If you want something cheap and cheerful to hold your timber in place occasionally, it’s hard to argue with Draper’s value for money. Pros We reviewed six of the best-selling workbenches to see which stood out for the motoring DIYer. We tested how well they gripped a radiator hose while being cut, held a wheel while it was being wire brushed, and provided a platform to hold a differential. The Draper’s maximum clamping width of 430mm is the second-smallest we tested, with only the Keter performing worse in this area. The two products have almost identical weights, though Draper hasn’t published a maximum load — it’s unlikely it would match the Keter’s impressive 453kg payload capacity. Then again, this product is half the price. Any workbench will be between 800mm and 900mm high once assembled, though taller patrons, in particular, should look for products approaching the latter height to avoid stooping.

The work boards themselves are larger too, with handy measurements for length and angles which could make fabricating parts easier. Once you’ve finished working, the Draper collapses easily and folds almost flat to make storage easier. The really remarkable feature of the Workmate is the maximum load capacity – a whopping 250kg. That’s enough to hold a Rover V8 engine. We didn’t test it to that extreme, but it certainly felt perfectly secure with our heavy wheel and differential. Mac Allister Folding Workbench 850MM – Recommended To save costs it comes as a big bag of bits, so you’ll need to do about 40 minutes of assembly yourself, but once built you are left with a pretty basic – and small – bench. But it is uncomplicated, easy to use and folds up to a smaller size for storage. The 4.5kg weight means it’s not too much effort to lift off a hook on a garage wall either – that’s less than half the weight of most other benches here.Mine have had a hard life and they still function although one of them has sagged a little in the middle so that it's no longer flat. They're heavier that they look but very easy to carry and store/transport and for that reason they have made my B&D Workmates redundant. They take literally seconds to erect or collapse - much faster than anything else I've ever used. Even the Wolfcraft, whose 180kg max payload is the lowest we recorded, shouldn’t be stretched by internal doors or cabinets.

The clamps are low quality, interchangeable and the bench sizes seem the same but I've never actually measured them. They're versatile and okay for what they do but I wouldn't recommend them as your sole woodworking bench - too low for all day use and not rigid enough for hand planing. Of the products we tested, WORX’s reinforced-steel chassis and Keter’s 3D design were particularly impressive tools of the trade. However, we must praise Bosch’s combination of an aluminium frame and a waterproof bamboo top. Not only is this the most aesthetically pleasing product to store in your tool shed, but it’s also convenient. The stated maximum weight capacity is 100kg, but it felt wobbly even when we loaded it with a wheel and tyre. It’s best left for lighter duty jobs such as painting, where the price means you won’t be so worried about messing it up like you might a more expensive workbench. Clarke CFWB1 Some classic Morris owners might buy this good-value workbench just for the name, but it has another useful feature. In addition to the conventional clamping action of the two plank-like work surfaces, they can also be individually tilted to 45 or 90 degrees. This makes it far easier to hold awkwardly shaped or large components.

Offering a maximum clamping depth of 34mm, its full width of 525mm achieves a mid-table finish in our comparison chart (below). If money was no object, we’d choose the innovative Mac Allister Folding Workbench. It is easy to use, and the size of the surfaces makes it much more useful for most automotive tasks. It also folds down neatly for storage. There are some downsides though. The half-hour it takes to assemble the bench might be forgotten after a while but is certainly an irritation at the time. But the weedy 100kg capacity means you’ll be a little limited as to what the Minotaur can be used for, and it feels a little wobblier when faced with a heavy wheel or other weighty component. At first glance the Clarke bench looks similar to our winning Workmate, with legs that can be deployed or folded to give two possible working heights. It also has a step so you can put a foot on it comfortably to steady the bench while using a saw, or can reach high up if working on a tall parts such as a bumper. The maximum widths we tested ranged from 384mm on the Keter to 850mm on Stanley’s FatMax, with the latter more than sufficient for most jobs.

Draper provides limited information on this workbench, but it’s not our shortlist’s most sophisticated or advanced product. It’s by some distance the cheapest, which is a compelling advantage, though you get what you pay for with this workbench. Bosch claims you can dismantle their product in five seconds, which is an impressive claim if hardly ground-breaking. Our primary concern — and the reason for its relatively low overall score — is that this is the most expensive product we tested, yet it doesn’t excel in any specific area. Pros Our shortlisted benches all have grippy (if compact) feet, reducing their propensity to slip on anything other than polished surfaces.Most of us will have some Silverline tools in our garage or shed. They are good value and useful for jobs which you don’t do often or won’t need anything too sophisticated, such as chisels and hammers. The TB01 follows the same pattern and is excellent value; in fact it is the cheapest workbench we could find. By the time you reach the 450kg weight limit on the WORX, you’re talking about being able to hold an object as heavy as a concert hall-standard grand piano. And when was the last time you felt the need to clamp a grand piano in place and do some sawing? Measurements and Markings Vertical clamping, inboard measurement markings, tool storage, and wobble-free chassis design are some of the attributes we valued highly in testing.