I think a lot of us would be quite interested in your opinion on what Workmate models you believe to be the best/ most well built and/ or a list of your personal top 5 or top 10 favorite models, along with detailed comparison and contrast explanations covering why you rank them the way you do and what you like/ dislike about them, etc. These kinds of ranking lists would be great content for your website and especially for a video here on youtube if you ever find the time!
I understand the request, but I'm not the best person to do that. My hands-on experience is limited to the first-generation full-size Workmate 79-001s from 1974 to 1982. In my videos and on my web site I cover them down to the smallest details, so that potential buyers can judge the potential advantages of each one for themselves. I also provide occasional commentary of my own about what I think are both good and bad design features of the different Types of the 79-001. There is a discussion thread that has been going on for over ten years at garagejournal.com where owners sometimes discuss their preferences.
Thanks so much. It has been a lot of work, but I've been very happy with the details I've been able to uncover and document about the history of the Workmate.
Your website is fantastic. Your videos are as well. Thank you for all the work on giving us info on these cool Workmates. I own four of them . Two H frames and two newer ones. I just found a Type E and really want that one. Thanks again.
Thanks for the geat video! So much information! I just bought my second type 4 last week. These are hands down the most durable and versatile tools I own, and easily the best $25 I've ever spent!
I bought a 79-009 a year or two ago, but I haven't used it yet. Its size seems promising, almost as large as a 79-001, but lighter weight, so easier to carry around.
Hi. I’ve been a fan for many years of the B&D Workmate. I recently found a Type 2 H Frame in good condition. Nearly no rust! I want to make it new again. I wondered about some numbers stamped on the bottom of the wood. 542 23. Larry
My website will answer almost any question you might have about the 79-001 and other early Workmates. For starters, this is the page about the Type 2: h-frame.weebly.com/79-001-type-2.html and this is the page about the code numbers: h-frame.weebly.com/brockville-production-codes.html
I bought my Workmate in London England . Original WM 325 when it was first sold there . Somewhere in the early 1970s or late 1960s . I still have it here in Ontario Canada. Enjoying your videos . Thanks
Great video.I must be lucky In that I just found my second Type E at a estate sale today. Very rough condition compared to my first Type E but it's intact and complete. Must have sat in a humid environment for a great while as the steel pins at the leg pivots have seized . Unfortunately one leg is broken at a seized pivot. Really thin metal. Going to have to blast it clean and lube up every joint to get it too unfold. I knew what it was when I first saw it sitting in a forgotten corner of a basement. It probably was sitting in this spot for 30 years by the look of it.. Thanks Again.
Thanks. One of my four Type E's was in worse condition than that. Still is, for that matter. I committed to buy it from Craigslist, sight unseen, and drove 70 miles to get it. It was in a barn, in the upright position. I took it out and bought it, but when I got it to my car I realized it was seized up and wouldn't fold! I had no kind of lubricant with me, so I had to carefully work all the joints to eventually get it to fold. It took so much force I was afraid I was going to break it. I have sold a few parts off it so far, but there are still screws that I can't loosen up.
I have a Black and Decker, Standard Workmate. The number on it is 78-001. I can’t get it to level. I heard on your video for one type of 79-001 where you say that feet were added on three legs and the forth was a leveling foot. I need a handle knob and a few dogs for it. Happy to hear more about my workmate.
On the 79-001 Type E, 1, 2, 3, and 5, all eight feet were adjustable for leveling. This flexibility was gradually eliminated until on the 79-001 Type 8 all eight feet were non-adjustable. My video called "Workmate 79 001 & 79-004 Type Identification guide" will help you figure out which Type you have. Then you can find which of my other videos covers that Type in detail. Or, as an alternative, my website has far more info about all of the early Workmates.
I gave my father a 79001 type 1 for Christmas in 1974. He passed many years ago but I still have it. I've had to rebuild the surface but I still use it all the time. In fact I have 2 more that I have picked up a garage sales and refurbished them. Thank you very much for sharing and I enjoy your website very much.
From the UK - Passed down from my dad, I have a variation on the "type 5" that has slip on plastic feet on all four legs. The bottoms of the legs are folded over, there are no mounts for the adjustable screw feet and no alteration marks, the original blue paint is still visible on the folded edges.
You need to go to my website and look at my pages about the UK models of the Workmate: h-frame.weebly.com/uk--european-workmates.html Specifically, you have a WM625, and it's probably an E05: h-frame.weebly.com/workmate-wm625.html
@@H-frame Thank you, had a look at the worktop underside and it is a WM625 E06 made in the RoI. That is a truly impressive amount of information you have on these great pieces of kit!
