Workmate

[LOTW]

What's the best bang for your buck in the workmate lineup? Are the cheapies worth having? How about harbor freight? Are there any other brands that should be considered?

 

[sberry]

I never used that stuff enough to know if I like it, I own one, should try it sometime.

 

[LOTW]

Looks handy??? I don't do much with wood, thought it would be nice to be able to get it out, use it and get rid of it again.

 

[sberry]

I never got it out so it was just in the way. It may be a good thing, for some reason it never panned out.

 

[Zeke]

I have 2. One I intend to replace the wood jaws with steel for welding. But I've been saying that for 3 years. The other one (which has the nice AL frame) sits right under the table saw extension and never moves.

I could live w/o both. If you don't have a workbench with a couple of vises, then a WM might be for you. Or, if you set up somewhere else.

 

[Erampu]

I use mine frequently as portable workbenches. I find them very handy. I have two. One is from the 70's and is a lot sturdier than the one I got from my father's estate this summer. It appears to be a lot newer.

I haven't looked at other brands, but like most tools, the higher quality is better and will last longer.

 

[nh_yota]

I have two that I bought at yard sales. Keep your eyes open because they frequently pop up at yard sales and on craigslist.

 

[Shop Dad]

What's the best bang for your buck in the workmate lineup? Are the cheapies worth having? How about harbor freight? Are there any other brands that should be considered?

I have a couple that I find useful for where you don't have a shop (driveway, basement etc.) get them used and save some money. I like the bigger ones that (say they) hold 500lbs.

 

[gungatim]

I've got an older workmate. nice, used it once. no real need is served better than other things I already have. I also have the small table top workmate jr. I thought I would use it in the woodshop, but never have. They seem like a good idea but a good bench, vice, and/or sawhorses do the job better for me...

 

[IndyGarage]

If you are going to buy something new, I would suggest a JawHorse over a workmate.

I've got both and the JawHorse gets used continuously, while the workmate sits in the corner.

The difference is the clamping force. I'd say the Jawhorse clamps about 10x as hard, and has rubber coated jaws.

"Yes but a Jawhorse doesn't have a table top "- well it's a pretty simple matter of taking a piece of 3/4 plywood and screwing it to a chunk of 4x4 and clamping it into the vise - instant workbench.

Also, I have both the original Jawhorse and a knockoff one - the original is worth the extra money.

 

[jakemac]

The only time I used mine was when I was changing out a motor on my riding mower.
It gave me a place to put both motors, with the spindles dropped through the table, while I swapped out some parts.

Otherwise, it sits in the garage getting in the way.

 

[nh_yota]

I've had my eye on this for a while:

http://www.keter.com/en/folding-work-table

It's on my list of "things to buy when I have extra money and everything else is paid for". So I may never end up buying one.

 

[ct01r]

I have 2 Workmates, and 1 cheaper version. Have also used friends' cheaper versions. The Workmates win hands down. Stronger, steadier, etc. I like using them for larger projects (painting doors, etc.) so they'll sit in the corner for a year or so, then get used regularly for a month. I like the fact that the Workmates have 2 heights; the lower level is good for working on furniture carcasses, etc. The other versions just seem a lot more flimsy. I agree with the yard sale idea; you also see them on craigslist regularly. Curt

 

[vertguy]

I've had my eye on this for a while:

http://www.keter.com/en/folding-work-table

It's on my list of "things to buy when I have extra money and everything else is paid for". So I may never end up buying one.

I picked up one last BF for $39 at Menards and it gets used regularly. Very sturdy and easy to store

 

[Bigbandguy]

I made a 3 x 5 foot table top with a 2 x 4 cleat glued down the middle the long way. Clamp the cleat into the workmate and it makes for a pretty sturdy quickie table. I am pretty sure I stole the idea from someone on here.

 

[shoot summ]

I've had my eye on this for a while:

http://www.keter.com/en/folding-work-table

It's on my list of "things to buy when I have extra money and everything else is paid for". So I may never end up buying one.

I have a Workmate that gets used occasionally.

I have 3 of the Keeter tables that get used all of the time.

I'd take another Keeter over the Workmate...

 

[zendriver]

I have one I believe is a "550" from the early 2000's. It's perfect for a power miter saw and worked good as a portable workbench near an outboard repair.

It's sturdy, but very cumbersome to expand, it has to be grabbed just right. It has a thick top, but it's laminated particle board, that has "sagged" a tad over the years. It has plastic gripping inserts on the surface, that work ok.

