Melissa & Doug Solid 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!

This was fairly simple to assemble, the directions were well written. My 20 month old grandson has used this since xmas and it's holding up very well. He beats on the surface with whatever he can and, although the surface has dents (it's pine so it's soft), it's standing up to him. He's also discovered this is a great ladder and it holds up that that as well! The shelf underneath is a bonus for storage, it's large enough for a few small plastic boxes and holds the weight of the contents. Anyone who has a child either knows or needs to know that Melissa and Doug's quality is awesome and worth the price. Amazon had the best price for this.

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!

As always, Melissa and Doug products deliver simple, no frills toys that kids LOVE! We bought this for my son's second birthday. It was easy to put together. I did it by myself in under 30 minutes. My son loves the tools, is learning how to connect pieces to create something bigger, and like to put things away where they belong (perfect sized slots for each tool). My older son, 9 years old, loves to make the cars and more difficult creations provided in the sample book. There is plenty of storage underneath for all the small pieces and of course it's so strong and durrable. I'm sure we will have it for years.

As for the workbench- totally awesome. Extremely sturdy and super easy for one person to put together in a short time frame. All pieces lined up nicely and I had no issues. However, the play screws and bolts are terrible. After first play we broke two screws to the point beyond repair and they broke off inside one of the nut blocks so all four pieces were ruined. The screws are wood and terrible terrible terrible to thread. Not easy for little ones to manipulate. The good thing is that I purchased the Hape Master kit and tool box sets to go with the workbench as others said they were compatible. They are compatible however the Hape kits are much more durable, sturdy, and easy to manipulate. The pieces are mostly wood but the screws and bolts are super chunky plastic which are a LOT easier to build with. No broken pieces from these and it makes me very tempted to just toss the M&D screws. Still extremely happy with the workbench. I will be buying more Hape tool kits to go with these and forgo any further M&D tool accessories.

Bought this workbench for our 18-mo grandson for Christmas. Our son was kind of dreading assembly of the unit, hence waited a few days after Christmas to do so. Turns out dad and toddler had a fun time assembling together, and grandson has already mastered identification and proper usage of hammer (both hammering and removing “nails”), screwdriver, wrench, and saw. All pieces went together well, and work as they should. The tot loves playing with the set, though at his age, mastery still requires adult involvement. I like that it focuses the child on fine motor skills, esp for those who tend to be gross motor kiddos :)Very pleased with quality and value for the dollar.RECOMMEND