Black & Decker Workmate

[wolfcj]

And now for your amusement, a vintage Workmate-in-use photograph I came across today.

Yes, that's me on the ladder in 1981, putting up some shade rafters behind the breezeway, with my Workmate 79-001 Type 4 in the front left. It was 2-3 years old at the time. My Mitremate is mounted in the vise jaws and I was using it to cut the redwood boards to length. This was back when redwood was semi-affordable, even in Michigan, a situation that didn't last much longer.

 

[DaveT]

And now for your amusement, a vintage Workmate-in-use photograph I came across today.

Yes, that's me on the ladder in 1981, putting up some shade rafters behind the breezeway, with my Workmate 79-001 Type 4 in the front left. It was 2-3 years old at the time. My Mitremate is mounted in the vise jaws and I was using it to cut the redwood boards to length. This was back when redwood was semi-affordable, even in Michigan, a situation that didn't last much longer.

Now that’s a classic post! 1981 was a good year, the year I graduated from HS. Thanks for sharing Wolf

 

[BearsFan315]

well well i finally officially joined the club...

my Workmate 425 arrive today !!

I am excited, as i have several jobs around the house i need to take care of and hoping this guy will assist me well. I plan to get a classic H frame when ones pops up on the used market locally. UPS dropped it off a few minutes ago and i busted it out to make sure everything was there. plan to get it together later, gotta finish the oil change and get the trash out for the morning.

 

[BearsFan315]

ohh and had another package on the UPS truck...

was scanning around and stumbled on Grizzly sale, and picked up this little Grizzly Benchtop ordeal for $16.95

my oh my how it resembles the WorkMate

this will help me a ton when i am working on my small parts for my car and need a extra hand to hold something or to clamp something for me to work on. yeah i have a nice 6" vise but i can clamp odd strange shaped parts in this thing... it is gonna get used and abused for sure !!

Grizzly T25251 - Mini Workbench

 

[BearsFan315]

well got up this morning, and finished up the WorkMate 425 assembly before work

looks nice and i am ready use it !!

 

[BearsFan315]

Here are a few more of the Grizzly

 

[BearsFan315]

here is the new family ready for work...

 

[BearsFan315]

got a question for all you 425 users out there, i know both handles spin together when you spin one which is great, and if i want to spin one i can hold one, instructions said it should click and taht is normal.

issue is that if i hold one and try to turn the other it is really hard, feels like i am gonna break the connecting band ?? same if i try to turn them opposite directions ?? is this normal when new ? any tricks to assist ? outside of removing the connecting band.

 

[BearsFan315]

well put it to work this weekend, was making a new toe board for my 1929...

 

[wolfcj]

Here's a Workmate with a replacement top unlike anything I've seen before. It's for sale on Facebook and this is the only photo. The ad makes no mention of the top. Any ideas what the purpose of this might be?

It's hard to make out, but it looks as though the jaws might be red cedar, with possibly poplar for the faces. It also looks as though the faces are angled. I don't think the jaws have dog holes, but it's hard to be sure.

 

[Outlawmws]

Setup for waxing snow skis?

 

[Beemer]

I bought a new old stock model, about 40 years old, a few years ago locally on Craigslist. It still had a warranty card in the box. I used to scoff at them when I was young but (now) it's actually a handy thing to have around.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

So I'll see your larger top and raise you a rolling base!

I made 2 tops for Workmates from an old train board that my kid's are no longer using. It's 1/2" plywood with a border of 1 x 6 laid flat around the perimeter and glued and screwed for strength. A scrap of 2 x 4 with a scrap of plywood to make a T screwed in place and I was good to go! I have used these tops for a while and found an issue.

Workmates are a pain to drag across the floor once they are setup because the legs grab and fold up. Most everything in my garage is on wheels to make it easier to play Garage Tetris as needed. The parts of my 1947 Delta Bandsaw sat on one of my Workmates for 3 months this summer as I worked on rebuilding it. There were several times when I needed to move the Workmate to gain access to something in the garage but couldn't move it alone.

