Will NOT buy Kobalt Saw Horses again --- Kobalt vs. C650ToughBilt Saw Horses review
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
- A tale of two saw horse sets." It was the toughest of times....It was the bluest of times."
Kobalt over engineered the horses with the folding 2x4 support and threw a wrench in their horse design. ToughBuilt did not make such a mistake.
The Tough Built model I own is the TB-C650.
Here are the stats from their website. (I am not an affiliate. This is just my experience.)
100% steel construction
2x4 support arms create a sturdy jobsite table
1300 lb capacity each, 2600lb per pair
Adjustable height legs
Material support pegs
Pivoting feet
Powder coating and zinc-plated surfaces
Easy carry handle
Dimensions
Closed position: W 42.44 x D 4.53 x H 5.51”
Open, low position: W 42.40 x D 21.46 x H 25.00”
Open, high position: W 42.40 x D 27.36 x H 32.09”
Weight: 19.29 lbs.
They have since updated those kobalt ones. I just bought a set this morning. The 2x4 supports open and close separately now. I don’t know if that helps or not, but I like them so far. We will see.
Thanks for commenting and the update Nick! I haven't seen the updated version but if the 2x4 brackets close separately, it would seem like Kobalt fixed the problem. I like these horses for their smaller footprint when closed (with collapsible 2x4 brackets) but they had problems closing (thus the video of course). I like them for their size over the fixed 2x4 brackets toughbilt which are naturally longer.
Great comparison vid as well as a warning. I'm not a contractor/tradesman, just a DYIer but I believe in good tools and equipment; I was just about to get 2 kobalts when I saw your vid. After watching, I went down to my local Lowe's who had both; when I got there, I started to set up the kobalt and it was pretty much what you said, in fact the first one I tried setting up, the #1 leg wouldn't stay closed, it just swung out and hit my leg; I put it down immediately and set up another one, minor struggle with it as well. So next came the toughbuilt... man, what a night and day difference. Everything was smooth on the toughbuilt. Detents were positive clicks and the adjustable legs were smooth. The toughbuilt wase only $10 more than the kobalt. Well worth the $20 difference for two, but my military veteran's discount offset the difference by half. Thanx for doing this vid, it helped me greatly.
Hey there Nateroo! Thanks for checking out the video and for the comments on your experience! I am glad to have helped you avoid a frustration. I myself, have benefitted from YT videos myself on tools to buy and tools to avoid. Since this video, I have moved the Toughbilt into my trailer as my heavy-duty horses for jobsites. (I also carry a couple sets of inexpensive Stanley plastic horses too). The Kobalt have migrated to my home storage shed for use around the house and are used less so my frustration is less. I like the concept of the horses with the fold in 2x4 support slot but the actual mechanics of the construction leaves a lot to be desired.
Thanks for the advice and the tips on saw horses. Helps greatly with my decision on the product to purchase.
Howdy Danny! Thanks for checking out the video! No problem on the advice. I rely on seeing other contractors use and review tools they have experience with and it guides and informs my purchases as a contractor. Glad I could help pass along my experience too. Have a great one!
This video is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!
Thanks for commenting Carl! You are much appreciated. Glad the review helped. To this day, I have kept the Kobalt horses retired in my shed while keeping and using the toughbilt with the tool trailer.
Good info. Thanks.
I am actually leaning toward the toughbuilts that are a step down from those. My reason: I just want it simple. I don't want to have to deal with all of the adjustments and such every time I open and close my horses. I was also looking at some Kobalts, and this is the precise piece of information that is a decision maker for me.
Thanks for checking out the video KennedyM! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I agree with you in that simple is hard to get wrong and it keeps things easy. I stuck with and continue to appreciate the adjustable legs (even though its an extra step and a part that can malfunction) to allow for 36in "countertop" working height while still being able to adjust down for things like a makeshift table saw outfeed. This being said....the Toughbuilt are the only two adjustable horses I carry on the trailer. I also carry two sets of inexpensive Stanley plastic horses that have the 2x4 slot but are not adjustable and unless I need adjustability or strength for a really heavy material load, I go to the simple Stanleys more than the TB. I get my tool recommendations from YT videos so I get where you are coming from about useful information. Again, thanks for commenting!
Oh, and one more thing, since I am still bored waiting for my order to get stacked at Big Orange:
I ended up buying the next lower grade of Toughbuilts, the 550s. They ran me 88 bones, including my Veterans discount at Orange. But in my price hunting journey, I saw the very next level down, the 500s, on sale at Tractor Supply, 60 bones for a set of two.
Best I can tell, the 500 is nut for nut he exact same as the 550...only it does not come with the pivoting feet. I have hardwood floors in my house, where I do most of my work...so I needed the rubber bottom pivoting feet (although I am still not sure they were worth the extra 28 bucks).
But if you work outside, or on carpet, or on any other surface that won't scratch, go to tractor supply and get those 500s. 60 bones for a set of two is a damned good deal!
