Customer Reviews

HTC HPR-18 Adjustable 26-Inch to 45-Inch Pedestal Roller Stand with 13-Inch Roller

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

 

 

I bought two of these for use with my table saw and am generally satisfied. I give it 5 stars, however there are some limitations of the overall design approach. I use the rollers instead of out-tables for my tablesaw. This is fine for cutting most pieces, but for full plywood sheets (4'x8') you really need full out-tables. What happens is the sheet simply does not balance on two roller stands and the whole thing gets unwieldy. But it's fine for ripping 2x4s or partial plywood sheets.

First, a tip for anyone reading Amazon reviews: Amazon is not good at posting reviews under the correct product. For example, here they lump the reviews for the HTC HPR-18 in with the more expensive HTC HSS-18, hence the "it has a plastic knob / no, it doesn't" argument (for the record, the HPR-18 has a plastic knob, the HSS-18 does not). So be careful to make sure that when you read a review, it is really for the product you wish to purchase.

In this case, you can tell by the title that I'm reviewing the HPR-18. This is the second disappointing HTC product I've purchased, and I will be very skeptical of purchasing another without seeing it in person.

One of the roller stands is twisted, and I don't see a good way to fix it without the risk of breaking it. The other stand is OK now, but I had to straighten the roller's support so that the roller would...well, you know, ROLL. In addition, as others have noted it is difficult to set the rollers at precisely the right height. For me, that's a negative. Sure, sometimes it doesn't matter that the height is off a little, but in general more precision is appreciated.

Once I messed around with them a little, the rollers work OK for me. However, I purchased these after I rejected some sub twenty dollar units at a local home center as too flimsy. These really aren't much better, and I had to wait for them. I will probably use these for a while before buying anything else, as I already have these now, but I will be more careful in my future purchases.

What can you expect from an item that costs less than $27.oo? You should be able to expect that the three main pieces would fit together! With only one height adjustment screw knob and one bolt through a welded bracket it should be easy. Unfortunately, the bracket was welded out of line and the two bolt holes were drilled out of line. After hammering the brackets into alignment with the leg it is welded to, and hammering the bolt through the two holes that don't line up, you are left with a pigeon-toed stand (the feet are not parallel). The legs would only open up about a foot until one leg hit the other causing the unit to be very unstable. The only remedy is to brace one leg while you pull the other and actually bend (cave in) the square metal leg. After getting the unit to stand up, I took my hand and spun the roller and watched in amazement as it bobbled up and down as it spun around. This was not caused by the holes that hold the roller pins being drilled too large (they are), but because the pins are not accurately centered in the middle of the roller. I have never seen so much wrong with such a simple device. This was to have been a companion to another roller stand I have, but I guess I will go back to Harbor Freight and buy another one of theirs. You should too! It is cheaper, and it works right out of the box.