I built a frame of 3/4" plywood that fits snugly around the base of the Workmate. There are wood blocks in each corner that the Workmate feet rest upon (the lower legs get folded inside the base) . The casters are mounted to the bottom of these blocks. I added some 3/4" pine scraps to fill in the open area on the base of the WM for more storage. This rolling base has 4" double lock casters - the original model had 3" double locks.

I can take the top off, pull the workmate out of the frame and store the individual parts away until I need it again.

It's great work surface for all sorts of projects. I recovered a chair cushion over the weekend on this Workmate and today I did the layout and cutting of a piece of sheet metal I needed to fix a leaf blower.

Cheers

Jim

 

[fartymarty]

It still had a warranty card in the box. I used to scoff at them when I was young but (now) it's actually a handy thing to have around.

Really?..what exactly do you use the warranty card for?


(Sorry, yes I know I have no impulse control or filter, it just rushes out like bilge water in a storm. )

 

[Beemer]

Exactly!

Really?..what exactly do you use the warranty card for?


(Sorry, yes I know I have no impulse control or filter, it just rushes out like bilge water in a storm. )

Exactly!
I'm thinking paperwork will make it worth a fortune in the future. Right?

 

[DaveT]

So I'll see your larger top and raise you a rolling base!

I made 2 tops for Workmates from an old train board that my kid's are no longer using. It's 1/2" plywood with a border of 1 x 6 laid flat around the perimeter and glued and screwed for strength. A scrap of 2 x 4 with a scrap of plywood to make a T screwed in place and I was good to go! I have used these tops for a while and found an issue.

Workmates are a pain to drag across the floor once they are setup because the legs grab and fold up. Most everything in my garage is on wheels to make it easier to play Garage Tetris as needed. The parts of my 1947 Delta Bandsaw sat on one of my Workmates for 3 months this summer as I worked on rebuilding it. There were several times when I needed to move the Workmate to gain access to something in the garage but couldn't move it alone.

I built a frame of 3/4" plywood that fits snugly around the base of the Workmate. There are wood blocks in each corner that the Workmate feet rest upon (the lower legs get folded inside the base) . The casters are mounted to the bottom of these blocks. I added some 3/4" pine scraps to fill in the open area on the base of the WM for more storage. This rolling base has 4" double lock casters - the original model had 3" double locks.

I can take the top off, pull the workmate out of the frame and store the individual parts away until I need it again.

It's great work surface for all sorts of projects. I recovered a chair cushion over the weekend on this Workmate and today I did the layout and cutting of a piece of sheet metal I needed to fix a leaf blower.

Cheers

Jim

Jim: That is a great setup you made. I have 2 workmates sitting in my basement shop right with portable tops. They are being used to clean up and sort out nuts and bolts into some small parts organizers. I did have to drag one out of the way the other day. Luckily no legs folded under on me.

 

[RTM]

Just a data point for you who are buying workmates.

Visited an online auction, and a Type 4 or higher workmate had been run up to over $100, with almost 2 days to go. And its clean and has all 4 dogs. But its the folded stamped steel frame, not the cast aluminum frame.

 

[wolfcj]

So what's the URL for the auction?

Yeah, the market for Workmates is definitely not a mature one, i.e. it's not made up of knowledgeable buyers and sellers. The large majority of buyers and sellers don't really know what they're seeing when they look at a Workmate, so the pricing is impulsive and emotional. It's easy to find crazy low prices and crazy high prices.

The only one I have bought at an online auction (not counting eBay) was a beautiful, probably unused 79-001 Type 8 for $28. I think there were two other bidders. It's now the Type 8 "model" on my website.

In contrast, take a look at this one on eBay. It is an unusual mongrel Type 2, with a couple of holdover features usually seen only on a Type 1. Very high price, especially with four of its impossible-to-find Type 1 feet missing.

 

[Vono]

Hello

Some great stuff on here related to Workmates, i'm rather partial to those myself, such a handy & rather cool device. I've got 3 in my garage. When I get chance I'll post a few pictures.

I can't quite remember all the model numbers ( I blame that on my age ) but i think one is a WM525, it's an old, probably 1970's all steel one.

