WEN 48-Inch Workbench with Outlets & Light

I had been using the bottom of a shelving unit (see pic) for years as my work/tool bench. It was small and flimsy but did the job, kinda. I finally realized it was time to grow up and get a real bench and I settled on this unit from Amazon. Overall, it is a fantastic bench at a very good price. I wasn’t in a hurry to get it when I ordered it so the month long shipping time wasn’t a big deal, but to my happy surprise it arrived in less than 2 weeks.

It comes flat packed and is fairly heavy so I would recommend having at least 2 people move it. The outside of the box was a bit banged up, but the contents were unharmed and all parts were there. It comes with instructions which are fairly good but pay close attention to the pictures, instructions and the orientation of the parts when you are attaching them. It can make a big difference if it is backwards although it’s not always obvious that it is until you go to attach a later part. I found attaching the upper shelf part that hangs out over the bench and the light attaches to, difficult to put together in the right order. Pay close attention during that part of the assembly and recruit a helper if you can.

Pros:
– Looks really nice
– high quality parts
– solid construction (no wobble or flexing)
– LED light included to light work surface
– Outlet with 3 “plug ins” integrated into right side of bench with long cord attached
– Upper shelf is recessed so unsightly things can be stored and hidden and the chance of objects falling off is minimal
– Work surface is thick, solid and textured for less slip and coated so spills will not soak in. It can also be drilled into to attach a vice for example
– there are 2 drawers that are wide and long, although not very deep. They are great for storing boxes of nails and screws, but you could also order some utensil organizers to use for storing various tools.

Cons:
– I would say I’m pretty versed at putting furniture, shelving units, engines etc together and this took me much longer than I had expected. It was probably between 4 and 5 hours all said and done (not counting breaks). It wasn’t complicated, just a lot of small bolts and nuts to put in and tighten, often from weird angles.
– I wish the back of the bench was about a foot taller, giving you more space on the peg board but still allowing a person of average height to reach the shelf.
– The peg board material isn’t as robust as I’d like, however I believe it should be sufficient to hold any regular hand tools hung from it. It might be stretching it to hang a drill with a heavy battery though.
– Putting together the upper shelf and making sure it was level was more difficult that it needed to be. If possibly have another person hold the shelf level while you tighten the bolts. I didn’t have anyone available at the time unfortunately.

In sum, I really like this bench so far. It is solid enough for my needs, it looks great, it created a lot of storage and opportunity for tool organization and the size of the work surface is perfect. I highly recommend this bench for storing tools or craft supplies and it gives you a plenty of area to do projects. It shipped faster than expected and packaging is tough enough to take a beating but protect the contents. Also, it came with all needed hardware and included some extras just in case. You will need a phillips head screwdriver and a small adjustable crescent wrench for assembly.

The desk seems sturdy and well made however there are a few annoying flaws. The main issue I have is that the light is extremely dim. It doesn’t provide nearly enough brightness to work on anything on its own. I’m having to look for a desk lamp to use because the desk is too wide to accommodate a light with a clamp. What’s also annoying is that the light it comes with has a short cord that doesn’t have a place to feed through the back so you have to put it through the pegboard and plug it into the actual desk outlet unless you placed your desk right in front of an outlet. The outlet that you install on the side of the desk is a bit odd because there’s nowhere to feed the cord through the back so it just sticks out the side.

The other issue I have is that the drawers are slightly hard to open and close all the way. They’re aligned properly and everything is installed correctly but they take just enough force to annoy me every time I open them. I’m hoping they loosen with time.

Fortunately, the assembly instructions are good. Pay attention to the part that says not to tighten the screws until you finish assembling. Some parts don’t go together well if all the screws are tight. Several of the screws are in difficult to reach locations when you need to tighten them. I think it’s worth the trouble. This work table is very sturdy. The overhead light is great for illuminating your work. The drawers won’t hold anything very heavy, but they’re adequate for small hand tools or hardware. I wouldn’t want to put it together again, but it seems like it will last.