Black and Decker Work Mate. Do you still use one?

[Dave Lehnert]

I purchased the Black And Decker Work Mate years ago because at the time it was the Bee's Knees. Everyone had one.
I never did like it. not that it was bad. Just did not feel right to me to work with. Been in the corner of my shop for years or I guess it's still there???? Maybe I should get it out and give it another try????

I do have a bench-top model and it get used regularly.



Anyone still use one?


https://youtu.be/xfxLNJjUB4s

[David Powell]

I've had one for over 25 years. As with yours, mine sits in along the wall of my shop. I have occasionally dug it out to use for an outside project; otherwise it gathers dust.

[Mike Kees]

I use one quite a bit. I made a roller ball out feed support that slides in it 20 or so years ago that still gets some use 4-5 times a year. I have a plan for a portable router table that will use a workmate for the base as well.

[Matthew Hills]

Mine is tucked in underneath my tablesaw wing, so I pull it out any time I move my table saw.
I don't use the clamping or other features.
I do use it as a temporary table -- to store workpieces, or set up my portable router table.
(or when I had a lunchbox planer)

I normally use saw horses and a door for temporary table use.

Matt

[Sean Nagle]

My workshop is in the basement. I still use my Workmate in the garage. One of the nylon parts for the vise has broken. I wish they made metal replacement parts for it.

[Marty Gulseth]

I still have mine, 30 +/- years on. Can’t say I’ve been actively been using all the features lately, as I figured out that it is a decent stand for my DeWalt 735 planer.

[Wayne Cannon]

I have and use a couple of them as bases for medium-sized tools that I don't use all the time. I make a plywood base with a 2x2 rail underneath, then clamp the 2x2 in the Workmate. None of the fancy features in the new/expensive styles are useful for this use.

For example, I use a grinder with carbide wheels (augments my permanent Al Oxide grinder), a 1" belt sander, and a heavy metal-working vise this way.

--Wayne

[Carl Beckett]

I have three of these (thrown in with misc deals over the years) and use them all the time instead of saw horses. Could make do with two.

I also have a Rockwell Jawhorse. It gets little use.

[Mike Kees]

What I remember the most about these is the amazing commercials when they were first introduced. You just had to run out and buy one,my Dad did. We used it to sharpen chainsaws a lot,just clamped the bar in and filed away with the saw hanging of the end. Dad is left handed so he did one side and I did the other. It was also the tool of choice when he taught me to run a skilsaw,no worries about work holding,just concentrate on the saw.

[ray grundhoefer]

Got one for christmas many years ago. Have maybe used it once I think.
It sits under my table saw outfeed table . At least its out of the way

[Frederick Skelly]

Mine sits dusty and unused most of the time. Once, for a year or so, I put it on a wheeled base and installed a planer on top. But other than that it very seldom got any use in the years Ive had it. I have seen some u-tube videos where they really trick-out their Workmates. I was not interested enough to try.

Maybe it's a problem solver for folks without space for a permanent workbench though?

[Charles Lent]

I have 3 of them. One was a gift about 40 years ago and two were picked up at yard sales for about $20 each in near new condition. They aren't used every day, but when I first moved into this house and my shop was still in boxes, they were my workbench in the driveway for all of the projects that one faces when buying a new/old house. One held a router table for many years. Another held my planer, until I bought the miter saw.planer stand for it. They have proven handy when building my shop out building, working on the boat, cars, and trucks. Any time that I need a small portable work surface one or two get put to use. I can't remember any time that all three were used at the same time, but it may have happened. The more that you use them, the more uses that you will think of to put them to use. Right now my son has one of them and it's looking like this may have been a long term loan since it's return keeps getting delayed.

Charley

[Al Weber]

I have two of the older styles and one of the scissor leg models. One of the old ones (with the broken latch lock) is used as a permanent sharpening station in a corner to hold my WorkSharp. The other older one I bought at an estate sale and has metal latch locks and is used for assembly, out feed, and other miscellaneous jobs. The new one sits in a corner to be used occasionally as it sits higher than the older ones but it isn't nearly as useful. At the time they were useful for around the house and garage jobs; not so much any more. But I'm one of those people who tries to use anything I ever purchased instead of admitting I screwed up when I bought it.

