Sjoberg (the s is silent) offers two models of portable work station vises. The Smart workstation pro that we tested is the more expensive of the two with additional capacity.
Although the unit is small it has the same look and feel of the Sjoberg work benches that cost thousands of dollars. The unit comes in a hardboard box with a plastic handle so you can transport it if needed.
Th
e Workstation Pro is made out of solid European knot free beech and has a work top size of 15 3/4″ x 14 3/8″ and weighs 22 pounds. The vice capacity is a little over 4″. It includes 4 bench dogs with side springs that fit in one of ten table holes or either of the two holes in the movable face on the vise.
The unit can be screwed directly to a bench or clamped using a couple clamps to the edge of most surfaces. I also discovered by accident that the 3/4″ holes in the base are on the same centers as the 20mm dog holes on my Festool MFT table. This means if you have a Festool 1080/MFT table you can drop this unit on your table directly using extra long dogs and have vise functionality with no modifications.
Everything in
the kit was premium quality except for the screws to assemble the base. They reminded me of the cheesy hardware you get when buying cheap particle board furniture. I went ahead and installed the factory torx screws, but am reasonably sure if I ever have to dissemble the thing it will require drilling the screw heads to remove it. They were pretty much stripped by time I got them in. As a matter of fact I pulled out the impact to finish them off!
Final thoughts
Once assembled, I put the vise to use. Although I have other benches it seems I often have assembly work going on and no place to work. I can clamp this anywhere and I am back in business. Not to mention depending on your work piece the portability gives you the additional benefit of clamping to something at an ideal work height. As an example if you are doing some intricate carving work you might want to sit on a chair while doing it.
I don’t have a single complaint with the operation of the unit. It gives you most of the functionality of a woodworking bench, (size limited of course) for a fraction of the cost. The screw vise is smooth and has excellent clamping pressure. Sjoberg also offers an accessory kit that includes a holdfast, tool clamp and anvil for your vise. We did not have these accessories available to test.
