I show how I rescued and repaired a Black and Decker Workmate 300 workbench that was thrown on the side of the road near my house. My Amazon Store: www.amazon.com... My Wife's Art: laurelwoodstud...
My 300 was a gift from my wife. It has been one of the most useful gifts I have ever received. It is very well built and is very dependable. Good job salvaging that one as it has years of use in it still.
Have had a 300 since 1983. It's still going strong. Also recently I found a early aluminum casting model that I needed just because. They really are useful in the shop and outside.
Took a bunch of junk to the dump a couple months ago. And there was this forlorn workmate there lying folded up, on the ground. Tossed into the back of my truck and brought it home; turns out its newer than the one I have.
Was just looking at my 200 that I left outside last winter. Tried to find tops for it but couldn't. Thought maybe someone has put tops on it on youtube. Found your video and now I'm going to do the same thing!
Just finished re-doing mine which is a bit older than the one shown here. On the acme screws: good idea to remove them & wire brush the threads to remove rust. If they are rusted they will wear the plastic internal threads that attach to the slides. The leg lock plastic parts are still available on ebay & would be a good investment. The unit can be folded & will take up very little space when not in use. These are very durable & useful items. Use mine a lot & had to make new wood tops, used 2 layers of plywood glued together. Good video.
I have an original (cast aluminum or magnesium) B&D Workmate. It’s probably 40-45 years old. Have rebuilt it twice, and it’s ready for its third rebirth. Can’t imagine working without it.
I just found a Workmate 400 with the same LEG issues as yours and the worm gear handles have been broken off but aside from that it's in perfect condition. I hope to have it up and running in the next couple of days. Thanks for the video.
First of all I think I would have completely cleaned the entire frame and then wiped it down with wax. Johnson's Paste wax to be exact. Then I would have lubricated all the moving parts. Then I would have made the table parts as you did. You saved a very nice and useable shop piece. I love mine!
If one has a 3D printer there are free files out there for those broken leg clips. Being able to close them makes it narrow and allow it to stand on its side. I have plenty of stands and workbenches but these are great for one off projects. Try clamping a board in one to the height you need for a feed out table behind a table saw.
Those little plastic clips for the feet are cheap. You can find them easily via google. I bought a replacement clip for my workmate. Haven't tried installing it yet, though.
Why does no-one ever chuck something like this away at the end of my drive? Oh, wait a minute! A few years back I was able to buy a virtually new one at around half shop price from a guy who was moving and needed the space. Meanwhile, the one we were given as a wedding present over 40 years back, although now a little scratched and scruffy and needed the leg clips replacing, still has better plywood jaws than the MDF ones on that newer model (one of which is distinctly sagging in the middle.) But yeah, an invaluable tool!
Ive been trying to do mine but being a bit dizzy im bodging it right up could you help ? my runner pegs seem to be fitted upside down to yours and im not sure which bolts to use. i kinda worked it all out and had to abandon it for a few days, once i started again i was messing it all up lol
I like what you did, but I wonder if the solid wood tops will split under the clamping pressure while holding a piece of wood in the bench dogs. That is only a concern if you drill the tops so you can use bench dogs, of course.
I have one that i inherited when my grandfather passed, he took care of every tool he had lol it looks to be all original woth solid wood for the tops, i have used the dogs multiple times and it hasnt failed
I plan to use laminated plywood on mine. The kind that is used in the bottom of trailers. The video was helpful because I were not aware of that the piece has to free the handles to turn.
The pleasure is using materials I had on hand that would otherwise have been thrown away. Since this table is used for garage projects and gets things like oil and pant spilled on it there is no sense wasting money on "good" boards that would get ruined. If I were using this for fine wood working or something like that then I'd consider using nicer boards.
