Customer Reviews

30" Height Deluxe Tool Table

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am a home improvement enthusiast with many bench top tools, drill press, scroll saw etc.. The HTC-330 is just the right stand to hold these tools. It was easy to assemble. It is well constructed and is very sturdy.

If you are looking for a way to reduce the clutter on your work bench caused by bench top tools, this is the way to go.

I purchased two stands, one to use with a GI mortiser and the other for a planer. They are very sturdy and the height is ideal. For heavy equipment, adding the HRUS-330 mobile base(admittedly expensive) makes a very nice setup. I was surprised at the five star and one star ratings for the same stand. After assembling two of these stands, I've come to the conclusion that the one star raters should sell their tools and take up stamp collecting. The assembly tolerances are reasonable and they yield a nice tight stand.

My workbench is small, and I have several benchtop tools (miter saw, router table, and drill press). So I routinely have to swap out the tool from on top of the bench, to the one I currently need to use. With the drill press weighing in at about 100lbs, there had to be a better solution. The HBT-330 is that solution. I've been able to permanently mount the drill press to the HBT-330, clearing my workbench of one tool. The stand itself is very sturdy with a think MDF top, and beefy metal legs with height adjusting feet for non-level floors (like mine).

If you have very limited shop space, the HBT-330 manual has instructions on how to create a "universal mounting" system for the stand. You can then use the one stand to host all of your tools. (But then your back to the heavy lifting!) Essentially you mount your tools to a piece of plywood, and then drill holes in the plywood pieces at a uniform distance that match the mounting holes in the HBT-330's MDF top that you made. The plywood allows you to have holes that match the individual mounting requirements of the individual tool, and still have the "universal" mount to the the stand.

I was surprised to find that I had to drill the holes for the legs to attach to the bench top (as mentioned in another review), but then I remembered, this is for people with TOOLS that can do that kind of stuff!

I mounted my Craftsman Scroll Saw to this stand. The wood base of the stand is thick, and the stand is sturdy. Additionally, plans are included to make an additional shelf below the base where the horizontal braces are. Overall, this is an excellent value.

Stand illustrated is 20-inch high model, so top appears larger in proportion to height in the illustration than it really is. Note actual dimensions of top. Also top is not laminated butcher block as shown both in illustration and described in the user guide, but plain particle board. Purchaser must mark and drill top, but holes in corner brackets do not line up with markings on template.

I bought this tool table for my Jet Mortiser on it and it worked out perfectly. The construction of the table, from the MDF top (with nicely rounded-over edges) to the legs and braces is very solid. There is absolutely no unsteadiness or any sense of it tipping over at all. My only complaint, as with most HTC dedicated mobile base, is that the dedicated mobile base for this table is almost a hundred dollars.

Having purchased and assembled four HTC-2000 mobile bases (a well-engineered and well-executed product), I felt comfortable selecting the HBT 330 kit. I begin this review with my conclusion: while the HTC-2000 clearly got all the attention of HTC's A-list product developers, it seems this HBT 330 table drew the B-team, or possibly just a gaggle of interns.

Sadly, I had neglected to check the customer reviews here prior to placing my order.

Don't waste your time with the provided drilling template, because, due to the way the leg receivers are formed, only one of the four holes per corner piece will line up. Better to just place each one and mark.

You will struggle to assemble the legs to the receivers because, again, the holes aren't registered properly in the mating pieces. A 20-minute job becomes a 2-hour exercise in frustration not experienced since the 1950's, a time when ill-fitting stuff from southeast Asia was the norm. Compound angles seem to be a challenge to HTC's production operations.

You're invited to add a second shelf which you can mount to the frame provided by the cross members. Had the product development team been required to include said shelf in the kit, they might have recognized the problem with this: none of the corner miters are coplanar. I don't know if the forming brake operator had a bad day, or the brake needs truing up, or -- again -- the engineers put the holes in the wrong place. The result is, no shelf is gonna lay flat on that frame.

Had this been my first HTC product purchase, it would have also been my last. C'mon, HTC, we know you can do better. For a [low] street price, you should be able to afford a few engineering cycles to get this right. There are other stands on the market for less money that screw together better. Ridgid includes one for free with each surface planer they sell, and that stand goes together like this one only wishes it could.

This table was a pleasure to assemble. All of the holes lined up perfectly. The instructions were clear, and I had no parts left over. The template provided for drilling the leg bracket mounting holes in the table top lined up perfectly with the holes in the brackets. I cut the extra paper off the edges of the template so that I could line it up exactly with the table top when I marked the holes. Although I have not installed a shelf yet, the brackets appear to line up very well, and I do not forsee any trouble in doing it. I was really amazed to read other reviewers comments about the assembly problems which they had encountered. I had none. Maybe HTC has redesigned the table.

I found this tool table to be of excellent quality and craftsmanship. It is very sturdy, and assembly was a cinch.
It is helpful however to leave all the bolts loose when putting it together, then tighten when finished. I also found it easier to install the top by placing the frame on it "upside down", then mark the holes for the leg screws accordingly, instead of using thier template, as it takes a small amount of adjusting to make everything square. I plan to purchase some threaded shaft casters for mine, as I have my entire shop on casters. It just make life easier. I was very happy with this purchase. It's a winner!

The template they provide for the drill holes is not close, otherwise this thing isn't bad. I wish they'd use plywood instead of MDF. If you overtighten one hair, the screws spin in MDF. Other than that, it's solid enough but I suspect if I would have checked Rockler or Woodcraft I would have found something a bit sturdier for close to the same price, especially when you factor in 20 bucks for shipping!