The older ones are better built, they sell cheap or expensive at auctions, I keep telling myself I should buy one.

I would almost suggest looking for something different.

 

[captain14]

There is a very good thread on GJ that you should read before you decide one way or another. I am not sure how to copy/post a thread here on my phone.

 

[redmondjp]

I have a workmate - currently holding up a pile of stuff in the garage. You know what I end up using far more often? A pair of folding plastic sawhorses. I've got scraps of plywood laying around that I will put onto the sawhorses and then the miter saw can sit on top.

 

[txvwnut]

I've got the Craftsman version of the workmate and quite like it. The table is height adjustable and will tilt.

I also have a B&D Workmate that I've had since the 70's, this one doesn't get much use anymore.

 

[crackit]

I've got an older Workmate (70s or 80s) that I use fairly frequently as a portable outdoor workbench and as a temporary stand for benchtop power tools (grinder, chop saw, drill press). It works great.

 

[atthebeach]

I've had a workmate for years that I used out in the driveway before I had a shop. Now it only gets used when I'm over at a relative's house doing some work.

 

[rharman]

If you are going to buy something new, I would suggest a JawHorse over a workmate.

I've got both and the JawHorse gets used continuously, while the workmate sits in the corner.

The difference is the clamping force. I'd say the Jawhorse clamps about 10x as hard, and has rubber coated jaws.

"Yes but a Jawhorse doesn't have a table top "- well it's a pretty simple matter of taking a piece of 3/4 plywood and screwing it to a chunk of 4x4 and clamping it into the vise - instant workbench.

Also, I have both the original Jawhorse and a knockoff one - the original is worth the extra money.

I've looked at the Jawhorse and always thought it was a solution in search of a problem.

What do you use it for? Can you post any pics of it in action?

Thanks!

 

[rharman]

I've had my eye on this for a while:

http://www.keter.com/en/folding-work-table

It's on my list of "things to buy when I have extra money and everything else is paid for". So I may never end up buying one.

I picked up one last BF for $39 at Menards and it gets used regularly. Very sturdy and easy to store

I have a Workmate that gets used occasionally.

I have 3 of the Keeter tables that get used all of the time.

I'd take another Keeter over the Workmate...

I have two of the Keter tables. They are great. I, too, use them all the time - with and without the clamps. They've been a great addition to my shop.

 

[guy48065]

I've used mine often for 25 years. Handy for setting up in the driveway for odd jobs. I've bolted a vise to a piece of plywood and clamped that in the WM to thread a bunch of pipe. Used it to holds my portable planer to make a big pile of sawdust I didn't want in my shop. Done all kinds of routing jobs on it. Flip it upside down and put a larger piece of ply on the rubber feet to act as a worktable. In the low position it's just right to grab the edges of a door while i chop hinge mortises or plane an edge.
Etc.
Etc.

 

[IndyGarage]

I've looked at the Jawhorse and always thought it was a solution in search of a problem.

What do you use it for? Can you post any pics of it in action?

Thanks!

I can understand your skepticism, I was skeptical too before I used one - I didn't like anything that used an infomercial for advertising. Now it is one of the most used tools in my shop - seriously. I will never go without one.

The biggest difference between my expectation of a Jawhorse and the reality of it is the usefulness of the clamp. You can put massive amounts of clamping force on an item with a Jawhorse with your foot and the thick rubber jaws, and it locks and unlocks with a flip of a switch and a quick pump of your foot. It's an easy and natural motion to clamp something into it.

I'll see if I can get some pictures, but today I was using an angle grinder and a wire brush to clean rust off a snowplow mount for a Farmall Cub Tractor - the jawhorse held the heavy steel mount arms securely while I wire brushed them. They weigh about 30-40 lbs. The Jawhorse holds them plenty tight and makes it quick and easy to reposition them to get at all the surfaces. I have done the same thing when cleaning steel or aluminum wheels, or large bulky pieces that are hard to hold onto.

I recently cut an underbody toolbox in two to shorten it from 8 feet to 6 feet. I held the big bulky (and pretty heavy) box in the Jawhorse while I cut it and welded it back together. I often use the jawhorse to hold metal to cut with my plasma cutter.

I've used it to hold up pallet rack supports while I was installing the crossbeams. Just set the Jawhorse 90 degrees to the support and clamp it into the vise.