[Jim Becker]

I have had one for many decades...probably from the 1980s or so. In recent years it spent some time tucked away on our front porch (out of sight/out of mind) and got seriously degraded. Late last summer, I took the time to make new top pieces from MDF so it became usable again. I don't pull it out often but it's a handy thing to have. I'm sure that if I get any on-site installation needs for my business that it will go along for the ride just as my MFT might, depending on the actual need.

[Al Launier]

I've had one for ~ 15 years. It works well as a storage shelf! :rolleyes:

[Dick Mahany]

I've had my Type 2 model 425 (made in Canada) since the mid 80's. I used it frequently back then but seldom used it once I built a workbench. It mainly got used as a table to hold things like my spray gun or collect junk. As I started running out of space in my shop, it eventually got pushed up to the wall in a remote corner and went unused for many years. It was difficult to store since it wouldn't stand upright when folded.

Recently I rediscovered this old but handy little work table and built a wheeled base to store it on that keeps it upright. Now I find myself using it more and more simply because it is so quick and easy to roll out and set up. I'm glad I never got rid of it.

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[Matt Day]

My shop is also in the basement, and I use my workmate ($5 garage sale buy) in the garage. Mainly it’s used as the table for my lazy Susan which I use for spray finishing. But I’ve also used it to put my little lawn mower or snow blower on to change the oil or whatever.

[Chris Fournier]

For site work, for sure.

[Stan Calow]

I sometimes use it for holding large pieces of wood that I am trimming with a circular saw. But I think its just too heavy to be really portable. Sawhorses work Ok.

[William Adams]

I have a cheap clone, which I used to use quite frequently (my basement workbench is better suited to metalwork than woodwork) since I do my most of my work outside.

Picked up a "Husky Portable Jobsite Workbench, model 225047" along w/ a Husky Rolling Connect system hoping that it'd work better for me --- still trying to get the tools sorted out into a reasonable arrangement, and would like to work up a system to connect the rolling workbench to the cart so that two trips can become one.

I'd also like to work up a better vise / workholding system for the Husky workbench, ideally one which could hold lumber for re-sawing, which is the main use of the Workmate clone. Once I get that sorted out, the clone will probably be given away.

[Frank Drackman]

I have three Sears knockoff versions that I store in a shed. Their best feature is the adjustable height. Great for a temporary assembly table or extension to my main work bench.

I never used the clamping function. Before I built the outfeed table for my table I used one of them.

Now I mostly use them outside to clamp on a meat grinder to make chum for fishing... which is why the are now stored in the shed.

[Kris Cook]

I have had one since the 80's. It has hung on the wall of the garage at times but also used as a router table holder, small band saw holder, small jointer holder. I am sure it will find a place in the new shop for something. At the very least, it will be handy if I need a work station outside or away from the house. I put non-skid paint on the steps back in the day. Its still on there. I don't quite remember why I put the paint on there. Must have been to put my foot on the step to hold the base steady if needed.

[Lee Schierer]

I have one of the original "Model A" versions with the aluminum cast supports. It gets used regularly. My son has the Model B type that belonged to my father and his gets use often as well. They make a nice work bench/aid when doing outside projects or even in the shop. In fact we just used mine yesterday to support a piece of 1-1/2" pipe so we could remove a fitting we needed.

[Dave Lehnert]

I've had my Type 2 model 425 (made in Canada) since the mid 80's. I used it frequently back then but seldom used it once I built a workbench. It mainly got used as a table to hold things like my spray gun or collect junk. As I started running out of space in my shop, it eventually got pushed up to the wall in a remote corner and went unused for many years. It was difficult to store since it wouldn't stand upright when folded.

Recently I rediscovered this old but handy little work table and built a wheeled base to store it on that keeps it upright. Now I find myself using it more and more simply because it is so quick and easy to roll out and set up. I'm glad I never got rid of it.

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I like the stand with wheels idea. May give that a try. Thanks!

[Peter Kuhlman]

That wheeled stand that Dick made is a great idea!

