Customer Reviews

Rockwell RK9000 Jawhorse

5 star:		(239)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been using the Jawhorse for several projects. Since the Rockwell web site has no customer service email, I would like to make some detailed comments about this product that perhaps you can pass on to your co-workers, managers, friends, etc. This product has several pros and cons, and here they are, straight from an avid woodworker. The Pros: very versatile, very stable, excellent design, most of it is very solidly built, and it is portable, and very useful for a wide range of projects. And, it is worth the money as long as you can put up with a few shortcomings.

Here are the cons. There are 4 key parts in the design that are made of plastic. Three of these 4 parts are also "moving" parts, so the claims on the infomercial and other adds for this product that say "no moving plastic parts to replace" and "all steel construction", are simply not true.

First, lets start with the roller, which is used for rolling the product across a surface as one of the transport methods (while using the rear leg as a handle). This part is made of hollow plastic. Instead, it should be made of solid, hardened rubber (the same kind of material used to make industrial, swiveling coaster wheels) to increase durability.

The second part is the yellow latch in front. It is made of plastic, and it sticks out enough to where it could be easily hit and broken (especially by contractors, and when being transported while folded up).

The third one is the end cap which is fastened at the end of the rear leg, and makes contact with the ground during use. Instead of plastic, this should be made of hard rubber, just like the rubber pads at the end of the front legs.

The fourth part, and most important, is the swiveling brace assembly and tightening nut that holds the rear leg in position. This is definitely the weak link in this product. Either this part, or the latch in front, will be the first parts to be broken on this unit. If this part were made of metal, it probably would be rated at a higher weight capacity.

Other cons of the Jawhorse, when it is folded and to be lifted up to carry it, there is not enough clearance around the rear leg (the space between rear leg and the foot pedal while folded) to get your hand all the way around it for a good grip - you can only get your hand in past the first nuckle - so if you have big nuckles like I do, it might not be comfortable to carry while folded. Also, the foot pedal is not made with as thick a gage steel as the rest of the unit's frame, so you have to be careful that you are pressing the pedal evenly, straight down with a flat foot, and not off to one side, or it might bend easily or get twisted.

Lastly, the owners manual is not very good and it is missing some very key components. It does not say anything as to whether replacement parts (such as the plastic ones mentioned above) are available through Rockwell. Also, there is not a detailed schematic drawing with parts numbers. Both of these problems may make some potential buyers wary that this product might be a throw-away if something gets broken. I did not yet ask Rockwell if parts can be replaced, so this might not be a problem, but if this is the case they ought to tell customers up front. The design is not complicated, and since many folks who buy this are probably mechanically inclined, people want to have the option of ordering parts and fixing it themselves instead of shipping it in for repairs (which many times is way cheaper). This is very important for many buyers.

Lastly, I do not understand the mentality of making such a sturdy, well-designed and versatile product with tough, heavy-gage steel, and then skimping on a few key parts and making them plastic. How much money does the company really save by doing this? I bet that if the company did a survey, a vast majority of buyers would be willing to pay $20, $30, or even $50 more for this product, if these plastic parts were eliminated from the design and replaced with more durable materials. And I doubt that it would add much more weight than maybe 2 or 3 pounds to the unit. This product is a great investment and great piece of equipment, but for it to be built to "last a lifetime" as Rockwell claims, then get rid of the plastic, please !

By the way, on the sticker that is underneath the moveable jaw, it specifically says "Manufactured to Rockwell specifications in China", in case you were wondering. However, I think Positec is poised to be one of the better worldwide manufacturers of quality tools (they have corporate offices in several countries, including the US). To summarize, don't necessarily use my review as justification for not buying one - I am still recommending that all of you should really get one of these. I am glad I did, and so far I can live with the cons I mentioned above because of how versatile and sturdy it is, overall, and the fact that it has done everything that it has claimed it could do, so far.

This is a quality item and well worth the price. It has already allowed me to do certain jobs that would otherwise not have been possible for me, or not terribly safe. I find it very stable and easy to use. It sets up and folds down efficiently. It's a bit heavy, but needs to be for stability.

