A hidden gem for your home workshop! The Harbor Freight Windsor Workbench.

[@SantaFeBob]

Thank you for posting this video. I’m considering getting one myself.

[@StanFerris]

Thanks for the comment, Bob! If you do get one, I hope it works well for you. As much as I would like a high end bench, I'd worry about dinging it up all the time! These HF ones are just about disposable in price, but mine have worked out really well.

[@davestrains6816]

Great review, really nice looking bench. Thanks for sharing. Dave

[@StanFerris]

Thanks and blessings, Dave!

[@ureasmith3049]

I just bought mine on sale and put it together. Not seeing Windsor brand now it's "Yukon." Joinery not as good as yours, no mortise and tenon, just the barrel nut /bolts. But even so, I'm impressed, did some hand planing and I expected a lot more movement than I got. A little modification and I will be very happy with it.

[@StanFerris]

Haven't seen the newest version, but still seems to be a good value. I use mine every day.

[@Rudimentary007]

Damn good info. Subbed.👍👍

[@StanFerris]

Thanks, Frank! For so little money (not sure I could build one for that price) it really gets the job done, especially if you add a bit of plywood bracing and pile heavy junk on the bottom shelf.

[@enochpage1333]

Great review! Made me want to buy it but they now have a different product. Are you familiar with yukon 60 in. three drawer hardwood workbench?

[@StanFerris]

I just noticed that now when I looked at the HF website. It looks to be about the exact same bench with one long lower drawer instead of two. Still, I think you'd be hard pressed to build it from scratch for under $200 with wood prices the way they are right now. Mine have served me well for years. Little cracks may appear here and there over time. Just add a bit of plywood bracing along the end and side to take out some of the wracking, throw some heavy junk on the bottom shelf, and you can hand plane hardwoods on it all day long.

[@minnesotaeerailroad8471]

Ah, good to know! We’ll need a bench like that, soon!

[@StanFerris]

Unless you can take the time to make one, you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal. That's why I've purchased 4 of them over the years, and haven't worn one out yet!

[@kammhron]

Good video .I just bought this bench & like it but I am not sure what the wood pegs/ anvil pegs are used for. Any tips? Thanks .

[@StanFerris]

Thank you! I hope you have great luck with it as I have over the years. So, for the wood and metal pegs and dogs: Notice there are two holes in the moving part of the vice. You can put one or two of the pegs or dogs in those, and then one or two in one of the holes on the bench. You can then trap a piece of wood between them and as you tighten the vice, it all acts like a wood clamp to hold the board you are working on. The metal ones are low profile, so that if you have a thin board you can still use a hand plane on it right up to the edge without hitting the pegs.

[@kammhron]

@@StanFerris Thanks. Now I see , said the blind man!

[@StanFerris]

@@kammhron Have fun! If when you tighten all the bench parts up it still wiggles too much, you can always add a few pieces of plywood bracing, and pile some heavy junk on the shelves. Here's what I did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j56VXoKKjLB1Z68

[@kle2217]

Thanks for the video. My concern was the stability for doing hand planing especially since I would like to add caster wheels to the bottom legs. Does the table top dog holes accept hold fast clamps? Would like to add additional buses to the front king side if possible.

[@StanFerris]

If you are doing mostly hand work, this bench might not be the best. For example, you would likely want a vice along the side not just the end. Building your own bench would give you the most options for the money. I added some bracing here and there to stiffen this one up. It is stable enough for what I do, and I can still slide it if I need more access to one side for a project. Not sure about the hold-fasts, as I haven't used them. Thanks so much for watching, and good luck on your bench search!

[@kle2217]

@@StanFerris Thanks. I’d be interested in seeing what brave you did to stiffen up the bench. I don’t see too many KZbin videos of people adding support braces to this workbench.

[@StanFerris]

@@kle2217 I wish photos could be added to these replies. So for this bench, I did not intend to use the drawers that are part of the kit like I have done previously with these benches. Instead I made sure the flat panels at each end were nice and tight, and then I added a long piece of 3/4" plywood shelf end-to-end at the very bottom on top of the arms connecting the bottoms of the legs. I then added a piece of 3/4" plywood end-to-end where the bottom of the drawers would be with 4" stringers going the full length between the legs at the edge of that shelf all the way around. My other HF bench has the drawers, but it sits against a wall. I wanted this bench to be open all around so I could temporarily set things down on the shelf to keep the top clear when working. The bottom shelves have heavy stuff piled on them. To give just a bit more support in the middle, I put a plywood divider between the top shelf and the bench top just to stiffen the center of the bench, but I'm not really sure it added much.

[@kle2217]

@@StanFerris Thanks for the detailed description. Wish I could see photos too.

