I had never given much thought to these WorkMates, even after salvaging one from my dad's basement when we cleared out his house last year. I hauled it home with a truckload of other things, gave it a cursory once-over, was still relatively unimpressed, wrapped it up in lawn and leaf bags, and parked it in a dark corner of my shed. Then I recently found this thread and began reading. Hard to believe it's now accumulated nearly 2,400 posts.
And, it got me to thinking about that dusty thing in that back corner of the shed. So, I went out there and dug it out, hauled it into my workshop, and gave it a more thorough examination. Turns out it's a 400 type 4, and looks as though my dad had probably only used it once or twice. Knowing that he was decidedly not of DIY personality, I'd hazard a guess that he only used it once. In fact, I'm surprised that he even owned it. It might well have been a gift. I'll never know, as he's gone now.
After giving it a bit of a cleanup, it became apparent that this thing is in remarkably good condition. Not quite as-new, but damned close to it. The thing was dusty, but nearly all of that dust was storage dust, with a small amount of sawdust also present.
I downloaded the user's manual from the Interweb to better familiarize myself with its basic operation, and applied some Teflon lube to the sliding surfaces and to the threads of the clamp screws, which really smoothed out all of the various movements. Following the advice posted frequently in this thread, I also applied some of the lube to the plastic catches for the legs, and that made a huge difference. They had been so reluctant to release that I'm surprised none of the snapped, but now the legs slide across those plastic faces nicely, with no hint that anything's being strained.
If the orange dogs were still in dad's basement, I either never found them or didn't know what I was looking at if I did see them, but I ordered up a new set that arrived here via US Mail yesterday.
Having a new-found appreciation for the multiplicity of ways these things can be put to use, this one's going to remain handy for quick access in my shop. Thanks to all who've posted so much useful information. A huge tip of the cap to Wolf for all of the work he's put into his assemblage of data.
Given that this thread has focused primarily on the history of these things, it might be cool to get a separate thread going about all of the various ways that they've been used, customized, etc.
Photos below, some taken before and some after it got a cleanup.
Steve
www.metsagroup.com
