Hands-On: Stanley’s FatMax Mobile Project Center
By Chuck CageSummary/Conclusions
No matter how much weight it can hold or how sturdy it is, the real test for the MPC is two-fold: how much will you use it and how long will it last. With the MPC and the Workmate sitting side-by-side in the shop, we often found ourselves favoring the MPC over our older Workmate because the MPC is so much easier to get out and put away. We do wonder how the MPC will hold up over decades as the plastic parts in the MPC’s clamping mechanism and structure are certainly more fragile than steel. (Our Workmate is at least 15 years old, I’d guess. I don’t know for sure as I bought it used back then.)
But that said, I also can’t help but wonder if I’m just getting old. Maybe I’m just having trouble accepting the fact that newer materials often make life easier.
You’re going to have to be the judge of that — and face your own similar demons. In the meantime, I can tell you that the MPC didn’t break while we had it, even though we abused the hell out of it — in daily use and on purpose.
Street pricing starts around $125 — we found it for $108 from Amazon — which is quite reasonable considering the MPC’s complexity and quality. I think we’re going to pick one up to keep.
The FatMax Mobile Project Center [Stanley]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Via Amazon
Update: Acording to comments, Lowe’s has this for $85 right now.
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
[...] read more | digg story [...]
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] [...]