[@StanFerris]

@@kle2217 I understand. Let me see if I can crank out a quick video update to show what I did to the bench and how I use it.

[@garydoc]

¡Hola buenas tardes Stan! Hmm, not too sure about your alien twin - a little too spooky for my liking. However, an interesting presentation and, certainly it looks the part. Having been brought up, with a grandfather who was a carpenter and wheelwright, I appreciate the construction joints and assembly techniques used in that bench. In fact, I have used several of grandad's handmade tools during the construction of my current layout. I'll try and show a few during the next update. They have proved more useful than some of the modern day gadgets out there! As ever, stay safe and well and, best wishes to you and, yours, for a peaceful Easter. Un saludo. Gary

[@StanFerris]

Greetings Gary! I'll enjoy your next update and will love to see your grandad's tools! I have a few of my dad's, and one of his father's as well.

[@miamited69]

How thick are the legs? I want to add locking casters when I put mine together.

[@StanFerris]

Hi Ted! Mine are 2 3/8" wide and 1 3/8" tall, with about a 5" long flat area along the floor at the ends.

[@elsdp-4560]

THANK YOU...for sharing. I have seen these benches at HF and consider buying one to use as my hobby bench, the one in the store was a little wobbly but after seeing yours and the coffee cup I may reconsider. One question did you glue the joints? Thanks for sharing.

[@StanFerris]

I was in a woodworking store recently, and looked at a Ramia "diy" bench that was $400. Yes, it had a second vise, but no drawers, and needed some finishing. And it wasn't any stiffer than the HF one. I did not add any glue, although the two leg assemblies had glue on a couple of their stretchers. Keep everything tight, and load it up with heavy stuff! Often, display units in the stores don't get carefully assembled and get moved around a lot. That Ramia one I saw was quite wobbly for its price. You can always add a scrap of wood here and there to stiffen them up. Thanks for watching!

[@wushufanatic]

Really enjoyed your review and you have a great speaking voice by the way! I just came from another video showing how wobbly this bench is. Your setup looks much different and I'm guessing it is from the extra support you added. Quick question though. Could this work for supporting a miter saw? I'm new to woodworking and handyman stuff in general. Would just like a place to get it off the ground. I was thinking of adding locking caster wheels as some have done to their setup. Thanks for taking the time to make this video!

[@StanFerris]

Hi, and thanks for commenting! As far as benches go, any of the "hand tool wood working" type benches under $1500 or so will be a bit wobbly out of the box. You can easily spend $600 or more for benches with a bit nicer wood, and fancier name brands, but are still light weight, and therefore not very stable. So I chose not to spend a lot of money on benches to start. If you are primarily interesting in hand chiseling and planes and want to do high end furniture, and don't want to spend a fortune, then perhaps make a bench out of larger lumber. There are many YT videos on how to do this for under $200. For me, I do more power tools than hand tools, so my bench just needs to be "ok" and get my work up off the floor. As I said in my video, these cheapo HB benches have more that satisfied my needs. Just add some plywood panels to the back and/or sides and it will stiffen up just fine. These will work just fine for a power miter saw, and with a bit of bracing or put up against a wall, a manual miter saw. Personally, I would not put casters on the HB bench. It is plenty light enough to slide around a bit, and would be very unstable with even locking casters. Best of luck on getting into woodworking! I still remember as a small boy being in my dad's woodshop, and now that I am retired, I still enjoy it!

[@wushufanatic]

@@StanFerris Hey Stan! You're awesome and I've been humbled in general around the willingness of the woodworking community to help others get started and progress. No one in my family did such work so I'm on my own and would love to get my own son involved when he's a little older (and I know more about what I'm doing). I think I will forego the casters as recommended as honestly, I don't really see a major need to move it as long as I can get a good vacuum dust collector eventually on my miter saw. Thanks again for your help. It's very much appreciated!

[@StanFerris]

@@wushufanatic Thank you for such kind words. There are so many great woodworkers here on KZbin that just about any topic is covered many times. However, if you send me an email I'd do my best to show you pictures of anything in my shop you'd like to see if it will help you get started. My shop is very unremarkable, just a part of my garage, but even a garage or basement is more than adequate to build things. I was a teacher for a while and did some simple woodworking with students and all we had was a sidewalk and our science room, along with a few tools, but we were still able to make some fun things that turned out great. Stan.

[@chrisAclaes]

I’ve just learned about this bench, but it seems Harbor Freight no longer carries it? Bummer.

[@StanFerris]

I was in the store yesterday, and saw what looks like the same bench but with one long bottom drawer and two top drawers.

[@dissonum]

Are you putting your train on this one?

[@StanFerris]

If I do, I'll put down a piece of plywood or something first.