Black & Decker Workmate

[Bugeyed Earl]

That is outstanding to know! Just to clarify, the problem with yours involved the clips that hold the legs folded, right, so you didn't have to do any fixing on the clips that hold the legs open? What was the diameter of the bar you used?

It's the same clip in the case of the Type 1, but yes, I only had to fix the end that holds the legs in their retracted position. The bar measures .933", which is a bit bigger than the radius of the bend on the undamaged clips.

I don't think the measurement of the mandrel is very critical, I think you could improvise with any metal cylinder that can take a little pounding and is close to 1" in diameter (hint: look at your socket set...)

 

[59apachegail]

I figured they were a build job because of the square heads on the screws

 

[wolfcj]

I've seen square-head screws on the factory tops. The Robertson screw was invented by a Canadian, and quickly became popular there. All of these Workmates were manufactured in Canada, so a square-head screw makes sense.

 

[wolfcj]

I found this one on Facebook marketplace, it was close by and the price was right. She needed just a little work and new handles. Should work well for me.

Can you explain what you had to do to fit those newer handles to a 79-001 Type 2? I don't think they're quite the right size. Thanks.

 

[fullthrottle24]

Haven’t seen one like this here

 

[Jonathankamm]

Thanks Chris for giving me a heads up on this Type E workmate in my area. Picked it up today.

 

[Outlawmws]

Wow, thats a nice one!

 

[wolfcj]

Glad that worked out!

 

[wolfcj]

Haven’t seen one like this here

Here are a couple of other views of it.

 

[DaveT]

Thanks Chris for giving me a heads up on this Type E workmate in my area. Picked it up today.

Congrats Jonathan that looks to be in great condition. I picked one up a few months back but the top is not so good of condition. Someone hacked off about a 1/4 inch across the whole face.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

What "Type" is my 550? I picked it up free off Craigslist but without any jaws. It's otherwise in excellent condition, the black paint almost looks new and other than one of the leg retainers missing it will work great with new jaws & some dogs!

 

[59apachegail]

Very cool!

 

[Outlawmws]

Here are a couple of other views of it.

Wolf, is that an aluminum , painted or plated frame?

 

[wolfcj]

They aren't my photos; I came across them on the web, so I haven't had my hands on one of that model. However, the rust spots I see look very similar to what I've seen on the plated base and legs of a 79-001 Type 1 (including some spots like that on my own). I would put my money on plated.

 

[wolfcj]

I'm thrilled to announce that I've reached a milestone of trivial importance in my documentation of early Workmates!

We now know precisely when Black & Decker made one of the part changes.

On Monday, July 17, 1978 during the evening shift, while producing the 79-001 Type 4 at the Brockville factory, they changed the clip that holds the Workmate in its folded position. The original clip, used starting with the Type 1 in 1974, was made of two pieces riveted together and used a pair of hooks to engage with the lower frame. The revised clip, used for the next four years, is a single bent strip that forms into a hook at the end. See the two photos below.

This change illustrates B&D's efforts to simplify the Workmate and reduce costs. In my experience, the two different clips work pretty much equally well, so this seems like a mostly positive change.

My spreadsheet of Workmates with their production dates and components is now up to 217 entries, which is what made this possible. Unfortunately, because of the random nature of the data distribution, I still have some gaps that are larger than I would like. I have 7 weeks between the Type 1 and Type 2, and 17 weeks between the Type 7 and Type 8. Those are long enough that they could be a result of shutting down production for a while, or they might just be lack of data. I also have very sketchy data for late 1981 into 1982 that shows an odd situation regarding the Type 8 and Type 9.

So I'm going to continue data collection in hopes of filling those gaps. Will 300 entries be enough? We'll see...

 

[MarlynOC]

Use both for about 20+ years. Like the boards that capture pipe and hold it steady. Leave leg extensions down on second to make lower for handling some projects.

 

[Charles Freeborn]

I bought one way back and it was nicked from me at a job site in the '80's sometime. Then, when my mother- in - law was moving house we helped with the clean out, and lo and behold in the garage was nearly pristine one of the same early era. I made a rolling stand for it and it has a prominent place in my garage along with an assortment of tops that I switch out for various tasks.

As a sidebar, a client of mine was once visiting the Isle of Man and his resident friend pointed out a rather spectacular house and asked if he'd heard of a fold up contraption called a work man or work spot or some such thing. The mansion was owned by the inventor...

 

[LS6 Tommy]

As a sidebar, a client of mine was once visiting the Isle of Man and his resident friend pointed out a rather spectacular house and asked if he'd heard of a fold up contraption called a work man or work spot or some such thing. The mansion was owned by the inventor...

IIRC, he lived on Jersey, not the Isle of Man.

Tommy

 

[wolfcj]

At my website, I have a 2003 article from the Observer about Hickman's villa (in Jersey). It has photos, but they aren't high quality. It's the very last item on my Documents page.

 

[wolfcj]

There is an interesting new eBay listing for Workmate replacement feet of a style I've never seen before:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-and-...825209?hash=item3db43bd579:g:NuoAAOSwLPNgA2GS

The seller describes using them also for the "lowered position", but doesn't show a photo. Given how large they are it appears they would interfere with folding and unfolding the legs, but maybe the taper takes care of that. I've sent the seller a message asking.

This isn't someone who participates here, is it?

 

[LS6 Tommy]

"This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing."