Congrat's on the purchase! Thank you for your service as well! I am 11 years army with 11 months in Iraq in 03-04. I just checked Amazon to see the 500s and I think I would pay more and have the feet. On any soft surface like grass, I can just see those sinking under load. And....as a certified goofball who sometimes doesn't think it through, I might set these up on a good surface and damage said "good surface" with those legs by scratching and denting. So for me?......the extra pennies buys me out of a bad decision and costly repair. Good call though on price hunting. You have more patience than I.
@@sdsconstruction Oh, I don't have more patience. It's just that the VA retired me three years ago. What I have is more time.
On that note, thank you for your service as well, my brother. I am 4 years Navy and...well I got the neat shiny ribbon for having a pulse while a war was on in 1991.
That stroke of luck happened because I was on a Spruance Destroyer. The Iraqis dd not have a Navy, so the only role for us was shore bombardment. My ship happened to be the very last of the Spruance Destroyers and at that time, the ONLY one that had not yet gone in to be refitted with the VLS Tomahawks. We had no shore bombardment capability and they had no Navy...so we went into the shipyards to get the missiles installed for the next one, instead. By the time we left the yards with our brand new missile system...the Storm had ended. And that, my friend, is the entirety of my "wartime service."
Agreed on the feet for the horses, as well. I made the same decision, and bought the ones with the feet. But, some folks may not need the feet so...I was just letting them know where those were.
@@kennedymcgovern5413 My brother and my best friend were both Navy and have good experiences. Brother served on the Koelsh and the Kittyhawk(?)...well it was an aircraft carrier. My brother drove the ships I believe and my best friend was in weapons systems.
Thanks for the tips on horses and your experiences! Hope your builds go well. I am currently in the middle of a gut and put back of a room in our house that used to be a porch in 1870 then framed in to a 4-season room sometime around 1900. I demo-ed 5 layers of flooring and the original floor pitch was down 3 inches in 12 feet for water drainage. Home projects are something else!
@@sdsconstruction Haha, mine doesn't go back quite that far, but I have definitely found a lot of weird shit hat people have done to it since it was born in 1965.
yeah, Kitty Hawk was a carrier. I do not know the other one you mentioned, but I am sure a quick googling can fix that. You have to understand, there were almost 7,000 active duty ships coming out of WWII, and even by my day in the late 80s, there were still 600. Haha, even we don't know them all.
after a long day the last thing I want to do is fight with saw horses. ill pass on the kobalt.. have you seen or considered the bora speed horse? I have a pair of c700 but will soon need another pair, I'm considering the bora speed horses, they are kinda pricey though.
Howdy Danny. Thanks for checking out the video and commenting. You are spot on with your observation. End of the day…the sawhorses are going to be some of the last tools put away and who needs a fight! I looked up the Bora and found them on rocker for around $170 a pair. I could own 5 or 6 tough built for that cost and never having used the bora, am not sure I could justify the price for the horse (but they may very well be the diamond of horses, I just have no experience with them.) good luck if you go that way and I would love to hear your experience with them and if it is worth it. Some things are.
Oh brother, I came back here intentionally after I finished my work today, because the conversation we had this morning under this video turned into my favorite Home depot story of my 53 year life. Buckle in, because I have to go back a week in order for this all to make sense.
So I am finishing a major remodel on my own home. I have been working in it for years, but recently sniffed the finish line, so I have been breaking my ass doing the work for a couple of months now. This means I have been putting in very large orders with Lowes and home depot (I have no favorite). So last week I put in my weekly big order and after I read their email telling me it was ready, I stopped what I was doing and got in the truck to go pick up my materials. On the way there, I got another email...telling me that they had cancelled my order, but not to worry because I would get my money back in 3-5 days. Well this pissed me off, so I finished the trip there just to light their sorry asses up.
I got home, and found another email. This one was from some random dude I had never met in my life. he started explaining to me that he had been trying to cancel his order, and mine got cancelled because our order numbers were similar and they screwed up. That was all well and good, and this random dude was the ONLY one to tell me what happened...but it lead to a MUCH bigger question: "brother, would you mind telling me how you got my email address?" Yeah, he answered the question. Home Depot gave him my information.
There wasn't a whole lot I could do with that info, but knew it would be useful someday, so I kept the email and put their major f__k up in my pocket. Now we are caught up to today.
Another weekly big order, including these saw horses we talked about. I chose the 550s and...again, while I was enroute to pick them up...a second email telling me they had cancelled my shit...and that they would again be holding my money for 3-5 days over their screw up. I was so pissed off I think my head almost exploded, and everyone in that store knew I had arrived when I got there. Told the employees I did not even want to talk to them, and to go ahead and send out the boss. I had him and I knew it. I told him what I thought about them holding my money when they screw up, I told him that they did the same shit just the week before and then...I gave him the Tyson uppercut. I pulled out my phone and showed him the email from the stranger last week, showing him that they had given out my information the last time they had done this shit. I told you was holding onto that, right?
There was no fight. It was first round knockout. Suddenly this guy's thoughts were only about how much he was going to have to give me to stop me from suing their ass. So...
