it on their website as available Dec 1;https://www.toolnut.com/dewalt-dwst11556-express-folding-work-bench.html

 

[HarveyWildes]

I was wondering about the hole diameter.  I expected 3/4", but I'm pleasantly surprised that it's 20mm.

 

[GoingMyWay]

"Mikes wood shop" gave a nice little review and demonstration using the Festool clamps in the Dewalt Workbench:=22m5s.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

I got myself one of these and was so impressed I got me another one. Great with a pair for on site work. I have mitre saw on one and use the other for support if needed.  Had to make a support block for the mitre saw for the "other table" but it was a quick fix.

I sold of a MFT Kapex to get the two with no regrets.

It does fold up and extends out in three seconds just as advertised. Standing on them is perhaps not recommended but I used the pair as a bridge while fastening a ceiling panel and simply walked on them.

For the price I would not hesitate to pick up a third one if I ever needed one.  I have used them with the Stanley folding sawhorses and I think they are about the same height.

Strong, sturdy and easy to carry. If you have clamps mounted it will not fold up as the legs scissor in.

Festool clamps do not fit in all holes due to the depth of the plastic profile but they fit it in the "X" cutout and on the front/sides but AFAIK not in the other holes on top. I have a few different benchdogs and they all fit just fine.

 

[antss]

I saw these a month ago and while nice and reasonably priced , I thought them too heavy for real portability.

 

[fshanno]

I got myself one of these and was so impressed I got me another one. Great with a pair for on site work. I have mitre saw on one and use the other for support if needed.  Had to make a support block for the mitre saw for the "other table" but it was a quick fix.

I sold of a MFT Kapex to get the two with no regrets.

It does fold up and extends out in three seconds just as advertised. Standing on them is perhaps not recommended but I used the pair as a bridge while fastening a ceiling panel and simply walked on them.

For the price I would not hesitate to pick up a third one if I ever needed one.  I have used them with the Stanley folding sawhorses and I think they are about the same height.

Strong, sturdy and easy to carry. If you have clamps mounted it will not fold up as the legs scissor in.

Festool clamps do not fit in all holes due to the depth of the plastic profile but they fit it in the "X" cutout and on the front/sides but AFAIK not in the other holes on top. I have a few different benchdogs and they all fit just fine.

Seems like it would be possible to cut a little notch at the bottom of the dog holes just big enough for the Festool clamp to slide in.  I wonder if the DeWalt track clamp will fit.  If the little Festool won't then probably not.

This new wave of portable work benches sort of makes building my own seem downright silly.  DeWalt, Kreg, Worx, Keter.  Seems like one of them would do.  The 20mm dog holes make this on very interesting for Festoolians.

 

[fshanno]

Checking further I found the HICO 4 in 1 which has casters and can function as a hand truck and a small scaffold and interestingly, as a creeper.

The Diston OmniTable is similar with the same 4 functions but no tracks or dog holes in the top.

Then there's the Husky.  It doesn't have dog holes but it doubles as a portable router table.

Every one of them has it's own advantages.

 

[locaholic35]

Always good news when new products come along that work with our existing accessories (bench dogs)

 

[pingvinlakrits]

I saw these a month ago and while nice and reasonably priced , I thought them too heavy for real portability.

Well at 10kg they are way lighter than even the Kapex MFT.  I think it is easier to carry two of these (one in each hand) than one MFT and when I am working larger panels it is better for me to have two tables.

EDIT: The "small" Kapex MFT3 is 19kg so almost twice as heavy, so I still argue that I'd rather have my two Stanley benches on site.
Also I am cheap, the MFT3 costs almost four times as much. Sold my old MFT3 and bought two Stanley instead. Much better - for me of course.

I have two large MFT tables but they are stationary at the workshop. Even they are not always stable enough (at 28kg) so I built a rolling (locking) base for one of them (folded) and the other MFT is auxilliary and same height but is usually folded up against a wall.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

I will look into modifying the underside of the table (at least for a few holes) as I have a few Festool clamps I would like to use.

All in all I think this table is the best compromise I have come across so far on the market. Reasonably priced, reasonably light, compact, fairly sturdy, takes a lot of weight and folds up faster than anything else on the market I have seen.

I weigh in at around 66kg and with tool in hand and a large panel I might hover around 85kg  [big grin] and that is no problem for this table. YGMV* of course.

*Your Girth May Vary

 

[Michael Kellough]

Henrik, the Stanley you have is the same as the Dewalt in the original post?

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Michael: Yes, it is the Stanley FatMax Express that I have.
Didn't even realize this was about DeWalt  as I just looked at the picture and went "hey, that's the one I just got!" [embarassed].

Stanley probably makes them for DeWalt - they are obviously the very same product.