How much do you think they type 2 is worth in good condition? I'm sure it depends on the specific condition. I got one yesterday from a yard sale for basically nothing. If I could get a decent price for it I'd sell it.
I'm sorry you're not interested in it for your own use, but it will be good if you get it to someone who wants it. There is is no consistent market for Workmates to help much on price. You'll just have to check prices in your own area.
Excellent description and instructions from this gentleman, if you have one it's worth the time to listen. I constantly have trouble raising to the first stage, the two areas to press in with my fingers are just almost impossible to do. I bought this new in the 1970s and I like it but, it's a pain in the ass to raise and lower/ I have no idea how to cure that.Thanks
Thanks, I'm glad to hear that people are finding it useful. My video for the 79-001 Type 1 demonstrates how to fold and unfold it, but it sounds as though you mostly know how. I'll add that sometimes the problem unfolding is that the hooks on the latches get caught on the upper frame. It can help to press down on the ends of the vise jaws with your palms and continue pressing while you press the release tabs inward with your fingers.
Thanks for all you do with this channel. I just picked up this model from a neighbor, he kept it in fantastic condition. For years I had been using a version from the 2010s that constantly had me frustrated (the plastic leg keepers kept breaking and the legs would constantly swing and hit my legs, awful). This model on the other hand is night and day, wish I had explored vintage models sooner, your video helped me on my hunt.
Hello, mindlessly surfing the web I stumbled across your RU-vid channel. I recently cleaned out my parents estate and found an old B&D workmate that I remember my father using when I was very young. I have put everything in a storage locker I will dig it out and get some pictures and so-on and send you the information on your website. Thanks for your efforts to bring attention to these unique tools, Wayne from Alberta, Canada
Thanks. I found that there is almost no historical info about the Workmate readily available. I decided that someone needed to do it while it was still possible to find the info, so I jumped in!
Living in a rented property a few years back, I discovered one of the old UK made blue framed workmates stuffed inbetween the shed and the fence at the back of the garden. No idea how long it had been left there exposed to the elements but it was seized stiff. I dragged it out and spent an afternoon cleaning and oiling it, after which it was in perfect working order again - in fact I was amazed at how solid and robust it was, and that the wooden top seemed to be completely unaffected. Meanwhile on my cheap modern day equivalent, more or less every part has broken or started to fail to the point where it's becoming unusable already...
What a great find! I have no direct experience with any Workmates newer than about 1984, but I have often heard from owners that the quality doesn't match up to the older ones.
@@H-frame There was a first model, as you show at ~1:40, for sale on UK E-bay recently, original retail price of £18 in the paperwork with it offered for sale, collection only, for a starting bid of £105, it didn't sell, the original timber jaws showed years of use but still good, unlike the particle board used on modern versions. I've had a number down the years, but a recent buy of an early steel H version, from our local 'mens-shed' has rekindled my interest as retirement approaches, the slightly newer version I picked up after had a very badly blown particle board jaw and an only slightly better plywood one, so some fresh 3/4" plywood has been used to replace them, and by adjusting the jaws positioning on the frame and runners the max opening has been improved by ~ 7/8", with the 3 x wider to the rear rear jaw giving a useful table space and the overall width plus 4" to give more room for clamps on the sides.
@@neiljohnuk @neiljohnuk The Workmate you're referring to is the original design made and sold by Ron Hickman's company Mate Tools before he sold the manufacturing rights to Black & Decker. You can read all about it at this page on my website: h-frame.weebly.com/mate-tools-workmate.html I also have the original brochure and owner's manual for that model from Mate Tools, earlier than the one you see in the eBay listing, on my Documents page: h-frame.weebly.com/documents.html
Many owners think the older ones are better made than the newer ones. Try to look at several , including at least one 79-001 (which would be from the 1974-1982 period) and one newer one to see how they feel to you.
One minor correction-At about 10:15 in this video, I misspoke, referring to a "U.S.-made Workmate". It was, of course, made in Brockville, Ontario, so I should have said "U.S.-market Workmate" or "North-American-made Workmate".
One minor correction-At about 7:40 in this video, I misspoke, referring to "the UK model WM25", which I had just mentioned correctly less than a minute earlier as the WM525.
This is fantastic labor of love. Thanks for putting the hours into this and sharing it to the public. My dad handed down to me his old B&D workmate and I love it! These can be found very cheaply at yard/estate sales and with a little lubrication and attention you can have a workbench better than any of the garbage sold in hardware stores today at a fraction of the price. Thanks for sharing your collection and research!