I am still getting the refund they started which is around a hundo, He pulled out a pair of the C700s and gave me those for free. I a guessing that was $150. And then, for good measure, they doubled up my plywood and paint order, so I got an extra hundred dollars worth of exterior paint (and I will use it, because I am painting the house), and an extra hundo worth of 8X4 Plywod sheets. I haven't had time to add it all up, but think I walked out of that store with close to $500 worth of free shit.
LOL, so now I have those big daddy sawhorses that you like so much. It was a good day.
DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that one....you cannot make up! What a story (and I really like a tool with a story) around your Cadillac Saw Horses that when talked about in the future, should sound capitalized because They are that good and have an even better story. It could only get better if either Norm Abrams, Bob Villa, or Tim Allen happen to be at the customer service desk at the same time you pulled out your phone to bust the manager and then offered to autograph your new Horses.
Congrats on the Horses, extra ply (worth its weight in gold), and paint. Those will feel real smooth when you install the ply and apply the paint just because they are free and they have a real cool story.
Thanks for the epic tale Kennedy!
@@sdsconstruction Moral of the story: When they screw up, use it if there is a big win on the table that day. But f you will only get something small out of it, don't waste it. Put it in your pocket, and save it for a day when they screw up again (and they will) when there is a bigger score to be had!
Bonus that the story could be enjoyed by the Interwebs!
@@sdsconstruction Oh, and the part I did not mention:
The manager told me, flat out, that he was not charging me anything for the sawhorses. he even told me that the refund for the original purchase would go through...so I was getting them for absolutely free.
But the rest...the free 4x8s and the free paint and all of that...the employees just put all of that on the cart as they trotted out the rest of my order. I had no idea they even did all of that until I got home.
I think that email REALLY shook them up. They weren't even looking for thank yous and back slaps. They were deeply looking to make sure the guy whose information they gave out was HAPPY when he got home.
And that being their obvious goal...I gotta tell ya, they achieved it.
@@kennedymcgovern5413 That makes perfect sense from a manager standpoint to make sure that a situation that could end very badly ends very quietly. Really glad it worked out for you in that the information that was compromised was minimal with a maximal reconciliation! If it had to happen, it is the better/best of both worlds of options.
@@sdsconstruction Agreed, on all counts.
The Kobalt design has now been changed to the same design as the yellow ones. Only difference now is Kibalt has the grip on top the other doesn’t.
Thanks CGP for commenting and letting me know about the change! Someone else had dropped a comment that the new Kobalts were improved. Your updates having me thinking about a shopping trip to update and replace the blue horses with better blue horses! If I do, I will throw these retired horses at a young and new in the business contractor to help get them started and give the old blue ones a second life!
you get what you pay for. i have the tb 700 and its not perfect either as it can get hung up. but for the price difference $40 per and i don't recommend hammering them in.
Thanks for commenting and for adding your experience to the conversation! Like you, I had a hard time with having to modify (with finesse or with a hammer) a horse that I paid a lot of money for..... each! They should work right on their own.
No experience with the kobalt but I have the tough built and I’m very happy with them. Thought about the Bora but couldn’t justify the price.
Howdy @1970gregg! Thanks for checking out the video and commenting. Glad to hear my experience with the toughtbuilt is what others are experiencing. While I do like the smaller size of the Kobalt, the folding mechanism to draw in the 2x4 supports is either under engineered or is made with inferior metals that do not hold their shape/span. Either way, the pro of having a smaller horse with a 2x4 support is countered with the con of the folding mechanism getting hung up more times than not. So Toughbuilt it is.....longer but not fussy.
I have never heard of the Bora horses but looked them up. On Rockler they are currently around $170 a pair. WOW! I am with you on not justifying that purchase.
I am no expert 1970, but I am a fellow 1970 model, if that counts for anything...haha. But seriously, just like you I got here because I was looking for information before making a purchase. So what I am about to tell you is not my personal experience...but something I saw happen while "Tool Review Zone" was reviewing those Boras.
It seems they are great for weight that loads straight down. But Clint, at TRZ, leaned on the Boras while he was reviewing...and just the weight of his body broke them when it came at them at the angle you will get of you lean your body into them. I mean, they flat out busted on him in real time, while his whole subscriber base was watching.
This was my reason for not even considering the Boras so...let it also serve as validation for you that you made a good call!
Do NOT buy the Kobalt sawhorses! I bought them for my father in law who’s a carpenter and uses them daily several years ago. I went to a job site and noticed they now wobble incredibly to the point I thought they would fall down. I’m disappointed to say the least.
Thanks for commenting! I know the Kobalt has a few different models that vary from this one. There might be a HD version and a redesign of this folding 2x4 holder mechanism. I only have experience with this one. Love the concept and folded, it is a more compact horse but the hang up experienced when folding them in is a pain so I have not used these horses in a long time (thus have no long term experience with them becoming unstable when deployed) so this is good to know! I have inexpensive plastic Stanley horses as my "daily drivers" and the Toughbuilt for the HD applications.
Kobalt has a newer model maybe they fixed it
Thanks for commenting! I have so many pairs of horses now, including the two sets in the video, I have not shopped them lately. Next time at Lowes, I will take a look!