Craftsman  6' Workbench Frame - Black

Looks great and easy to assemble. Took about a half hour to put this together alone. Would have gone quicker with a helper. Taller that I thought it would be.

It is a nice tool bench for the average homeowner. The assembly was not difficult but goes better with two people.

steel used is flimsey. paint surface is easily scratched. would be great if offered with powder coated finish.

This is a very nice workbench. Assembly was easy, but be aware that if you buy the Back Wall, DO NOT PUT ON YOUR TOP!! If you do , you will have to remove the top and redrill the holes. I would think that Sears Assembly Book would warn you to not put on the top and to assemble the bench and back wall AT THE SAME TIME soas to not fall for this mistake. Overall, after I got the top, bench and backwall put together, all was well, but a lot more time then I thought would be needed. I didn't give it five stars because of the poor assembly manual.

Great bench frame. no issues with the assembly - all parts included, good finish, and worked well with the 3 shelf add-on unit. I was initially going to put shelves on both sides of this bench but with that configuration it doesn't leave much room to pull a chair up to the bench. I saved the 2 shelf configuration for the 8 foot bench frame I purchased and built. Adding the shelving unit was a snap - metal was cut appropriately, no need to modify any parts for a good fit. Adding the shelving unit does add stability to the bench too - Build time, by myself was about 35 minutes - shelving unit took another 20, and top install was another 15. Great bunch that should last a long time.

WOW.....dont know why I waited so long for this workbench, its great. I also added the back with worklight and butcher block top.

Ordered bench frame off of the internet with butcher block top.  Got it home and found one of the sides was smashed.  It appears they've tried to prevent this by having it well packed with a piece of particle board at the end of the box, but that was broken.  Anyway, took it back and returned it for the pro-grade 8' bench.  Would have done another try at this 6', but gas ain't cheap and I can't afford to keep running around.  Sales staff was very easy to work with.

I had a choice between this one and one at ********** made by Husky. I chose this for two reasons, the Craftsman 'quality' and the pegboard attachment. It was $100 more too, but I thought it would be worth it. First, instructions are not very good when you are trying to combine these products. I first opened the frame and SS top and per the instructions drilled the holes in the top and connected the frame. When I tried to stand it up, one of the side legs bent horribly and I could not fix it to get the dent out. It's made of stamped cheap steel. After getting it as close as I could, I opened the pegboard or rear wall attachment, and according to that, you need to not have the top on!! Additionally, you have to put more holes in the top because it has to be relocated because of the peg board. The first instructions specifically suggested drilling the holes at least 1.5 inches or more from the back of the top (probably so it doesn't split the MDF under the stainless). So, this back board will make the holes at least 1/2 inch from the edge. I also had 3 bolts stuck when trying to take everything apart again.

Cons:

Poor instructions for the total product

Cheap material for the frame which is supposed to hold all the weight.

Cheap top - Not totally stainless and the underneath is reconstitued wood

Overall, it is not better than Husky and for 50 more added onto the Husky, I would have the same thing.

Craftsman used to mean something to me, but now it is just the same crap every other company gets made in China.

Just assembled this bench with the separate backwall and butcher block work surface. Before even purchasing I had read some of the reviews here and so had a heads-up regarding assembling the three components at once. Definitely pull out both the bench frame instructions AND the backwall instructions if you are assembling both at the same time. Sears seems to think that most people will buy the bench first, assemble it, and then buy the backwall at some later date since you have to disassemble some of the bench to get the backwall on.

I have two other criticisms of the product. First, it came slightly damaged. There was a fine scratch on one of the bench frame legs, as well as a small dent in the same leg. The damage wasn't enough for me to bother to get it replaced (which I'm sure Sears would have done), however when I'm spending this kind of money I expect everything to arrive in perfect condition. Second, the engineering of the bench is a bit amateurish in my opinion. Fastener are located in such a way that you need specific types of tools to assemble the bench. You're going to need a socket extender or a nut driver with a screwdriver-type handle for a lot of the bolts. That's not my main gripe, though, since I have those tools. What really got me was the metal screws that hold the two pieces of pegboard together. To begin with, I would have thought you'd find a bolt & nut assembly in this place rather than a screw, but okay it should hold together fine. The real issue is that the screws are so close to the back of the pegboard that there is no room to get a screwdriver on the screw straight. So even if you can get the screw to turn, you risk rounding out the phillips head on them before you get the fasteners tight. I just happened to have a phillips on a 90 that came with some other product. I saved it thinking that weird little tool might come in handy some day. It sure did; I don't know how I would have tightened all the screws without it.

Beyond the need for special tools, other engineering low points are a light with no on/off switch (really??), the butcher block top when placed on the frame butts up against the bolt-heads on the back of the frame (why wouldn't you position the bolts so that the top slides in under it??), and the decision to use round-head bolts. Because there is no way to hold the bolt in place while you tighten the nut, if you happen to round out the square hole that holds the backside of the bolt-head in place..well, you're screwed. This happened to one of mine and I'm still trying to figure a way to get it back off without drilling it out. I don't have anything that can get a grip on that round bolt.

It might seem like I have a lot of ******* with this product but I actually like it very much. It looks just like it should and feels suitably solid. I just wanted to be specific about a few nitpicky little issues. I feel that many of the people who buy this product value precision and quality engineering, and that Sears would benefit greatly from addressing these small points. Overall, though, I'm looking forward to years of use out of a great-looking bench. Hope this helps someone.