It works great to hold 2x or 4x lumber for cutoff with a circular saw - or really any piece of lumber that fits in the jaws - plywood, hardwood metal tubing.

I also have the optional welding kit for the Jawhorse, which includes an infinitely adjustable C-clamp that hovers over the jawhorse and allows you to hold parts to be welded together in almost any configuration. It works great.

Most of the time I use it as a portable workbench. I have a formica counter top section about 24 by 36 inches with a small chunk of 4x4 attached to the bottom - I just clamp the 4x4 into the Jawhorse and I have an instant workbench which has very large overhangs, so I can work all around it easily. I have another piece of steel that I can put in the jawhorse and use as a welding bench. I've even used it as a large layout table when I clamped a large piece of plywood into it. You can get a model that will clamp a full 48 inch wide, and it would have no trouble holding a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 plywood.

You might say " I think I can do all the stuff a Jawhorse can do in my bench vise" - well, I would say no. I have a Parker 5 1/2 inch vise and a Columbian 6 inch vise nearby - both very good vises - and the Jawhorse gets 10X the use of either of them.

First off, unless your bench vise is a huge one, it won't hold nearly as much as the Jawhorse - the Jaws only open a fraction as far on a bench vise, and it's not nearly as convenient to use. You can size and tighten a Jawhorse in a small portion of the time it takes to adjust a bench vise.

Most importantly, the Jawhorse is portable - I can take it where I want to work, rather than having to take the work to the vise. It's very sturdy, sitting on three legs, but it's not all that heavy or bulky to move around. Think of having a huge bench vise that you can put anywhere you want any time.

And finally the item clamped into the Jawhorse is much more accessible on all sides than when it is clamped in a bench vise.

I still choose a bench vise over the Jawhorse if I'm going to be hammering on something very hard, or I need to clamp something fairly small or need the metal jaws of the vise.

There are a couple of major differences from a Workmate - First off the workmate has a wimpy handscrew clamp, which is no comparison to the footpedal clamp on a JawHorse. Second, in order to be stable, the Workmate has a bulky base, which doesn't allow you full access around the item clamped in it. The Jawhorse has a simple, but very strong three legged frame which doesn't get in the way nearly as much. The only advantage the Workmate has is that it has a table top built in, but on the Jawhorse you can have any size table top you want by just clamping a piece of plywood into the jaws.

 

[Musicinabottle]

I bought a first generation workmate from a friend about 31 years ago and have used it very much. I recently acquired a second and newer generation and use it often too.

 

[woodrail]

A couple weeks ago I pick up this:

https://www.kregtool.com/store/c64/work-supports/p419/mobile-project-center/

Expensive $150+/-, put the ability to quickly clamp down using the track is very nice. It's a very well thought out solution.

 

[ElJefe]

I like the look of the JawHorse. I might have to look into that.

 

[bczygan]

I have 2. One is the nice aluminum framed one. They feel a little too short for me (I was 6'3" but shrinking). And a bit too high to kneel on.

So other than trying them out when I got them, they sit somewhere (I forgot where).

Bill

 

[driftpin]

I have several, I use them like others, as tables in the garage, and for things like grinding or whatever, outside, where the particles and sawdust won't get all-over everything inside. I've had to replace the wood on a couple, and one I ran a much-longer top pair of boards out either side, it makes it easy to grab a door, for instance to cut a hinge or to plane it. I was assembling a Panda Kitchen set of 3/4" solid wood knockdown cabinets, I was using my KREG pocket screw clamp screwed to the Workmate, and it made it very-easy to work in my small 2-car garage for the drilling and screw/glue process.

I'm sure there are better things out there, but I think my Workmate count is up-to four now, and I doubt that I spent $50 for all of them. Very cost-effective!

 

[Legion Prime]

*cough* Black & Decker Workmate*cough*
They're really a useful design, unfortunately they'd be a whole lot more useful it they stood taller than mid-thigh on me. They'd be super useful if only to clamp modular worktops onto (eg vise, Kreg jig etc) even if they didn't have the dog holes to do additional clamping & workholding with. Unfortunately for me it's just another design made for people a foot shorter than I am so for now it lives in the basement for the odd plumbing job.

 

[anndel]

Current ones are weak sauce. Get one from the 70s or 80s which are very sturdy.

 

[Karsa]

I saw an old workmate on craigslist, I like it very much, it's a good choice to pick a workmate from there.