Good to be here

 

[bcdesertdog]

I have 2 , one of them Ive had for over 25 years, the other was given to me. the are great to have

 

[danfromsyr]

interesting one in the local Upstate NY CNY region
https://rochester.craigslist.org/tls/d/lyons-black-decker-workmate/7177950466.html
Black & Decker Workmate - $40 (Lyons, ny)

 

[wolfcj]

I'd like to ask the owners of Workmate 79-001's to do me a favor if you have a few minutes. For a project on my H-frame website, I'm compiling the manufacturer's codes that are stamped in ink on the bottom side of the wooden jaws on many 79-001's.

My request is simple - just tell me what Type your 79-001 is and what the stamped code is. The code is usually 5 digits, printed in various ways, such as "123-45", "123 45", or "12345". See the attached photos. (If you're not sure what Type your 79-001 is, you can use my online flowchart.)

Some of them don't have a legible number, either because it faded away or never got stamped. It can help to have a strong light and examine every square inch.

You can send me a PM here, or go to the Contact page on my web site. (I wouldn't want to clutter this thread with stuff that's not of general interest.)

It would really help me if I could get several dozen of these. Many thanks to anyone who can help. I expect to have an interesting report on the results.

 

[wolfcj]

I have HUGE Workmate news!

I've now compiled enough of the manufacturer's codes for the 79-001 to confirm my theory about them. I'll explain the significance of this in the next message, BUT ....

FIRST, I need more of those codes from all of your Workmate 79-001's that have them. This is important for a breakthrough in documenting Workmate production! Please help!

Instead of sending them to me privately as I requested originally, now I would suggest that you just post them right here. After I thought about it a little more, I realized that members posting photos wouldn't be off-topic at all.

SO, if your Workmate 79-001 has the 5-digit code stamped on the bottom surface of the wooden jaws (see the examples in the previous message):
1) Please post a good overall photo of your Workmate so that I can tell what Type it is. The photo will be very helpful because I need to see all the relevant components it has that may not be completely typical for its type.
2) Please add another photo of the number under the jaws. If you want to just type the number into your message in place of the second photo that's fine too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! (Can you tell I'm excited?)

 

[wolfcj]

I don't have a whole lot of time, so I'll start this now, but fill in more details later. Back in December, "btrnuthatch" asked about the numbers stamped under the jaws, and I said:

As far as I know, no one has tried to decipher the additional numbers like those you show. I may take that up some day.

True to my word, I've looked at those numbers and thought about them a number of times since then, and eventually had a breakthrough.

It turns out that they tell us WHEN THE WORKMATE WAS MADE!

What is often the first question a new owner of a Workmate asks? "How old is it?", of course. Now, anyone with a 79-001 that has the stamp will know for sure how old it is.

Even better, for a Workmate geek like me, we can now figure out very accurately the beginning and end of production for each Type.

And, on top of that, you know how within a Type we can find examples that have slightly different parts? I don't have this completely worked out yet, but my initial analysis shows that the production dates may let us track these! So for example, the Type 2 is most notorious for having varying components. It now looks as though we can see that the Type 2's with early production dates have many Type 1 parts, and those get replaced sequentially at different times by parts that make the product into the "standard" Type 2.

But, I want to emphasize that I NEED MORE DATA. This will be a crowd-sourced database and I will post a spreadsheet of the list on my website as it develops. So please post your photos and codes.

(Continued in one more message)

 

[wolfcj]

Now the details.

First, these codes are found on the Type 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8. They might be on Type 9's but I haven't seen many of those yet. The codes must have been used at the Brockville, Ontario plant, so the English and Irish production does not have them. There's no point in looking for them on Type E, 3, and 5.

Also, for whatever reason, some individual Workmates don't seem to have them, or they can be smeared or faded to become unreadable.

So, how do you read the numbers?

As you've seen they are 5 digits long. Ignore the spaces or hyphens if yours has them. For now, just use the first three digits. (I'll address the last two later.)

Take a Type 2 with the number 645 53.

The 6 tells us it was made in 1976. The 45 tells us it was made in the 45th week of the year, or early November. That's it, just about as simple as could be.

