workmates

[marcros]

I need to get a workmate, for general DIY, and ad hoc use around the workshop, in the garden, when mates ask me to help them. I had a cheap one some years ago, which was all but useless (£20) so am a bit wary of buying cheap. I also have an idea to use it as part of my router planing sled, to hold up a side rail. Ideally it would have some form of leg adjustment so that i can set it level on a floor that may not be so.

Any recommendations?

I have seen various black and decker ones, and this http://www.tooled-up.com/product/bosch- ... ch/194648/ which is a possible. Budget is about £100, less if possible but it needs to be something that will last. I need to buy new because I need it to use!

 

[AndyT]

I'd prefer this one http://www.tooled-up.com/product/black-decker-wm626-professional-dual-height-workmate/721/ which I think is the same as my older one.

The proper Workmate design has some advantages that the cheap ones lack - two heights; spread-out feet for stability and a platform you can stand on to hold the thing down!

 

[marcros]

that was the one that i thought looked better. My dad had something similar that has lasted years, with the same fold out legs.

 

[AndyT]

The better older ones were like that but with part of the frame in cast alloy. IIRC they did have a screw adjuster on one leg which would be easy enough to add to a new one. Personally, my workshop floor is so uneven I just keep a selection of wooden wedges handy and kick one or two into place as needed.

The other big change was swapping from good plywood to chipboard for the jaws, but that's just a minor challenge for a woodworker!

 

[Steve Maskery]

The jaws are now no longer chipboard, they are laminated bamboo. I kid ye not.
I left my old one outside for a while. I wasn't functioning very well at the time. The tops warped and it was already very loose and rickety, with several of the plastic bits broken. So I just abandoned it.
I recently bought this one as a replacement. It's OK, a lot tighter than my rickety old one, but the jaws are strip bamboo in three layers and not as thick as the birch multiply ones of my previous model, only 16mm.
Still, I could actually be persuaded that laminated bamboo is better than chipboard, even if it is not as thick.
S

 

[bugbear]

The better older ones were like that but with part of the frame in cast alloy. IIRC they did have a screw adjuster on one leg which would be easy enough to add to a new one. Personally, my workshop floor is so uneven I just keep a selection of wooden wedges handy and kick one or two into place as needed.

The other big change was swapping from good plywood to chipboard for the jaws, but that's just a minor challenge for a woodworker!

I use one like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vtg-70s-Mk-3- ... 7675.l2557

Not quite as clean though.

A screw adjuster on EVERY leg.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

Sadly not available to buy new.

I note that the listing is under 'antique tables' and begin to feel very old!!

 

[Peter T]

I've still got an original one from the early '70s.

Square tubular steel frame, cast ally legs, plywood top.

Still works well!

 

[The Bear]

Slight thread hijack, sorry
Does any one know where to buy spares for an old original b and d?
I need some new rubber feet(both types for the two different heights) and the orange clamp things that push in the holes in the top
Any ideas?


Mark

 

[marcros]

i would try ebay, certainly for the top parts. the other place i looked at earlier is http://www.toolsandpartsdirect.co.uk/Bl ... -1-89.aspx I am coming round to the idea of a cult classic aluminium model!

 

[RogerS]

The proper Workmate design has some advantages that the cheap ones lack - two heights; spread-out feet for stability and a platform you can stand on to hold the thing down!

They did, indeed, and still do as my trusty original Workmate is still going strong

 

[marcros]

I am now the owner of this little workmate

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Black ... 7675.l2557

need to get it home and see what its like, but i got it for less than half the price of a new one, so i am happy so far.

 

[Lons]

I have 3 of them

The original cast iron one I bought new at least 35 years ago but sadly one of the cast legs broke a very long time ago and I had to buy a pair of steel legs as replacement. Only fitted one (so far) and still is the best workmate so I'd advise look for an old one if you can get it.

Second one is the 625 type and it gets the most use these days as I cart it around on site with me. Would be my second choice if I couldn't get an old one.

the 3rd I was gifted s/h and it's an absolute load of cr*p. (Sorry Steve but without looking, I think it's an early 825 model an early model of the one you've bought). It has jaw tightening which you can adjust using just one handle but the grip is very poor, the rear table slots in and is adjustable which if not tightened when carried drops on your toes #-o and blo*dy hurts, and the top is very poor quality chipboard. The folding mechanism catches are flimsy as well! I only ever use it as an extra support or to stand on.

Bob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Bob - cast iron? I had one in the mid 70s that was cast alloy, and I lent it to a bloke I worked with. I got it back about two years later after it had been left outside leant against the wall over a drain, and his mother had bleached the drain daily. Every time I touched it another bit disintegrated into white powder.
For the last 20+ yrs I've had the 2000, which is a little different, but which I cannot fault.

 

[bugbear]

I have 3 of them

The original cast iron one...

Cast IRON. Are you sure?

BugBear

 

[The Bear]

Thanks marcos, all the spares I need I have found on ebay

Mark

 

[marcros]

looking at the pic of the one i have bought, i think i need to source some iof the adjustable feet, and some pegs. I might even pimp the top with a bit of hardwood!

 

[powertools]

That orignal workmate was a brilliant design but the alloy frame was not up to the job which is why there are now so few about.
The first thing to break was the bar across the lower step that then allowed the lower legs to over extend and then break.

 

[Lons]

Philip / Bugbear

Def not iron - sorry about that #-o I swear this machine types in its own words sometimes. Either that or the dreaded senility creeping in again

Bob