Over at Amazon, the Rockwell Jawhorse is on sale again for the holidays – at $99.
This 3-legged workstand isn’t without its flaws, but it makes for one heck of a good portable work-holding vise. This model, RK9003, can apply clamping pressure up to 2,200 pounds, and can support up to 600 pounds of weight.
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It can be used to support cabinets, or whatever else you need to work on. The jaws extend to 37″, and the entire unit folds down into a compact and portable package. At 43 pounds, it won’t break your back to carry around either.
Here’s another discussion about the Rockwell Jawhorse from this past May. There are plenty of others, mainly deals that popped up during past years’ holiday promos.
Why are there so many previous deal posts about the Rockwell Jawhorse? Quite simply put, it’s a great DIY and workshop helper, and $99 is a great price.
I have not tried this model yet, but I have had positives experiences with an older model and the higher capacity Sheetmaster.
We don’t know when this promo pricing will end. Before the most recent price drop, this Jawhorse was priced at ~$150.
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Tom
This is a nice deal. Be sure to check Lowes. Sometimes they play games with the price and really discount them heavily this time of year.
Stuart
It’s $99 at Lowes (for my zip code at least), and sold out at the nearest store.
Chris
I picked one up from Lowes for $99 last week. Also if you have a military id you get 10% off at Lowes and Home Depot.
fm2176
I splurged and bought two at around $70 each earlier this year. GJ members were finding them as cheap as $30 at Lowes, but I wasn’t so lucky. I’ve used one of them a couple of times and it works great. I’d definitely buy one at $100 if needed, knowing what I know.
Sean
Lowes seems to frequently do insane things with pricing. They will discount tools heavily in what looks like an attempt to clear them out just to continue stocking them the next month. Why in the world would they sell the Jawhorse for$30 when they know they’ll be carrying them and people will be buying them for the foreseeable future?
If it were some ad campaign gimmick to get people in the door, it would make sense. However, they seem to do this silently, and only a lucky by-passer or a price “digger” will ever be able to benefit.
Both Lowes and Home Depot also seem to discount odd stuff on a store-by-store basis. I walked into my local Home Depot and got a M12 Rotary Tool Kit for $59.99 once. I looked it up online and it was still $99.99. The store down the street had it at $99.99. It’s like this one particular store got sick of looking at a few boxes… Oh, by the way, they still carry it now for $99.99.
Yadda
Great price for a handy tool. The portability of this sturdy tool is one of the great selling points.
SteveW
I looked at a Jawhorse once and I honestly can’t imagine a use for one of these overpriced things. I say one because they are never advertised or promoted being used or sold as a pair. They are far too expensive for the average DIY person to buy two. If they were $30 each or $50 for a pair then maybe I’d look at it again. A pair of nice metal fold up sawhorses with long 2×8 tops, a pair of 8 foot 2x4s, and 4 Irwin quick clamps would be far less costly than one of these and about 100 times more versatile and therefore useful.
I can understand when there is an advancement in a tool, either design or functionality, then there is merit. This thing isn’t any of that. Take planes for example. Craftsmen have been using planes for a couple centuries. First wooden bodies, then the advancement and improvement of steel bodies, finally electric planes for those that want the speed and don’t have the patience or skill (like me) to properly sharpen and set one up. It’s an evolution, you can see the same thing with hole boring equipment.
The Jawhorse isn’t an evolution of anything except maybe it’s a giant vise. But it’s not fastened to anything! There’s a reason vises are attached to or part of heavy workbenches, so you can let you work on your project piece with both hands. A vise gives you a strong stable third hand, this not only doesn’t add one, it takes one away because you still have to make sure your project doesn’t fall over!
Please feel free to come up with a scenario that can’t be done better with the sawhorse arrangement described above.
Tool user
I have used it very effectively to single-handedly set perfectly placed vertical deck post into concrete. The three legs work ideal on uneven surfaces. I have used other methods in the past, and this is the quickest and most accurate I have found.
SteveW
Ok, I’ll give you that the three legs are good for uneven ground. But there’s two problems with your deck post situation.
First, you can only do one at a time, imagine how long it would take if your deck/fence needed 8 or 12 or 22! Plus if it gets windy the whole thing moves around, and during the night (you do leave it for 24 hours, right) it’s vulnerable to theft.
Second, I don’t know how it is everywhere, but where I live a deck post has to be bolted with a galvanized post anchor to a concrete footing poured in a tube form.
Tool user
There are no problems with my use case. I do it!
It is a matter of planning, technique and materials.
I prepare and set one post at a time with easily available quick set concrete. After setting one post, I dig the second. By that time, the concrete is set enough to move onto the next post. If I need alittle more time, no problem, I am not doing this professionally.
Blowing around? What velocity of winds are you talking about? This is a square post, not a mast with a sail.
Theft. Never an issue in my neighborhood. But, if I had to leave it outside unattended, a simple bike lock would work or a couple nylon zip ties.
I live where the ground does not freeze (no heaving). Our building codes allow post to be set into concrete directly into the ground. Pretreated post negate any problems with insects or rot.
Charles
There are a couple of things they can do, but though they are neat, they are pretty useless. My 2 only come out of storage a couple of times a year.
I was thinking of buying 2 at $69 when my local lowes had them. Probably should have. At 99 still overpriced