Customer Reviews

Sjobergs SJ1200 Compact Jointer Workbench

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

 

 

The craftsmanship is excellent. All the pieces fit perfectly and were very well designed. I almost want to bring it into the house because it looks better than some of our furniture.

I also purchased the Sjobergs SJ0042 Drawers and Cupboard Accessory Kit. This review is only about the workbench.

Assembly took about four hours, including the Drawer and Cupboard Accessory Kit. I expect it would have taken about half that time if I was just setting up the bench. The directions are an interesting story. There is only one sheet of paper with pictures - no text. This was a little disconcerting but I managed to figure it all out and so will you. How it fits together becomes obvious once you study it for a few minutes.

Don't buy this if you want to do really heavy duty projects like major auto repair. But I think it would meet the needs of most everyone else. I have limited space and may move in the future. This is a much better solution for me than building a permanent workbench in the garage.

Although not listed in the specification, it came with one Sjobergs ST98 Workbench Hold Fast. These are great. It holds your project very well and is easy to use. I will probably get another one. The bench dogs are also well made they have small ball-bearings which allow them to be removed and inserted with almost no force, but they hold a project very securely.

The mortise and tendon joints that hold the legs are very tight. The kit comes with a small tube of glue but does not say where to use it. I used glue only on the legs and vice handle. A little more instruction would have been helpful.

Some reviews I read for the full size bench said the top was too thin. The top is about 3 inches thick around the border, but thinner in the middle. I don't see that as a problem but some people might.

The two vices are very well made. The handle is a little smaller than I would like, but it still seems to tighten up quite well.

This is my first Sjobergs product. I would really like to work for them if all thieir products are this good.

I am surprised that Sjobergs does not seem to have a web site. This may be an issue if I ever need to replace something.

If you are thinking of building a workbench I encourage you to try one of these instead. My only suggestion to Sjobergs is to use more color coding to speed assembly and to enhance the directions.

Bench is quite small, not just in length (as expected) but in height and depth as well. Very light weight as well, may move with heavy plane or scraper use. Many (but not all) dog holes were undersized. Had to enlarge them to a full 3/4" for my nice Veritas dogs to fit. Dislike the finish on the top and it is not quite flat. For the price, not sure I would bother with this bench without the drawers and cupboard set. Should work fine until I have time to build a better one.

Underbuilt & overpriced. The two wood vices are "toy" like.

I suppose my biggest problem with this workbench is that it is too light. I tried to do some light chisel work on it and it held the workpiece well, but the whole table moved.

The biggest nuisance problem with the table is the storage shelf. It is positioned just high enough to be a foot rest when you are seated on a stool. I know it was not designed to be a foot rest, but I found myself subconsciously placing my foot on the shelf anyway. The brackets that hold the shelf are connected by one bolt on each side, so the brackets have a tendency to turn. This causes the shelf to fall out along with whatever you might have on that shelf. It has happened to me several times. Finally I ended up putting brads through the legs and brackets to keep it from turning. The designer should of thought of this contingency.

I recently purchased the Sjobergs SJ1200 Compact Jointer Workbench and drawer kit (and at the bargain price of AU$150.00 brand new, who could resist) and found it a great little bench for my woodworking needs.

It does not take up much room, and can be moved from place to place by one person quite easily in two pieces, by removing the two bolts holding the benchtop down.

Although the bench was fully assembled, when purchased, I found as discussed in other reviews regarding the thickness of the benchtop, it does give the impression that it is far thicker than it actually is and take far more heavy items, until you get down and look at it and find it is a lot thinner in the middle.

The vice handles need to be upgraded to something a little more solid, may be plastic coated steel as they do with the dogs, as the timber ones could break easily and the knobs on the end do come off, even with glue.

I found there website http://www.sjobergs.se/ being in Danish of little help, they should consider putting it in english as well, due to the english speaking customer base they must have for such a great item.

The size is what first attracted me to this bench. I work in a small shop (ok, 1 car garage) and don't have room for a bigger bench. The other thing that attracted me was that it was at a special price - lower than what I could have bought just the top and hardware for.

The bench is well made and went together easily. The base is too light for any hand work like planing, but I expected that. I bought it with the plan to make a new heavier base. So the 4 stars is based on the top being what I expected and meeting my needs at the moment.