Melissa & DougSolid Wood Project Workbench Play Building Set - STEAM Toy

The workbench is made to last. You are assembling a workbench that can be passed down for many, many years.I had no issues with mis-drilled holes or missing pieces. My challenge was tightening screws too early, so parts wouldn't remotely fit together.Let me first give credit to those that assisted me. Randall "Assemble Long BEFORE Gifting", December 24, 2015; P. Craig "My son LOVES it! The bolt holes DO line up, just wait to tighten the leg bolts", may 14, 2018; Stephen G Butler "Kids love it but needs more parts and assembly is painful, November 28, 2013; and Monica K. Lindstrom "Takes time to put together and holes do not line up:, July 20, 2014. Thanks to each of you, I got the workbench assembled--but, unfortunately 2 days after my grandson's birthday.Looking at your assembly instructions, here are my tips:1) Step 1 you will assemble as instructed. Tighten the bolts on this step. Remember that Part C is the front and Part D is the back. Remember that the bolt nuts (Part S) should have the Philips screwdriver head visible.2) Step 2 you need to make sure you have Part C in the front and just hand-tighten the bolts. [I tightened them up well and got stuck at this step.] What you assemble should be able to stand up as shown, but, will be very wobbly.3) Step 3 will be much easier to complete since you don't have a rigid structure. Remember both pieces (Part I) will have the top of the board slightly longer on the top.4) Step 4 was pretty easy. It took me a minute to realize that the bolt nut (Part U) needs to line up to the bolt (Part V). It won't be as obvious as the other times you use the bolt nuts. The structure is still wobbly.5) I then completed Step 7 to get the back braces installed.6) I verified that the boards for Steps 6 and 7 would line up to the holes. And, verified the vise (Part Q) holes would line up to Part M (front board of the workbench surface).7) I then tightened all the bolts on the back and the back legs.8) I installed the tool bar (Part N) in Step 6. This is the first board that requires you to have a Phillips screwdriver.9) I started completing Step 5. I worked from the back since the front board would not be flat (since the screws in the middle and front were not yet fully tightened). I installed the 2 back boards (Part L) and then tightened the middle bolts to be very tight.10) I completed Step 5 (Part M--the front board). I may have tightened some of the front bolts so the surface was flat.11) I then installed the vise (Part Q). It would be helpful to have someone hold the vise tight for you.... I ended up stripping one of the screw heads, but, it didn't impact the overall fit or functionality.12) I tightened the front bolts and declared it done!Some people said it took 30 minutes to complete. Maybe with 2 or 3 people..... I assembled this by myself and it probably took 3 hours when subtracting out the time to switch the legs (I didn't pay attention to the front of the shelf) and then un-tightening the legs that I had just rigidly tightened twice.I did call Melissa and Doug for assistance about the legs. They didn't mention to leave the bolts loose--but I did find that online when the first version of the instructions had it well labeled.My grandson absolutely loved it. This was for his 3rd birthday. I put the tools on the tool bar and put "nails" in the holes for him to hammer. The construction projects are a little advanced for him right now, so those weren't even displayed. He received the workbook yesterday and the first thing he did this morning was hammer some nails--and then pull them out using his hammer.I hope these tips will help you so you can assemble this great product confidently and easily!

bought this for my nephew. assembled it by myself in about an hour or two. seems like it’ll last a long time.

I love Melissa and Doug toys. They put up with a lot of abuse. I can’t recommend this work bench enough. Kids love it.

I got this for my son for his 3rd birthday and we absolutely love it! Very sturdy for little ones and the pieces are the perfect size and functionality for little ones to learn how to use hand tools. It is a little difficult to put together because it uses Allen wrenches, but the instructions are clear and I feel good k owing it is very tightly put together. 10 out of 10 recommend!

We bought this for my son's second birthday in May 2012. He was fascinated by daddy's work in the garage and this was a great choice for brithday. I looked at other workbenches for him but the vice is actually what sealed the deal. The whole thing looked too much like daddy's setup. Assembly was easy enough. It took about an hour if I remember right and all parts aligned and fit properly. You get the workbench (solid) with a wooden saw, hammer, flathead screwdriver, and wrench. There is also a large assortment of wooden nails (pegs, really), bolts, nuts, and pre-drilled boards and cube blocks for building. A booklet shows you how to build all sorts of things (Lego-style instructions). We built robots and racecars and he had fun using the tools. Sometimes I would just attach random parts all over the bench for him to find and use the tools to disassemble. Lots of fun.However, the wooden nuts and bolts aren't perfect. Some screw into the cube blocks and/or nuts without a problem; others aren't sized correctly and strip right out. Expect robot heads and racecar wheels to fall off regularly. After only a moderate amount of abuse, the heads came off on most of the bolts. This might be because of his attempts to overtighten everything. Nothing a little wood glue can't fix, but after one year, all of them have broken at least once. I'm not sure we could fully assemble anything in the book anymore given the state of the wooden threads throughout the set. Regardless, he's about to turn three and still plays with this regularly.Bottom line: We got our money's worth. The bench is solid even if the parts didn't survive a year with a two year old. We can buy other building supplies or use it as a Lego bench. I'm tempted to give it three stars, but it really was a lot of fun.

We bought this for our grandson for Christmas plus an extra set of bolts, screws and pieces. He loves this. It’s easy to assemble and well made. Please note - the additional set we bought for him, while the same brand, is not compatible with this set. The pieces are a different size and you have to use a different screw driver. We still love both and the mismatch is probably buyer error pls it’s good for him to problem solve with different sizes.

Vale la pena

Purchased this item for my grand-kids, ages 4 and 2, for Christmas...package arrived in great shape and no missing pieces. Took some time to put together for one person, but with success - we have a working bench - well constructed and sturdy. Lots of extras, can see the small boxes of these items in photo and can be stored under the bench with the shelf, also pictured. The material is a great quality and nice details. Looking forward to seeing them play with this item... Would purchase from this company again. Thank you.Photos show:1. arrival of box2. inside placement of material3. the extras, came in three boxes4. storage shelf to hold extra pieces5. booklet of things to put together...nice touch!6. size of product next to three fabric shoe boxes and cardboard box for height...nice size.7. side view of product and the mechanics on how it looks once together.