Great idea! I've been racking my brain trying to think of inexpensive options for a table for outdoor parties and this might just be the thing.

Thanks Regina! I've a feeling this will be making its way into my home very shortly!

I see it has feet that level. That's handy. Is the top actual wood? I find formica-type fake wood in the most unexpected places.

I wanted to know the dimensions, so I looked it up on their website. It's 96"W x 24"D x 34.5"H. Alas, too big for my house. It doesn't specifically say if it's real wood, it says "large 1.25" thick butcher block worksurface."
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00914644000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

Sears is going to wonder why they suddenly start selling out of this product.

I love this! Wish I had the space for it!

the bar at the foot of the bench on the backside makes it less than ideal for a table.

and the wood screams for a staining to make it look really good

When did $230 bucks become cheap!?

haha, i know! "CHEAPEST EVERRRR!!!!" i was expecting it to be, at most, $40.

$230 is quite alot for a single Ma like me, but the seed has been planted! Perhaps I'll find something similar in the basement workshop of an Estate/house sale....my garden tools from dark and dirty cellars have been tip-top!

I need an island in my kitchen, but only 2 of the 8 feet would fit.

It looks like it could be copied by a handy DIY-er to the desired dimensions.

I need a maid in my kitchen.

On the same page is the butcherblock alone:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00914965000P?mv=rr&i_cntr=1307115562287

I'm seeing new kitchen counters...

Is this something that's supposed to fit in a small home?

"Cheapest ever" is sort of funny considering I have a $15 thrift store console table used as a hutch of sorts in my dining room. I was thinking $25-$50. But it is lovely as far as work benches go...maybe I can buy it for my husband for Father's Day and then sneak it out of the garage for use somewhere in the house...

I like the look of butcherblock.

230? just make it. you could probably get the materials to make this for under 150.

awesome idea! It's so simple and gorgeous! Great multi-use product!

I like the proportions.

$230 is relatively cheap for a welded steel base and real wood butcher block top. (Remember this sells as a workbench for use with your drill press and jig saw -- it's not particle board and laminate!)

I got something very similar at Costco last year for the garage, and it was in the same price ballpark. Very nice! (I think mine has thicker legs...)

For the question about it being real wood, the answer is most likely "yes". For a true work bench, marketed to the DIYer, it's probably rock maple butcher block, which, maple is a cheap enough wood, (and grows natively! it's probably even sourced from maine or vermont or some other new england state, which has a great lumber industry, not to mention hard maple is also a "byproduct" of the maple syrup industry).

Formica and other products are typically used where aesthetic is more important and usage will be lighter.

@ bobthefish, Good points. Thanks.

You stole my idea!!! Which I stole from an AT thread about a year back where this was suggested :)

I bought this exact same work bench from Sears about 2 months ago. It's really great because:
1. It's giant - 8 feet long but just about 2 feet wide, so it also works great as a room divider
2. It's INCREDIBLY sturdy - it doesn't shake at all, and I have one side on carpet and the other on linoleum

FYI, Sears has monthly sales for about 12 hours where every tool (including workbenches) are 15-20% off, so wait for one of those. I got mine for just under $200.

@pkyc00
I wouldn't think so. 2ft is a little narrow to have 2 ppl/place settings facing each other; I'd imagine you'd only have ppl seated on one side anyway. Or you could have 2 of them pushed together, but that's a little to much commitment to the industrial look, I think.

I'm pretty tired of AP making posts about "cheap" products that turn out to be merely affordable.

Couple years ago I bought 2 workbenches similar to this at Wal-Mart for less than $40 each. They are smaller but versatile to use all over the house and garage.

$240 is very inexpensive for a NEW furniture item quality steel and wood piece. You can't directly compare used thrift store items versus a new item that is guaranteed to be in stock.

Are you all seriously that poor? I grew up poor and if I was as poor now as I was then, I wouldn't be able to afford a computer or an internet connection or the coffee to sit at a starbucks.

Thomcat, agreed! the equivalent quality 34" high x 80" wide table sold as interior furniture would be upwards of $600 to $1500, depending on the branding.

I think this might be the answer to our need for a very long console table in our family room.

appreciate the tip!

after katrina, i went to lowe's at least 3 times/week (there are 3 lowe's in new orleans & they were having FABULOUS sales on stuff all the time back then). i looked at workbenches all the time with this in mind. they're MUCH cheaper than their kitchen kin, and built for heavy duty work. makes perfect sense to me. (i finally ended up going the really really cheap route & pushed two leftover wall cabinets together & plopped a piece of finished wood on top.)