When we first hear the name Bora Tool, our minds instantly think of their classic tools. Their edge clamp guides and mobile bases are easily identifiable at a quick glance. Bora Tool didn’t stop there. They added accessories to their edge clamp guides and delivered even more creative products to the world like their folding miter saw stand. Bora Tool is a global manufacturer of power tool accessories that make your tools work better. They offer a variety of accessories for the tools you already have and standalone tools that are unique in their own way. From a folding miter saw station to excellent quick clamps, Bora Tool makes a full line of tools to make your work go a bit faster and easier. They are not done though, they just released the Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse. If you are someone that needs a secondary space setup quickly, you may want to stick around.
Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse – Overview
The sawhorse is nothing new or complicated. It can be as simple as a few 2×4’s and some screws and you have something to lay your material on and cut, sand, or paint. Bora Tools loves to add their own creative, efficient, and productive twists on products or accessories. Over the years sawhorses have someone stagnant in the product development arena Bora Tools has decided to change that with bringing the PM-4500 Speedhorse to market. It is the Cadillac saw horse with some extra horsepower. It is the perfect solution that will save you precious time on setup and teardown so you can work faster and more confident. The Speedhorse™ deploys 30x faster than conventional sawhorses — just pull the release button in the middle of the frame.
Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse – Features
Unit Weight: 17.9 lb
Working Height: 31.5″
Length of top: 45″
Width of top: 3.25″
1500 lb weight capacity
• Quick-deploy and quick-collapse legs — Instant setup is 30x faster than conventional sawhorses. Both setup and teardown take mere seconds.
• Best-in-class weight capacity — Each individual unit can support 1500 lbs. — 200 lbs. more than the leading competitors.
• Non-sequential leg folding — To tear down your worksite, just pull the levers on each end and fold the legs up — doesn’t matter which order.
• Longer, pre-drilled top — More length means more stability. The pre-drilled metal top allows you to screw in a 2×4 as a sacrificial top, saving your equipment from damage.
Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse – Performance
When I first saw pictures of the Speedhorse, my eyebrows instantly went up. I was excited at the thought that someone took the classic sawhorse and made it better. I was really hoping that it would be done right and not geared towards the guy that just bought his first drill. Boy oh boy was I wrong! When the package showed up to my front door, even before opening the box I knew they were made well. The heft told me they were metal and not plastic. A big win for a job site or someone that is going to use these many times a day.
I brought the set of Speedhorses to my shop and they sat leaned up against a wall for a day or so until I had the first opportunity to put them to work. I was assembling cabinets and needed more waist-high space to set cabinets and install hardware. In a matter of 3 minutes I had an extra 4’ x 8’ surface to set cabinets and install hardware. With only two Speedhorses, two two-by-fours, and a sheet of shop plywood, I was able to have an auxiliary space in a snap of the fingers. And better yet, when I was done, the setup tore down in less than 4 minutes.
The quick-deploy and quick-collapsing legs are the clear feature that make the Speedhorse so speedy. With their solid construction, I have no doubt in my mind that I will never put these Speedhorses close to their 1,500 pound capacity.
Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse – Value
Whether you are a contractor on a job site or a professional woodworker, time is money. We are big fans of a tool or accessory that saves up time or money. Focusing on my point of view in my professional woodworking shop, the PM-4500 Speedhorse does exactly that. When I need a secondary space to store assembled cabinets, paint face-frames, or do other tasks, I need a solution that quickly deploys and setups to decrease the time tasks switching takes. With the PM-4500, I can easily grab the two Speedhorses deploy the legs and place a piece of OSB on top and I am ready to go. With the price of $179.00 for two Speedhorses, I find it at an exceptional value. Compared to your standard sawhorse products or shop made units, it is a bit pricey but with the low time of deployment and other features, I think it is going to quickly pay for itself. Especially if you are a mobile contractor and creating multiple spaces a day.
Bora Portamate PM-4500 Speedhorse – Final Thoughts
At first, I was a bit skeptical on how a company could bring a standard saw horse to the next level. After having the set of Speedhorses in my shop for over a month now, I can assure you they have been used more than a dozen times. I am fortunate enough to be able to use some square footage in my brother-in-law’s farm shop and he even has put them to use on farm and cattle equipment! He might be able to get them close to their capacity.
Okay, enough rambling. The real question is would I buy them? Absolutely. Should you buy them? That depends, do you find yourself needing additional space from time to time but don’t have the room? If so, then what are you waiting for? Go get a pair! If you are someone that frequents jobsites and are looking for a better and faster solution to your grandpa’s wooden sawhorses that take up too much of you pickup bed or job trailer? Then go get one!
The Speedhorses are very well made and well thought out. My favorite feature is the Non-sequential folding legs. This means you don’t have to fold one side before the other. Whatever leg you grab first, pull the lever and push the leg into the body and do it to the other side. No thinking or keeping track of the orientation of the Speedhorse.
You can check out the product page on their website – Speedhorse
