Hands-On: Stanley’s FatMax Mobile Project Center
By Chuck CageIn Use
To test the MPCs usability, we tried it out pretty much in the same way we’d imagine you’d use it: we drug it out into the driveway and used it for a few projects.
As a dolly, the MPC is competent. Two handles extend about a foot above their storage position in “dolly mode” to assist in wheeling it around. We didn’t try moving uber-heavy loads with it because it’s obviously not made for that kind of use. If you want to haul a refrigerator, get out your trusty steel appliance dolly. If you’re looking to quickly move a bulky box around the shop, the MPC can handle the job.
Where the MPC really shines, though, is in use as a project table. The MPC’s composite tabletop doesn’t deliver tons of clamping force, but it was plenty to hold wood or steel in place long enough to drill or cut. We were also impressed with the MPC’s ability to handle odd-shaped pieces. It’s possible to crank one side of the MPC’s table open over than four inches more than the other side to create a pretty severe clamping angle. Creative placement of the moveable “hold down” pieces on the table make it possible to handle curved or even circular workpieces.
We also enjoyed the MPC’s built-in power features. We generally kept it stored with an extension cable inside so we could just wheel it out and plug it in when we had a project. In fact, this became our table of choice for driver testing as we could plug in a driver (or a charger) right where we were working.
We couldn’t help but notice, however, that the box said the MPC can support 660 pounds on its table top. So, we broke out our barrel rig to see how much it can hold.
Testing
Our current rig is capable of delivering a maximum of 946.5 pounds of water, steel barrel, and support steel, and we applied the entire load to the MPC with no failure. We even tried whacking it with a 2×4 a few times, which served only to dent it slightly — the load stayed put.
In all fairness, it would be possible to knock over the test rig as it’s extraordinarily tall, but we felt like this made no sense testing-wise. We could’ve knocked over anything stacked that tall if we tried hard enough.
If you look closely in the (fully loaded) photo below, though, you can see that the MPC’s composite table top is starting to bend at the edges. The barrels’ load is distributed around the outer edge as opposed to squarely across the center, so we’re actually seeing a little deflection.
Note: If you’re disappointed that we didn’t manage to break the MPC, don’t worry — we are, too. We have another rig in the design phase right now that’ll let us put between 1,900 and 3,000 pounds on tables like this, which should be enough to cause them to fail “naturally.” Once we get it built, we hope to give you some more exciting photos.
In the meantime, suffice it to say that the MPC can hold at least 140% of the weight Stanley claims it’ll hold. You can trust that 660 pound claim.
But let’s stop beating around the bush and answer the real question we know you’re asking: how does it compare to the venerable Black & Decker Workmate?
Stanley’s heavy use of aluminum and plastics makes for a unit that’s much lighter than the Workmate, though this lightness does come with a price: the MPC isn’t nearly as stable from side to side as the steel-and-wood Workmate.
On the other hand, it’s much more portable. Even when you’re not using it as a dolly, it’s important that the MPC has wheels. Where we’d have to carry the Workmate 20′ or so to where we were working, we simply rolled the MPC over.
And from a stability standpoint, the MPC was competent enough for the tasks we threw at it. In short: though it is slightly less stable, we didn’t really mind trading that excess stability for portability.
It’s also a lot easier to unfold than the Workmate. Our workmate requires a five step process: pull the lever and unfold the table, then lay it down on its side and unfold each of the four legs individually. The MPC unfolds in a single action, which means faster setup — and less lifting the heavy table.
Read on to page three for our conclusions.
March 30th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Just for the record, it appears that Lowe’s has it for about $85.
March 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I share the concerns about plastic aging. Unfortunately, it’s awkward to simulate 20 or 30 years of embrittlement in a few weeks of testing. I did have one idea, though: Plastic parts become brittle at low temperatures. Yes! An excuse to play with liquid nitrogen!
Although, if you consider it an $85 tool that’ll last ten years before the plastics give out, and that an all-metal version is likely to cost $400, maybe the tradeoff is worth it. In ten years maybe we’ll have 3-D CAM setups in our garages and we can just download the toolwarez torrents that’ll let us machine new parts for copyrighted tools.
March 31st, 2007 at 9:11 am
I wish this was out a year or so earlier when I bought a new work-mate. The idea of having wheels, a low-load dolly and power right there are very enticing.
March 31st, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I just came back from Lowes and have an update on the $85 version they have there. It appears to be the same except in one detail, it lacks the built in dolly. So, if you need the dolly, the one from Lowes isn’t for you.
April 1st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Nate: Just about everything becomes brittle after a liquid nitrogen bath. Save that for making instant ice cream. Now, if you know someone with a walk-in freezer to leave the cart in for awhile…
The other thing that will break down many plastics, is UV light. Exposure to the sun is a factor the regular Workmate won’t have to worry about. But then, the plastic won’t rust, so that may be a six of one, half a dozen of the other trade off.
April 8th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
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April 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am
[…] Kor, having seen our hands-on with Stanley’s FatMax Mobile Project Center, wrote in to let us know that it’s included in a 20% “instant rebate” sale Amazon’s offering today on a variety of tools. That brings the price for the FatMax unit we tested — the one with the on-board power and the two-wheel-dolly conversion — down to the price of the base model. […]
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:22 am
[…] Via Amazon [What’s this?] Hands-On: Stanley’s Mobile Project Center [Toolmonger] Street Pricing [Google Products] […]