I have about 42 code numbers so far, but I want as many as I can get; 100 would be nice!. Here are some simple highlights:

The first Type 1's were made in 1974, and the oldest one I have found has code 447 - November, 1974.

Note that if the first digit is 0, 1, 2, or 3 it indicates the 1980's not the 1970's. So, the latest code I have found so far is 037 on a Type 8, indicating September, 1980.

Two more examples -- the earliest Type 2 I've found is 526, June 1975 and the latest Type 2 is 713, March, 1977.

Okay, that's it for tonight. Have fun with this!

 

[fullthrottle24]

My two type 4’s are:

728 32 particle board jaws
744 22 plywood jaws.

 

[btrnuthatch]

One of my Type 2's. Manufacturing after Christmas!?! I can't find any hint of numbers on my others.

Great sleuthing!

 

[wolfcj]

Any chance of a good 3/4 front view along with every report, showing the whole Workmate from jaws down to feet? I know that's not always simple, but it would be a big help. Thanks.

 

[vertguy]

Here’s mine.


Sent from my iPad using Garage Journal

 

[wolfcj]

Thanks. The jaws look very different from each other in the photos. Do you know what's going on there?

 

[Bryan Burns]

I recently added flooring to my workmate. Seriously, I've always thought the space in the middle was wasted space space so I toyed with the idea of cutting a piece of plywood to size and then decided to used some scrap flooring. It's tongue and groove and all I had to do was cut it to length. I use the middle for storage now with the "shelf". I'm really happy with the look too.

Just need to upgrade my other two workmates now.

 

[wolfcj]

Here's a second nomination for the "Most-creative damage to the jaws" award. Or was this intentional reshaping for a special purpose?

Is there something about the Type 6 that encourages this? The first nominee was a Type 6 also.

 

[wolfcj]

I recently added flooring to my workmate.

Looks good. I assume the pieces are loose-fitted. That would make it much easier to remove and then put them back if you want to, compared to a piece of plywood.

Any chance you could tell me the 5-digit number printed under the jaws?

 

[vertguy]

Thanks. The jaws look very different from each other in the photos. Do you know what's going on there?

Not sure, but I assume the dark one was a replacement at some point before I bought it.


Sent from my iPad using Garage Journal

 

[Outlawmws]

Skillsaw damage for sure...

 

[Jonathankamm]

Mine has an odd number.

 

[Jonathankamm]

Has anyone ever come across a 79-001 workmate with a black
bottom frame? They show it in the TV ad.

 

[Jonathankamm]

Being out of work this summer I’ve acquired over a dozen workmates. 5 vintage 79-001’s. I’m restoring them. Here’s one of the vintage ones I have completed. Maple top.

 

[Jonathankamm]

I’ve learned a few things restoring workmates. I’ve found the feet for the 79-001’s are the same as hood bumpers from a 77 Chevy Nova! In the photo the actual foot is on the left.

 

[wolfcj]

Mine has an odd number.

I was wondering if anyone would come up with one of those. I've seen that just a very few times, and I don't know what it means.

You sent me a photo of yours a couple of months ago, which I just looked at again. It's from the rear so I can't see some of the characteristics, but I can tell it's a middle-production Type 2, from about spring 1976 to the end of the year. So, the fact that the number stamp is different can't be attributed to it being either an early Type 2 or a late one.

To me, the intriguing possibility for these rare odd numbers is that they were made in a different factory. So far everything we know has indicated that there was one Brockville, Ontario factory and all of the North American 79-001's were made there. However, we also know that demand for the Workmate was through the roof at the time of the Type 2, and that they imported the Irish-made Type 3 to help fill orders. I wonder if they also had some Type 2's made elsewhere, using a different factory coding system.

[Edit: I have since found other Workmates that are stamped with both the Brockville production code and one of these other codes, so I no longer believe this could indicate an alternate Workmate factory. I do believe that Black & Decker did not manufacture the wooden tops, but purchased them from several different suppliers. The alternate stamp seen here is likely to be a way that one of the suppliers chose to mark their tops before shipping them to Brockville for assembly.]

As an aside, can you tell me whether it has 3 or 4 ribs on the step, and whether the plastic vise-handle knobs have a metal or plastic center core?