Customer Rating: 
Summary: Home Decor Meets Woodworking
Comment: I have been a Workbench subscriber for a little over three years, but I've been purchasing the magazine for almost a decade. When the magazine first came out, it focused on tools and woodworking projects for the home and shop. However, around January 2007, they did a radical re-design. In my opinion, for the worse.
Now, Workbench magazine is a home decor magazine with a woodworking slant. It is more along the lines of a Good Housekeeping with a few simplistic tool reviews and a variety of home decor projects such as storage ideas, home makeovers, and appliance guides.
As stated before, Workbench no longer appeals to the woodworker in me. Their current emphasis on home decorating projects and articles such as "Fancy Floorcloths" and "Take a Seat and Reinvent it...with flower power." (Issue #303)are nice for somebody looking to redecorate, but I am looking to gain knowledge and read intersting articles.
While Workbench has recently fallen short of my expectations, I can see how it may be nice for getting a few helpful hints and ideas. I, for one, will not be renewing my subscription.
Customer Rating:
Summary: OK, but not the best
Comment: A year ago I decided to tear out my old workshop and start all over with a new layout, new equipment and new storage. To get lots of ideas I subscribed to Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Popular Woodworking, Wood, and Workbench. The one I'll be dropping is Workbench. I have found Workbench to be too light on content. My ranking is:
Fine Woodworking
Popular Woodworking
Fine Homebuilding
Wood
Workbench
Customer Rating:
Summary: Making your Home Look Better
Comment: Workbench is a magazine aimed at do-it-yourself type people who like to work on their own home improvements and save money in the process. This publication presents dozens of woodworking ideas for home improvement and a few for hobby, with plenty of instructions and diagrams to make sure you get it right.
Most of Workbench is focused on the exterior of one's home. As you page through an issue, you will notice plenty of articles on building wooden decks, new porches, and other decorative ideas to improve the outside appearance of your residence. There are a few projects for the inside, usually dealing with construction of cabinets, bed frames, and other things. But for the most part, the articles deal with outdoor woodworking tasks.
I like the photos in this magazine because the projects always look so fancy. They are perfectly constructed, clean, and well- finished and they make you want to get off your booty and start working on your own home. In many cases, the articles in this magazine do tend to make things seem a little too easy when, in reality, these projects can often take many days or even weeks to finish. But the end results are worth it not only from a financial standpoint, but also from the sense of pride you feel from a job well done.
Workbench is a little more expensive than other magazines, but for those who enjoy working with their hands, this publication is worth the cost. With some effort and some good ideas, you can greatly improve your home's appearance and value with some new outdoor trimmings. Workbench shows you exactly how to get the job done with plenty of woodworking projects to enhance your residence inside and out.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Making Things Better
Comment: There is no lack of woodworking magazines for the budding (or advanced) craftsman. Each has a particular audience for its contents. For someone looking for the right magazines to subscribe to this can be a confusing process. Especially when the potential reader isn't precisely sure what they want themselves. Workbench Magazine is, as the subtitle indicates, concerned with 'woodworking to improve your home.' The implication that the focus is on carpentry and basic cabinetry rather than complex design and joinery is correct. But don't make the mistake of thinking that that means that the projects and articles offered are in any way simple or humdrum. Recent features include a complex swing out pantry, mobile garage organizers and a simple, but very nicely made garden storage bench.
Technical articles tend to center on hand tools, finishing, and basic techniques, but don't be surprise when you discover that this also includes making a panel-raising router table and a cabinet door project using the same. Or an in depth report of a joinery machine. The focus is not on the tools though, but on what might be done with them.
Regular Departments include questions & answers, tips & techniques, tools & equipment, and craftsmanship. There are no surprises here, but Workbench is clearly aimed at the competent craftsperson that is interested in home improvement and doesn't mind an undertaking that is a bit of a stretch. One who isn't in the mood to spend a fortune on sawdust makers either. Solid practical writing marks all the articles.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Really it should get 4 1/2 stars...
Comment: I regularly read all of the major woodworking magazines and this one has begun to grow on me quite a bit. Granted, for the subject matter it is not as highbrow as Fine Woodworking or Fine Homebuilding, nor is it as simple and practical as something like Family Handyman. What this magazine IS is an attempt to provide a balance between the various interests of us homeowner-woodworkers, whether we happen to be weekend warrior newbies or knowledgable home improvement veterans. Simply put, most woodworkers are not only passionate about building woodworking projects but also about improving our homes. I applaud this magazine for doing a good job of "bridging" this span of interest.
Now for the nitty-gritty. I find the writing in Workbench to be very good, the photography and illustrations are clear, the shop tips submitted by fellow readers are always a highlight, and by including projects for the home and yard right alongside finer furniture projects, there is always something in every issue for nearly every interest. Also, I don't care who you are or how long you have been doing this stuff, there are always new/more tools to consider and the quality tool reviews found in Workbench are always welcome!
Ignore the naysayers and pick up a copy of this one to see for yourself. I highly recommend it!