I found myself cutting wood, boards or posts by holding the things down with one foot or some other position that wasn't all that safe and decided if I was going to be undertaking such projects I needed to be more careful. This item looked ideal--and it has proved itself repeatedly. I recently had to drill holes in a heavy metal plate, something I'd never tried before. Without this unit to hold the plate securely, I wouldn't have been successful. I got the holes drilled exactly where I wanted them and the two pieces bolted together just right thanks to this extra set of extremely strong hands.

I can see many opportunities for use that will allow me to do things myself that I've had to pay for in the past, or simply not done. It will be nice to have sharp tools again, for example. My son is remodeling his house and is so taken with it, he's buying one too. I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

Update 1/3/09:
I continue to use and value this piece of equipment. I've added the LogJaw which I use at least weekly to turn fallen sticks from my trees into tight kindling bundles for the fireplace (squeeze them together in the vice and tie with twine) and cut up branches. I've used the JawHorse to hold up the other end of a 16' fence board for fence repair, something I was unable to do alone before getting this thing. I've noted that the little transport wheel works great on pavement, but is too small to roll well in loose gravel so I transport it in my wagon as it's a bit heavy for me to carry. I've been using it so often, I leave it set up most of the time, just covered with a tarp.

I purchased this Rockwell Jawhorse from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. Fast delivery and set it up in 2 minutes. Comes completely assembled. Never had a piece of equipment before that was a fold up piece and yet so amazingly sturdy. Used it the first day I received it and have more projects that it will be used on. This is a perfect unit for tradesmen in the field as it folds up very compactly and is easy to carry and place on a back floor or seat of most any kind of vehicle. It does everything the manufacturer says it does and more. I use a lot of jigs in my woodworking and this Jawhorse adds to their effectiveness. Really LIKE this thing.Rockwell RK9000 Jawhorse

Seems to be a very well made and well designed product. I received this as a gift, so I didn't see the infomercial until after I had set-up and used the JawHorse. When I did view it, I thought the JawHorse lived up to all of the promises in the infomercial. I only have two quibbles - some of the accessories aren't up to the standards of the JawHorse itself, and the manual is terrible.

I have the Plywood Jaws, the Miter Saw Station, the Work Station, and the Saddlebags. Reviews for all of these follow, so all I'll say right now is that the Work Station and the Saddlebags were a little disappointing.

The manual has little tiny print, and a bunch of diagrams that are either incomprehensible or so trivial that they are worthless. Luckily, this is a pretty simple tool to set-up and use. There were only a few moments of confusion as I set it up and put it through its paces. Later, when I found my reading glasses, I did find that the instructions in the manual are fairly clear. The only problem I saw with the instructions is that a few of them seem to reference the wrong diagrams. For example, the instruction that says to slide the lock release down refers to a diagram with a big up arrow next to the switch.

Work Table **

I was a bit disappointed in this accessory. It is OK, and will be fine for most painting, sanding, scraping type work, but it's really not up to the standard of the JawHorse, and I would not call it "heavy-duty". It seems to be built more to the standard of a workmate-type product.

The table is only 1/2" thick, giving it a pretty light duty feel. The guide tubes are a little on the loose side, so that the two halves of the work table can (and do) move out of alignment when you bring them together. The misalignment isn't terrible, probably about 1/16", but it would be a problem if you need a truly flat surface. Not sure how they came up with the maximum opening of 22" mentioned in the product description. The maximum opening between the halves is only 5". There is a maximum clamping capacity of about 15" if you install the clamp dogs in their outermost positions, but there is no way to clamp anything larger than this unless you remove the guide tubes. Removing the guide tubes is NOT recommended in the manual, and I believe removing them would cause problems in clamping and, potentially, damage to the tool. The clamping dogs are plastic. I believe they would withstand pretty high pressure, but not the full clamping force the JawHorse is capable of. This is a bit of a concern since the design of the JawHorse makes it very easy to apply a LOT of pressure.

Plywood Jaw *****

The Plywood jaw is just a longer jaw with the same heavy-duty construction as the normal JawHorse jaw. It's easy to install aned works well. Includes connectors to quickly add outriggers made from 2X4's (you supply the 2X4's).