Don't know what else to say...

Tommy

 

[wolfcj]

That's mostly my doing. After I asked him some questions, he said he would cancel it and relist. He's editing it to sell them in sets of four instead of eight, and he will explain that you can't leave them in place for sawhorse height if you want to be able to extend the legs.

 

[y'sguy]

The "new" bumpers listed do seem like a good replacement for the lowers, due to size and stability. JMHO.
I still don't need any though. The originals are still there and working fine so far.

 

[CNN]

There is an interesting new eBay listing for Workmate replacement feet of a style I've never seen before:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-and-...825209?hash=item3db43bd579:g:NuoAAOSwLPNgA2GS

The seller describes using them also for the "lowered position", but doesn't show a photo. Given how large they are it appears they would interfere with folding and unfolding the legs, but maybe the taper takes care of that. I've sent the seller a message asking.

This isn't someone who participates here, is it?

Looks like an "vibration damper GN453", only the tip seems a bit different.
Maybe handy for indoor/slippery floors, but i would rather go for a swiveling feet.

 

[wolfcj]

There's a set of vintage black swivel pegs on eBay at a very good price right now, probably won't last long:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Deck...563488?hash=item343b157d60:g:uK0AAOSw3R5gEIWX

 

[wolfcj]

Available for $40 on Facebook Marketplace in Tennessee is a 79-001 Type E "wookmate":
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2857352707884018

 

[wolfcj]

There's a quite rare and interesting Workmate for sale in Florida on Facebook Marketplace for $50 right now. It's the very earliest 79-001 Type 2 that I have found a date for, made June 25, 1975. These first Type 2s were identical in their components to the Type 1, except that they have 9-hole 4-corner jaws rather than the 10-hole jaws of the Type 1. Their labeling/marking is also slightly different, but that's it for differences.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/246530307089165

 

[wolfcj]

Some unusual special-purpose jaws on this Workmate, as well as an interesting way to keep the plastic dogs right on the Workmate. I'm not sure if that tray-like thing on the bottom belongs on the Workmate, or if someone just happened to set it there.

 

[speedyspaghetti]

Love mine!

 

[Outlawmws]

Wolf, based on the second pic, I think this was just a 2X6 jaw replacement hack with an extension for larger pieces to be gripped by the dogs?

 

[wolfcj]

I think you have the right idea, it is to make the jaw wider than just the single board would have been. However, the full-length piece of jaw looks narrower than a 2x6. Notice that it doesn't even cover the entire plastic mounting block that held the original 5" jaw.

It looks to as if both pieces are 2x4. My guess is that the front-most piece of 2x4 was cut short because if it had been full length, the resulting 7" jaw would have overhung the front too far and interfered with the vise handles.

 

[f4 plt]

Bought mine new in 1974 and still use it

 

[Bazsm]

I still have the workmate my dad bought in the 70’s, we lived in Hoddesdon and I think we got it from a place in Brewery Road there - not sure if that’s where Ron had his company or maybe just wishful thinking on my part. It’s not one of the very original style but I’m sure it dates back to that time, it still gets used regularly.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[wolfcj]

Bought mine new in 1974 and still use it

An original owner -- Congratulations! Give us some pictures, please! I, in particular, would like to see the codes stamped in ink on the bottom of the jaws, for my Workmate documentation project.

 

[MarlynOC]

Looking through files for snow blower manual came across original Instruct Manual for my
Workmate Plus 79-042 in perfect shape.

 

[wolfcj]

There is what appears to be an excellent 79-001 Type E for sale in San Francisco on Facebook Marketplace for $125. The seller says "great condition"; from what I can see in the photos (which are never high resolution on Facebook) it looks virtually unused. It has all four blue swivel pegs. I'm pretty sure I see at least six of the original feet also.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2851096918443157

 

[wolfcj]

This is amazing—now there's a second beautiful 79-001 Type E on Facebook Marketplace, for those of you in the Southeast. It's priced very high at $200, and is missing four of the feet, but like the one I posted about yesterday, it also looks virtually unused. It includes the original instruction manual.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3770217896407326/

 

[Bazsm]

After finding this thread I’ve started looking for one of the aluminium models and found a WM325 with the wooden footboard (in the UK). It just seems to be missing 2 of the front push in feet so can I easily modify some of the threaded feet to make it usable?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[wolfcj]

On my web site I have a page about replacement feet with suggestions of solutions:
Black & Decker Workmate
Look under the heading "Fixed Front Feet for Type E".

Just one clarification—you don't say explicitly that you have the other two push-in feet. Do you have them? If so, use them for the front sawhorse position, for which it's more difficult to find replacements. Then it's relatively easy to find something that will work for the front full-height position. (Although they won't match the originals in appearance, of course.)

 

[wolfcj]

A surprising new development; I'm not sure how to feel about this:

The Facebook seller of the Type E in Florida that I posted about yesterday (third message above), has raised the price to $300, and—get this—now says "WAS APPRAISED AT $489 LAST YEAR"!

Someone is appraising Workmates now? Who could possibly know enough about Workmates and the market for them to offer a meaningful "appraisal"? I now get questions occasionally via my web site about how much a Workmate is worth and I usually deflect the question, explaining that there is absolutely no consistency in the market for Workmates.

I like the idea that interest in vintage Workmates may be spreading a little, especially because it may mean that more of them are saved, but I don't think "appraisals" are a positive trend.