Should I buy a Workmate or something else?

[n8n]

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, as my dad probably still has the one he bought ~40 years ago...

Background: I am renting two rooms in a house, until I get my stuff together enough to buy my own place. One room is divided between bedroom and home office, and the other I have surrounded with Metro shelves and is my storage/work room. The project of setting this room up stalled months ago however because I need to cut pieces of plywood, Masonite, whatever to make work surfaces - at the windows I have left the top shelf there ~42" high and I got two bar stools off Trash Nothing so I can sit and work. Unfortunately it seems that whenever I have the time to deal with this it's either cold or raining and also honestly I just don't want to do it without a helper, which I don't have. I do have a Skilsaw and access to a portable table saw, and I have a plywood blade for the Skilsaw and bought one for the table saw.

yesterday I saw a Workmate (and an old circular saw) sitting at the curb in front of one of my neighbors' houses and I realized that would make this much easier. I could clamp the material to the Workmate, clamp a saw guide to it, and use my Skilsaw to make the necessary cuts and if it were unstable I could just put weight on top of it. When I finished running errands I came back but that poor Workmate was too far gone to economically repair so I left it, and the saw because I figured it'd be the same.

However now I'm thinking I should buy one so I can finish this project and thus presumably make some progress on bigger projects I want to that can't be done in one day (like repairing the quad reel to reel I've had laying around for 6 months) - it would literally fold up and fit in the back of a closet which is perfect. Or is there something else that is similar in functionality that is a better product?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[SouthVA]

I've had a workmate for years, and can't think of anything that does its job better. It's really sturdy, has an adjustable top, and folds up when you're finished with it. An underrated tool, imho.

 

[n8n]

I see there's three models, I'm guessing I should just get the heaviest duty one?

I'm thinking I should buy it now so I have it for the Christmas break, if we have a day where it's not raining getting the work surfaces made would be a huge thing.

 

[SouthVA]

I see there's three models, I'm guessing I should just get the heaviest duty one?

I'm thinking I should buy it now so I have it for the Christmas break, if we have a day where it's not raining getting the work surfaces made would be a huge thing.

I'd go for the heaviest duty one, if it were me.

 

[Snip's]

I have the Black & Decker Jobmate 3980 I picked up at a garage sale...
I use it all the time... A real handy tool...

 

[driftpin]

Make life easier, get a heavy-duty portable folding sawhorse.

Look for the thread on here for the B & D Workmate. You will be very surprised to learn its origin, and how many have been manufactured. If you got $1 royalty for every one sold, you would be a very, very rich person!

 

[RTM]

Here is the thread driftpin mentioned

Black & Decker Workmate

I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a thread to the Black & Decker Workmate, that folding, versatile bench and vise that has helped many a do-it-yourselfer around the world, including me. It has helped me immensely the odd times I have had to work with wood and sometimes even with the...

www.garagejournal.com

Lots of ideas on worktops and adaptations to make it do what you need.
I prefer using it for many tasks over a pair of sawhorses, just cuz set up and clean up is faster than with my folding sawhorses.

 

[Nutria]

I always thought that a Workmate was an answer to a question that no one asked-- until I picked up a couple at garage sales. Man, was I wrong about that. Very useful. Wouldn't be without them now. I don't know anything about the competition though (Jawhorse, etc.). And I do still find sawhorses to be plenty useful. It's not an either-or thing for me.

 

[PelicanPines]

I gave my Workmate to a fellow GJ member... or I'd offer it to you. Don't get fancy... a straight edge... two clamps (for the edge)... ANY SAW.... you should be set.

I have fancy... Table saw... multiple jig saws... trim saws... several clamping systems... Bora saw edges... etc etc. I also have zero to no work space to do things... so there's that.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Every time I see a thread about the workmate I wonder if I should be using mine more. Honestly I find that a good set of sawhorses is usually better. The workmate isn't large enough for plywood sheets or anything longer than about 4 feet. It's also heavier, bulkier to carry.

 

[American Locomotive]

People rave about Workmates all the time on here about how useful they are...and I believe them. But.... I have one that I've had since I was a kid, and I'll be honest, I really haven't figured out how to integrate it into any of my workflows besides it being a kind of heavy portable table.

 

[kbeefy]

I have a workmate in my shed, I use it very rarely.

I picked up a keter work table years ago, I use that thing all the time!



I saw one on clearance at walmart and grabbed it also, now I have 2.
It's lighter and quicker to set up than the workmate. I take them camping with me also.