Miter Saw Station ****
The Miter Saw Station doesn't compare to a good dedicated miter saw station, but would certainly do the job in a pinch. Hardware (connectors and work support rollers) for outriggers is supplied. You supply 2X4's. The Miter Saw Station (without a saw attached) also makes a pretty fair work table. It has a very substantial frame that you clamp in the JawHorse jaws. The frame is built to take all of the pressure the JawHorse can supply, so there is no worry about it shifting in the jaws if you use it to support something heavy. The table itself is 5/8" thick. I believe it's plywood with a laminate top. It would be easy to apply a new table to the frame, or attach a sacrificial top over the existing table.

Saddlebags ***

The Saddlebags are fine quality-wise, but just don't seem very practical to me. You can roll them up like a tool roll, but when I actually put tools in them the hook and look strap wasn't long enough to fasten. Also, they just sit over the back of the clamp jaw, so they would be easy to knock off, sending tools everywhere.

The first one I bought I didn't read the directions. Who reads directions on how to use a vise/sawhorse?

I accidentally tried clamping something while it was not in lock mode. I ruined it. If you do what I did, which is actually very easy to do even once you know not to do it, you can ruin it.

Basically there are 4 little teeth that grab the sliding yellow thing. If you clamp something in the unlock position it can slip out and strip the holes in the steel . They get a rounded edge and the little teeth will slip most of the time when it's in that position. I only did this to one set of holes but I could easily see this happening to many of them. Rockwell does sell a extended clamp thing so if the piece does get ruined you can fix it.

Despite this design flaw the jawhorse is awesome. The jawhorse is like no other tool so until someone else makes something similar it is a must have. I also got the welding attachment which is fantastic. I use mine all the time as work station. Its much better than a bench. I also never really move mine around or use it as a sawhorse. Its a super-powered vise. It also works as a bike stand. I ditched my bike stand after I got the jawhorse.

I gave one to my dad for xmas and he told me today that his was slipping occasionally. I told him to be careful not to clamp it in the unlock mode but he obviously made the same mistake I did.

This is not the type of thing I need all the time, but I've been looking for something like this for a long time. I saw it on an infomercial. So far this seems like a great product, just got it so I haven't been able to abuse it the way a tool should be beat on. I saw this on TV and found it on amazon but with free shipping. I got it because it seems like a good heavy portable vise.
It comes ready to use, easy to set up. It's sturdy and feels it. It's not as light as they make it look on TV, but I think thats a good thing. The way it looks I thought there might be a lot of cast aluminum to keep the weight down. It is all steel.
On TV they show it holding a 4' sheet of ply, for that you have to buy an additional jaw, just seems like one more thing to get kicked around/lost on site. And if you read the description it needs additional support for that anyway, seems to me a couple of cheap saw horses would be better.
So far I'm very pleased, I'll update after I beat this thing up a little.

PROS - Well constructed, easy to level, holds items tight.

CONS - To pricey for what it is, vertical post holding feature only works from side of unit making it difficult at time to use.(would be better if vise could hold both from the side as well as the end,like a swivel bench vise.) To much plastic.

Amazon has the best price of all the vendors I reviewed with free shipping.
I would buy another, but only after the hype is over and the price is about $60.00 less.

I operate a handyman service and work alone all the time. Purchased the jawhorse as a way to overcome
a second person. The clamping force is really impressive as is the heavy duty construction. It unfolds easily
in a few seconds. I did; however, discover one troubling problem of having a tri-pod stance instead of a four
legged base. It will tip over quite easily if you apply force or have something heavy which hangs out to the left or right of the jaws. I clamped a 2x8x12 so I could rip several 2inch by 7 foot pieces and found the weight of the saw resting on the board toppled the jawhorse immediately. I had to hold up the board as I made the rip cuts, which adds a level of risk. This thing should have had a fourth leg. I still love the jawhorse and will simply have
to adjust my use of it to match the capabilities of the tool.

T. Nelson, Mt. Bethel, Pa

Does as advertised! A very nice machine but the hardware holding the jaws could be better. Using the log jaws the jaw loosened up and yhe bolt head broke. Bought different carrige bolts and problem solved.
Yes I would reccomend this product!

ITs heavy and rather cumbersome to setup and breakdown, but does it job quite well. Best used in a format where it can be left set up. It does work well tho.