Black & Decker Workmate

[Outlawmws]

Heh! I was actually able to find the post in the original "it's garage sale Season" thread from when I got it!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2327633&postcount=406

So almost exactly 3 years ago!

 

[Outlawmws]

BTW, back 3 years ago I was pretty sure the PO had made new jaws and upgraded them with the doubled face. I'm not longer so sure about that since seeing more with the doubled jaws...

 

[Outlawmws]

"TYPE 2" and 702-23 (Had to look, never really noticed... )

 

[Blue Frog]

BTW, back 3 years ago I was pretty sure the PO had made new jaws and upgraded them with the doubled face. I'm not longer so sure about that since seeing more with the doubled jaws...

I have a WM that I purchased new in 1976. It has the double jaws. I've looked everywhere visible and cannot find any marks that would indicate type or model number. Can I assume that it is a Type 1?

Blue

 

[Blue Frog]

Can you post some pics of your aluminum riser Workmate so we can help you figure out what type it is? Need to see an overall pic and one from the side or underneath that sows the supports that the wood top is attached to.

No markings on the underside of a Type 1 top is not surprising. After all, when the Type 1s came out in 1976 Black & Decker didn't know then if there would even be a Type 2.

I'll post pictures tonight. Right now, the estate sales are calling!

Blue

 

[Blue Frog]

Can you post some pics of your aluminum riser Workmate so we can help you figure out what type it is? Need to see an overall pic and one from the side or underneath that sows the supports that the wood top is attached to.

No markings on the underside of a Type 1 top is not surprising. After all, when the Type 1s came out in 1976 Black & Decker didn't know then if there would even be a Type 2.

I'll post pictures tonight. Right now, the estate sales are calling!

Sorry for the double post. How do I delete it?

Blue

 

[McBrownie]

Anybody interested in learning about the different types of early Workmates can check out this MS Excel spreadsheet:

http://www.box.net/shared/hchozbe4d7

Or these photos:

http://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Workmate-Type-Study/5539701_TNtt7z#!i=1009291940&k=Spf8NSq

No 300 or 350 listed. I have a 350 and they seem a little like an odd-ball.

 

[Outlawmws]

Ok, so yours is indeed a Model 79-001 Type 2. It is identical to mine except that yours got the reddish finished plywood top that were on the earlier Type 1s while mine has the "unfinished (non-reddish) plywood top that is more typical of Type 2s. I did also notice that the two pieces of your jaw edges also seem to be held together with wood screws. On mine the two pieces are held with nails.

I have not yet figured out the other stamped coding "702 23" on yours. I think these may have been some sort of a production code. Mine says "623 53". All of these Type 2s would have been made around 1976-1977 before they switched to using stamped steel risers.

I have another Type 2 with 702-62 on the Dynamic jaw. that one is, shall we say "less than pristine"... Needs new jaws and the frame cleaned and the steel part re-painted.

 

[Blue Frog]

Here's mine that I purchased in 1976. I'm submitting it as the most travelled with the original owner - took it to Saudi Arabia with me in 1978, then brought it back to the US in 1979.

It has the original clamping boards, which were never stained, and the lower boards are nailed to the upper ones.

I do have new 3/4" Baltic Birch ply for replacement of the jaws.











Blue

 

[Blue Frog]

Here's a type 4 that I picked up a couple of days ago. Except for a saw cut in the rear board, and a lot of accumulated sawdust and dirt, it's in exceptional condition.











Blue

 

[jakemac]

Workmate 400

So, Outlaw pointed me to this thread, and here I am.

I picked up this Workmate 400 this weekend at an estate sale for $25.
It was Made in Canada. The label that would have the model number on it is missing, but I think it's a model 79-034. I'm still not sure which Type it is, but I am sure that it's before Type 4.

This one is a heavy steel frame in Blue. The vise handles are plastic, but the leg tension supports are steel, not the plastic ones that came later and are easily broken. The top is starting to de-laminate, but is easily fixed with some glue and clamps. It isn't too far gone yet.