Mine is hiding in the garage somewhere. I don’t use it much as it is heavy to carry around. Also got pinched real bad one time collapsing it. Need to give it away to someone who will use it.

[Rick Potter]

I like the way Dick incorporated the new Lee Valley plastic thingies to use it as a small cutting station for his track saw.

Nice job!


Edit: Forgot...rarely use mine, but I like the above idea. Maybe..

[Frank Pratt]

I've had one for 35 or 40 years & it's seen a LOT of use. These days not as much now that I have a proper workbench & other shop fixtures that the Workmate used to pinch hit for. But I'd not get rid of it. Once or twice a month it gets pulled out for some odd job. It's just such a versatile, sturdy thing.

[Don Bullock]

I still have and use my Workmate that I bought in 1976. It’s the original USA model that was released in 1975. Just about every woodworking and home improvement project that I’ve done since then has been done on my Workmate. I’me Even using it as a workbench to finally build an actual woodworking workbench.

[Mike Henderson]

I had one at one time but I have no idea where it went. Probably given away during one of my moves. You're sort of forced to reduce the amount of your "stuff" when you move.

Mike

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm happy to report - - mine ended up on the front lawn, the day before garbage collection - - and took that magic journey taken by so many other items - that ends in "someone-picked-my-useless -self-out-of-the-garbage-and-dragged-me-home-so-now-I'm-their problem" land :D :D - just this last Summer.I too had mine for decades & just moved it out of the way all the time instead of using it.
Mine was one of the - "well it seemed like a great idea at the time, too bad it was a stupid idea" models that had wheels and a fold down plate that turned it into s semi-functional, but horribly uncomfortable to use, two wheeler.

Did you know, 99% of all fishing gear is intended to catch fishermen, not fish? Same goes for tools....

[Charles Taylor]

Mine got a lot of use when my workshop was part of a crowded garage and pretty much any project needed to spill into the driveway. I still have it for those times when it makes more sense to take the tools to the project than to bring the project to the tools, and in the meantime it's tucked behind the dust collector stand. But it's old and tired, the plastic retainers that keep the legs folded in are brittle if not broken, and at least one of the leg hinge pins keeps slipping out. So...maybe it's time to retire it permanently.

[Jim Andrew]

I use mine when locating somewhere besides the shop, such as at my son's house. Great to be able to clamp a board on the job.

[Jim Dwight]

I have a cheap one with the plastic foot off one of the legs missing set up on the infeed side of the table saw most of the time. I have clamped a piece to the top to use it as an infeed table but now that I have a track saw I rarely put anything big through the SawStop. Mostly it holds things temporarily but it got used recently to hold a board from the dock while I moved cleats. 1/2 inch bolts were rusted so some of them had to be cut off with a reciprocating saw. Workmate held the board just fine. The top of mine is burnt from holding something I welded or soldered. It's nice to have something cheap like this that you don't have to care a lot about. I wouldn't mind having another one. I also use the workmate to hold a custom box of reloading equipment when I load my own centerfire rifle cartridges. I haven't done that in awhile but the setup works fine.

[bill epstein]

402831When I retired and moved into a townhouse, the basement shop became the deck for power work and spare bedroom for hand work and finishing. I use the Workmate constantly outside for holding workpieces horizontally and upstairs, with a 24x48 piece of particle board screwed on it, as a workbench. It at holding things vertically and one can only use hand planes with a foot on the step but I make do. Veritas Wonder Dogs in numerous holes drilled in the particle board serve tail vise duty.

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[Art Moore]

Before I retired, I maintained communications equipment that was software driven. I carried a Workmate to use as a table for my laptop or other test equipment.

[Pat Barry]

My bride bought me one at a garage sale years ago and I'm glad she did. I've used it countless times. I have it at my cabin now and it gets used regularly for all kinds of tasks.

[michael langman]

I bought a copy cat workmate for 20 bucks at Ocean Lot. It has been really handy for site work and machine support.

I used it for a miter saw stand last summer when I built a deck. And I use it for support with my jointer extension and planer extension.

Setting it up as a sharpening station in the cellar sounds like a good idea.