Sjöbergs Smart Workstation Pro Vise Top, Professional Portable Work Station, Large Surface 20-7/8" X 14-3/8", SJO-33309

As a beginner wood worker I need something to hold my projects with out using a vice that would mar the wood I was working on.This as helped me build confidence in my wood working allow me to try new things and develop new skillsa great way to see if using a traditional woodworking bench is you style. I had helped me decide that I will be building my workbench in the future

I never write negative reviews but I am extremely disappointed with this product. I am writing because I tried to contact Sjobergs and received no response. I bought four of the portable table vices for our skills laboratory where they are used for light work. The skills lab is in a temperature controlled environment with low humidity. The tables assembled easily and initially worked...but 6 months later the table tops warped and the vices became miserably difficult to use. To get the vices to work I had to recut the vice channels....so now I am stuck with $1000 of vices that are very difficult to use.

If a full size Sjobergs bench is not in your budget, this fixture might be a lower cost alternative . It is very solidly made, though the work surface is not solid wood. It has a laminate applied to it. I would not say it is easy to assemble.You need a good drill/ driver and a assortment of Torx head driver bits. You have to apply a lot of force to the driver or it will slip, rounding off the screw. One thing to remember regarding the vise on the fixture. If you tighten the vise on a work piece on one side of the vise, take a piece of scrap of the same thickness on the other side of the vise.Doing this will prevent racking or twisting the vise parts, which will ruin the vise eventually. The fixture is ideal for those with limited space.It can be clamped to any table or solid surface. Overall, i would say it is worth its cost. Maybe some day i will get a full size Sjobergs bench, but this fixture is a practical alternative to full size benches.

Sojbergs work benches are classics in woodworking - no question. But Assembly!!!!I bought my bench back in March but just had a time to assemble it. I did not read the Amazon Reviews as closely as I should have. My bad!!! I did not have the TORX bits or screwdriver. After trips to the home store, the assembly went fine. There is no way to assemble with the small tool provided. You will need all the current Superheroes in the Movies to help.Do yourself a favor!! When you purchase the bench from Amazon,order a cheap set of TORX driver bits (you will need two sizes). You should get both at the same time. I just checked tor TORX BITS on Amazon and you can get a set for $6.95 up. You will pay more than that for one screwdriver or bits at the home store.Enjoy your bench!!!

When I opened the box, I thought this was going to be great. The quality and general workmanship were obvious. Then I took out the work surface--which was nice, thick and smooth as hoped for--but I could tell right away there was a problem. It was crazy how not flat it was. Everything else was perfect and as expected. I thought about keeping it because the vise and dogs were my main need as opposed to a dead flat surface for hand work, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. That surface being flat is baked into why we pay more for this than a knock off, so I returned it and will address the vise and dogs a different way. While most folks seem happy with theirs, there were just enough things in the reviews to make me opt against an exchange. I rather just cut my time losses and move on to a different solution.

If you're looking at one of these, you're probably like me and have a decent workbench but looking for more flexibility relative to workpiece holding options, and maybe you move your operation from place to place seasonally or for some other reason. Assuming this is accurate, I really don't think you'll be disappointed with this product, especially once you have it assembled and attached to your bench. It provides the added benefit of increasing the height of your bench for planing or whatever you're doing, which I've found helpful. Much has been written here about assembly issues, but it's really not a problem. That said, don't bother with the tiny combination tool they include in the box, it's a toy and doesn't provide anywhere near the torque required to drive the multiple screws into the dense beech the product is constructed of. You'll need a 3/8 inch ratchet with a 4mm Allen socket and a T-25 Torx (not sure why they decided on that mix, but as long as you have the tools it's not really a frustration, just a curiosity). I do agree with the reviewer who found that driving the (yet another head!) Phillips screws into end grain of the vise handle was a little dicey, but do it with a little care, and use a hand tool for sure, and it will be fine. On another topic, if you want a cork surface on the inside jaws, I'd recommend just buying a roll of contact paper rather than pay for the Sjoberg cork pads. I decided to just use cork on the moving jaw, and it works fine. The stationary jaw is really just the endgrain of the laminated work table and on mine at least, it sits proud of the support piece glued and screwed in under it.The issue I have with this product seems to be related to quality control and the laminated to. I bought my first one through Amazon but it was from a Marketplace seller. The unit arrived in what looked like good condition but the first step is to attach a solid cross piece to the underside of the table and I immediately noticed the cross piece wouldn't sit flat and realized the table was warped-- convex on the bottom (hence the rocking of the flat cross piece that attaches with glue and screws to the underside) and concave on top, enough that a straightedge left enough room that I could easily see light under it. I returned it and ended up going to a brick-and-mortar store. They had two in stock; one was warped in that same way and one I ended up taking that was OK. So I'd just check the table if you buy one.