I have new leg boots and some new clamp dogs on order. I'd rather have the old black clamp dogs instead of the "you can't be trusted" safety orange ones they make now, but what can you do ?

Here are some detail pictures.

 

[jakemac]

UPDATE -

I found what I though was an old price sticker hidden under one of the supports. Upon closer inspection it looks like it's an info tag.



This confirms that this is a model 79-034 and if I'm reading the cutoff part of the tag right,
it's a Type 1.

Here's what another member had to say about it in the 2015 Garage Sale thread :

The blue paint is definitely unusual. Reminds me a little of the paint they put on the British-made Workmates that came out in the early 1970s before the Workmate was introduced to the North American market in 1976.

If true, then could this be an early late-70's model ?

 

[monkeyspanners]

I have a couple of them, a cheaper style work bench with X shaped legs and a work box which is a plastic storage box with workmate style top which i keep in the van as a mobile work bench.

 

[Mridolfo]

Picked this one up at a yard sale yesterday for $10 Canadian(about $8 american).

I've been told by a fellow member its a Type 2.

I plan on taking it apart and cleaning it up.

<a href="http://s1256.photobucket.com/user/mridolfo2/media/Tools/9B82245D-12B9-4EB6-942C-7651ACD1D778_zpsiahoijae.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii495/mridolfo2/Tools/9B82245D-12B9-4EB6-942C-7651ACD1D778_zpsiahoijae.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 9B82245D-12B9-4EB6-942C-7651ACD1D778_zpsiahoijae.jpg"/></a>

 

[Outlawmws]

Look for the type No. on the bottom of the jaws, typically the dynamic.

 

[DIYorDIE]

Saw one like Mridolfo's one above in an estate sale this weekend. Someone had purchased it before I had gotten to the garage and noticed it under a pile of worthless junk.

I was examining it since I had never seen one with the aluminum diecast parts before, when the guy who had bought it returned to the garage to pick it up and took it home before I even had a chance to take a picture of it. I asked him how much he paid for it and he said $15.

BTW, there was an old Shopsmith woodworking multi-tool also in that garage of junk that the guy who bought the Workmate said the estate sale was willing to take about $100 for.

 

[FullRaceMerc]

I still have the one I bought in the early 80s. The top has been replaced once. I've used it for all sorts of stuff over the years. It was the base for a portable table saw since I liked to stand at the saw. The saw was screwed to a piece of plywood that had a 2x4 underneath. A 6' disk sander clamped into it for scribing moulding profiles onsite. Holding a door that's sitting on the floor on edge for various work.

 

[cp64]

I'm glad someone started this thread. I have an old WorkMate and still use pretty regularly. Probably 25 years old. One of my handiest tools.

 

[nglauer]

I just picked up one of the small tool box looking ones today. My dad had a few of the bigger workmates that i used all of the time when i was younger.

 

[Cranehead]

Here's a type 2 garage sale find- I've only added some of the paint splatters on this one.

 

[Outlawmws]

Copilot, That is the one that I think would be good to build into a workbench as the "bench tool mount" and could be used as a GP wood vise as well.

 

[furbyj1]

nice restoration

 

[pima67]

Here's my 79-001, Dual 29" Model in all its unrestored glory.

 

[WallynSC]

Nice job CoPilot!

 

[wkearney99]

For anyone interested, I just revived an older workmate using new parts. The old MDF top got wet and swelled up; ruining it. I'd always meant to get around to making new top pieces, but managed to lose the top sections and their brackets. I did some research but saw no clear answer. I'm pleased to discover the brackets and top for a new 425 still fit older units. I posted about it on lumberjocks:
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/97762

 

[pima67]

CoPilot:

Nothing stamped on the bottom of the jaws. They are 17 ply plywood (not to be redundant and if I counted correctly!). The info I posted is from a large decal on a front cross member.

 

[Coolabah]

I've got a workmate that I bought in the 80's but not as cool as those aluminium/alumina ones. Sometime later I picked up this B&D "shopmate" basically a toolbox with workmate top. The bottle of beer there for scale is misleadingly large due to camera angle but oh well....

