Strong Hand Nomad portable welding table review

[redbeard]

Knowing HF I'm sure it will fold up, the better question is; Was it designed to?

ROTFL

The height adjustment is just a pinch bolt so it's infinite, but not that strong, while the angle is 3 fixed stops. Drilling a few pin holes for the height and adding some washers to the angle would reverse those. For the price I bet the HF one is more than adequate, and you wouldn't feel bad about abusing it a little. If they have one at my local store I will probably get one just because.

Interesting, mine has both pinch bolts and pins, I wonder which one is the new version. From 150 down to 60, that has to be one of the most hyper-inflated list prices I've seen, even by HF standards. Too bad they didn't have these 6 months ago, I for sure would have gone the HF route for $45.

[Rambozo]

Interesting, mine has both pinch bolts and pins, I wonder which one is the new version. From 150 down to 60, that has to be one of the most hyper-inflated list prices I've seen, even by HF standards. Too bad they didn't have these 6 months ago, I for sure would have gone the HF route for $45.

You're right, the Stronghand does have both pins and pinch bolts, I must have forgot.

[Rambozo]

Ok, here is a comparison between the two tables.



The HF table came packed just about as I remember the SH. I initially expected to have to replace the hardware as I tend to do on most HF products. However, this time the bolts seemed to be far better than typical HF. Maybe the 8.8 markings were actually not counterfeit. I did strip out one of the small screws that holds the top on, but the others took normal torque no problem. This thing is such a close copy, they even included the pair of bolts that SH did for attaching the optional table connector, even though there was no mention of it in the manual. They did warn you to chase away bystanders while you put it together. Good advice as they always have something stupid to say. But if that doesn't work, you might want some alcohol, drugs, or medication, to make them more tolerable.



The main differences are that there is no height adjust, but that could be added very easily with a few scraps of 1" square tube. The top is held on with four screws instead of six. There are no wheels or handle, but I just noticed the holes for the handle are there. The HF has a somewhat superfluous cross brace near the top, but it mounts with large slots and can't be bolted tight with both parts being unsupported tubing, so it does little to add strength. Last are the slot differences in the top.

The top wasn't folded all that well so the sides have a bulge in the center. Maybe they used a Harbor Freight brake? I'm sure a block of wood and a hammer can make short work of fixing that.



Even the Nomad required a small shim washer, under one clamp bolt, to make the two edge guides, square.



Until I get the HF one straightened, I can't really say how square it is. Again not a big deal to fine tune if needed. These are just stamped steel tables after all, but they are both pretty flat. No complaints there. The pivot on the SH has a clipnut for the handle so it could be replaced vs, a welded on nut for HF. Again no big deal. I'm still not thrilled with the angle adjust system, but as I have yet to ever move it from 90° I doubt I will ever change it. I might make it height adjustable, or just tweak it to match the height of my main welding table. The legs do fold up just like the SH but since the top doesn't lower it makes a slightly larger package. That might be one good reason to make it height adjustable, if you are fighting space or want to tuck it into a small car trunk or something.



The steel used was about the same thickness give or take a few thou. Some a little thicker on the HF, some on the SH. I call it pretty even and it shows in the overall weight, 36.5 lbs. for the HF and 37 for the SH.



Overall, I can see no reason to spend an extra $100 for the Stronghand. With the current sale, and a 25% coupon, $45 is damn hard to beat.

[Shaggy]

Rambozo, great review. Thanks, I think I'll pick one up next time I'm at HF.
How long did it take to get that cat to stand under both units for the pictures? haha

Steve

[Elantramax1]

So, What is the Verdict??

[arctime]

I've got one and I like it. For the price (using a coupon) I'm satisfied. The only nit and I think it applies to the Nomad too is the cheap plastic cap feet. I busted one in an instant after a CRS coupon dropped on it. Blowed up real good. Plastic shards everywhere. I'm going to replace the feet with rubber caps that you would use on furniture legs and see how that holds up or I might wrap the pipe with some .25" EPDM scrap.