 

[paulsomlo]

For years, I turned my nose up at the Workmate, thinking it way too gimmicky. Then, somebody gave me one - now I have three. They're incredibly useful for a portable work surface and they're generally cheap used. I don't know about the new models, but all mine are model 79-001, something like this: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/871976990997775/?referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:75e34e54-6cdc-41ba-b3cb-d0e27741aeb9

 

[driftpin]

I have a workmate in my shed, I use it very rarely.

I picked up a keter work table years ago, I use that thing all the time!



I saw one on clearance at walmart and grabbed it also, now I have 2.
It's lighter and quicker to set up than the workmate. I take them camping with me also.

I'd be worried about the plastic castings cracking, the way I clamp things to my WorkMate.

I put new wood on any used WorkMates I buy, and usually extend the wood a bit so you can do something like work on a door on-edge w/the lower side on the ground, and the lengthened WorkMate wood holding the door vertically. An easy way to plane or sand the upper edge of the door.

You can buy pieces for your WorkMate on-line from a variety of places if your pieces are broken or missing. I need to weld-up a foot on one that has deteriorated. I don't have enough steel stock around to simply weld up something of the same size, so I'll need to use a piece of steel strap or sheet and cut it into pieces sufficient to make the repair.

 

[Beemer]

After a bit of research on the series I managed to track down a NOS vintage workmate.
It is functional but sure is heavy. Perhaps that's the point to them but sure wish it was easier to carry around.
There were aluminum based ones but I never came across one.

 

[ronkz650]

The aluminum Workmate was the first ones built in England in the mid 1970s. That would be the best one, but would be a rare find. I have a 1978 model I got free from my brother in law and use it just about every day it seems like. I like it. The new ones are Chinese and price shows it, and most likely quality suffers as well, but I would wager to guess still a decent enough piece to be useful.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

Craftsman made a knock off that is pretty sturdy. Hard to find though.

 

[Nutria]

There were aluminum based ones but I never came across one.

The aluminum Workmate was the first ones built in England in the mid 1970s.

I have two aluminum Workmates. I used to have a steel one as well, but I gave it to the shop at work when I found the second aluminum one. The aluminum Workmates are as sturdy as the steel versions. I don't know how much lighter the aluminum ones are-- three pounds or so?

As has been pointed out, Workmates are often available for little cash-- particularly if they have been left out in the elements and the tables are trashed; then they are almost free. Easy to make a new table to your own specifications.

A lot of people know the Ron Hickman story behind the Workmate; fun stuff:

 

[JSGAuto]

For anyone that wants to try on, I have one in NJ looking for a home.

Maybe I have to much junk, but it always seems to get in the way inside. Anywhere else, its to small for my projects.

 

[finn]

I bought my wife a couple of knockoffs from Menards when they were $17 on Black Friday a couple of y ago. They’re not high quality but nevertheless incredibly useful all things considered.

 

[rharman]

I have two of the Keter tables and am a HUGE fan of them. Use them all the time. Rock solid.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I have a workmate in my shed, I use it very rarely.

I picked up a keter work table years ago, I use that thing all the time!



I saw one on clearance at walmart and grabbed it also, now I have 2.
It's lighter and quicker to set up than the workmate. I take them camping with me also.

I have two of the Keter tables and am a HUGE fan of them. Use them all the time. Rock solid.

I have one of these and used it all the time for a variety of things. This last time I used it and went to fold it one of the legs broke off! DAMN! It's the plastic piece the aluminum leg goes into. I haven't yet tried to repair it and frankly I've had bad luck gluing plastic permanently. I'll likely have to TRY to order a replacement piece from the company.

 

[paulsomlo]

I have one of these and used it all the time for a variety of things. This last time I used it and went to fold it one of the legs broke off! DAMN! It's the plastic piece the aluminum leg goes into. I haven't yet tried to repair it and frankly I've had bad luck gluing plastic permanently. I'll likely have to TRY to order a replacement piece from the company.

No offense Dan, but that's why I stick with Workmates.

 

[rharman]

@Dan in Pasadena - Looks like Sam's Club has the table on sale for $60.

 

[Aileron]

I 've had one since 99 , think its a 400 or 425 and only used it twice. What I originaly bought it for didnt workout and was more a pain in the ***. I used it the second time to setup my benchtop mitertable, other than that it helps collect the dust.

 

[Jgaz]

Get the Workmate and use your imagination.
I’ve had one since the early 90’s and used it in varying amounts in various houses and shops.

Now I use mine several times a week here in AZ. It stays set up outside on the pad beside my garage.
All the messy work gets done outside.
About 5 years ago I replaced the wooden top pieces with StarBoard and the lower shelf with a piece of galvanized metal.
The AZ sun eats plastic alive so I have a couple spare handles on hand. I hate to think what the UV would do to a mostly plastic work holder.

A sanding job just a couple days ago.