 

[straightcut]

I purchased this B & D Workmate this morning and haven't seen one like it. When I went to look at it, I thought it was just one of the early versions with the cast aluminum upper framework. When I saw it, I immediately noticed the only sheetmetal part was the footrest. On the rear is embossed "Dual Height Professional". I thought I recalled them marked as dual height; would the professional refer to the all cast aluminum framework? Even the lower legs are cast aluminum.

Also, the bench dog holes on the work surface have steel sleeves. I've not seen that before even on early Workmates.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[McBrownie]

I purchased this B & D Workmate this morning and haven't seen one like it. When I went to look at it, I thought it was just one of the early versions with the cast aluminum upper framework. When I saw it, I immediately noticed the only sheetmetal part was the footrest. On the rear is embossed "Dual Height Professional". I thought I recalled them marked as dual height; would the professional refer to the all cast aluminum framework? Even the lower legs are cast aluminum.

Also, the bench dog holes on the work surface have steel sleeves. I've not seen that before even on early Workmates.

Any help would be appreciated!

It looks very similar to the first picture in Post #273 with the inventor Ron standing on one of the originals.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92136&page=14

 

[straightcut]

Wow, you guys know your stuff! Thank you for the information. I forgot to add that the step is galvanized steel instead of painted.

Do you have any suggestions for the missing feet or handles?

I more or less got lucky and stumbled into this one.

 

[jakemac]

Do you have any suggestions for the missing feet or handles?

Browse through here :
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/black-and-decker-workmate-parts-c-4167_4340.html

Some of the parts from other models may work for your model. They may not match the original parts, but they might get the job done.

Or try here for parts diagrams and parts :
http://servicenet.blackanddecker.com/Parts/Search?searchedNumber=workmate

 

[Outlawmws]

First let's get this out of the way (obligatory) "Without those feet and handles, that thing is incredibly dangerous; I like to help fellow GJ members out, so since I have several more than I need at this point, I'll trade you straight across and make sure that ever so dangerous unit stays safely away from careless fingers; PM me for the shipping address..."
















The feet may be similar to the other early units, which used fairly std. screw-in feet. What thread are they?

I'd need to see closeups of the handles and have you measure the hole diameter and arm thickness, but it's possible the current handles may fit.

 

[txusa03]

Would someone educate me on a workmate portable work center & vice model 78-009. Is it steel or aluminum? It doe not seems to have the lower foot rest platform. I am not sure how stable the unit is or the maximum lbs it can hold?

I ask b/c in the photo seller send me the base does not look as wide as some of the unit seen in this thread.

tia

 

[Outlawmws]

Post the pic. Most of us don't have the mod. No's mesmerized.

 

[taumac]

Would someone educate me on a workmate portable work center & vice model 78-009. Is it steel or aluminum? It doe not seems to have the lower foot rest platform. I am not sure how stable the unit is or the maximum lbs it can hold?



I ask b/c in the photo seller send me the base does not look as wide as some of the unit seen in this thread.



tia

Yes pic needed plus recheck model num I can't find anything on that model.

 

[txusa03]

Will try to put up pic tomorrow. I am not 100% on the model number either.

Dual 27" 79-009

 

[txusa03]

pic...and it is a Dual 27" 79-009

How sturdy are these as the base (foot print) is not as wide as some of the one seen here. Anyone own one or has iny input on this model? Might use it as a miter saw stand or a small dewalt jobsite table saw stand.

 

[Outlawmws]

That is the "TV Tray" style I've mentioned numerous times, and I'd pass personally. I want a stable base and no tipping, especially for a saw/tool stand.

 

[txusa03]

gotcha...thanks for your inputs. The search goes on...

 

[taumac]

Black &amp; Decker Workmate

That is the "TV Tray" style I've mentioned numerous times, and I'd pass personally. I want a stable base and no tipping, especially for a saw/tool stand.

Agree 100%!

I'll agree with both. It's a light weight table not suitable for tool stand. My neighbor has one and he using his for a light work and small portable table. Consider it like a sawhorse with the clamp on top