Thanks. I picked up a vintage one at the end of somebody's driveway with a free sign on it today, and was trying to figure out exactly what i would use it for. Big help.
Thank you! I just assembled my Workmate 125 (that’s all I needed, honestly) and wasn’t sure how to properly use it. I’m decently handy but self-taught and I wasn’t sure how to use the bench dogs. Your pipe insulation trick helped so much with my project 😊
A shelf of 3/4 ply in the base comes in very handy to keep tools off the ground. It's also possible to make the shelf as a frame with hardware cloth that will allow sawdust to drop through too. An annoying thing about workmates is that they hop and buckle when exerting force sideways, so I made an extension beam with a leg that clamps in the center - that makes it very stable and it can suppor long pieces too.
I got my Dads old one and I had to replace the top I tuck a piece of 1/2 plywood and routed around the boards and copied all the holes it works just like it did brand new. My Dad got is for a Christmas present back in the early 70s best tool in my shop.
Great tip in the beginning. I'm hope i get a bench for my Birthday in July as im into d.i.y (which normally involves professionals undoing the things i have done!!).
Nice video, very helpful. I used one of these earlier this month at my brother in-laws, his is old but super handy. I have one arriving tomorrow which I'm using for a kitchen remodel, should work well.
Hey Craig - I know you are going to enjoy using your 425 during your remodel. You might find the tips in this playlist helpful: ru-vid.com/group/PLlOO6ucQXejbbilkzKOmvX9k1rJKGJByC Cheers!
Really enjoy your Workmate videos. Convinced me to return the Keter I bought and hunt down a good, used Workmate. I'm wondering though what the differences are between the different models and years? 425 type 2, type 3, the 550, etc etc. Maybe you could do a video showing the differences? Thanks for the videos!
Michael McAllister Thank you very much, and welcome to my channel. There are only a handful off differences between the 425 Type 2 through 6 mostly found in the panels. I like you idea about the video and perhaps I will add it to my queue. I think I have shown all of these individual across multiple videos but not in 1 video. Thanks for watching.
This is a great video! Would you be willing to show us how to replace the DeWalt belt? Mine is hanging on by a thread and will need replacing soon. Thanks!
How do you engage/dis-engage the 2 rotating handles and their synchronization via the toothed belt? When dis-engaged, should the belt be slipped "off" both cogged wheels? If so, there seems to be wear potential on the edges.
@@WorkMateGuy ...I also slipped mine off both cogged wheels.....the amount of "space" allocated for the belt "edges" is non-existant once yo do this....if you look...and a portion of the handle mechanism seems to constantly rub on the EDGE of the belt.....that's what I was talking about originally. I guess there is no "fix" for this other than snipping the belt off.
Only advise I would give is that if you have a piece of PVC clamped at one end, you should stick a piece of scrap at the other end. This was when you apply pressure to the jaws, you won't deform the piece you wish to cut. Those jaws are remarkably strong.
Hey Zak. Congratulations on your new Workmate 425. I know you are going to enjoy using it. I think this video along with Part II and several of my other Workmate videos should provide you with some "food for thought" for your projects. Good luck with your projects!
Hi! I just recently got into all of this and purchased a used Workmate 425 type 6 from someone near my house. Your videos have been a great help! Just wanted to ask, is there any way align the direction of the first block of wood when you rotate the knobs? I noticed mine leans slightly to the right, making the vice grip mechanism not as effective 😅 I'm thinking it's just something that misaligned somewhere, but I thought i'd get advice here 😁 Thanks again!
Glad you find the videos useful. Aligning the knobs such that it compresses evenly requires that you take the belt off and reset until you get it aligned... trial and error at this point. Cheers!
jeff hebert It will take some time but I'm sure you will get the hang of it. I still have to take a few minutes to think how I'm going to clamp something up. Cheers.
When I want to use my workmate for tapered objects, I can't. You state that the handles work independently. They don't for me. When I turn one handle, the other one turns too. I cannot angle it like it is shown in the video. How do I angle it to work with tapered objects? Please respond. Thank You.
What is the largest diameter pipe the workmate will hold horizontally without the pipe touching the frame below? This spec is not on the B&D website and their customer service is useless. Thanks,
Thanks for the great videos, I finally got round to ordering two of these, instead of the tiny selection of inferior models we have available in the UK (only 3 diff models, and they're all lousy!). The only problem is they have to be imported from the US so shipping and import duties are a bit painful. The ones I ordered are model WM425-A. Any idea what changed from 425 to 425-A?
@@WorkMateGuy I'm not able to see any major difference now they've arrived. The plastic sockets which sit in both of the vice channels is now white instead of black. Maybe they strengthened that. Pretty happy with them so far, although I was not able to hammer the 2 pins in on one of them, so have had to replace them with bolts instead. A bit annoying but might just be better in the long run
4:35 -Please tell me you don't have to mess with that belt that synchronizes the vise cranks to make it go at that angle! It slipped on me once when I was assembling my 425 and had nothing but trouble getting it re-tracked. Then I found one of the gear holes was broken halfway thru and had to send for a new one. Well, it's together now, the dogs look pretty easy to place, time to see what else the bench can do!
Hey Wayne, the belt should slip enough for you to get an angle on your work piece. Looking back on the actual work I have done I am hard pressed to recall a time when I had to use this feature. Cheers!
@@WorkMateGuy Thanks. I was able to finally slip it on by turning one crank until the gears engaged, but the worm bolts didn't have the vise panel on and pinswere just partly in. With the pins in now, we'll have to see, sure isn't any getting them out Thanks again!
Hi Guys!!! Hey WMG, I noticed in the Workmate 425 instructions that the handles can be turned in different directions or different speeds to grip odd shapes. The instructions say that a normal "clicking" sound will happen when this is done. With the drive belt in place, I assume the "clicking" sound is coming from the belt sprockets riding on their pins as the handles are turned. Do you think that is okay to do (turn the handles in different directions, etc. while the drive belt is in place) or should I roll the drive belt off the sprockets? With all the plastic parts (i.e., handles, pivot nuts, drive belt), I don't know how much pressure can be applied to those parts. On another note, this weekend, I was trying to grip a small piece of thin 1/4" plywood at the end of the jaws of my WorkMate 425. I had a hard time trying to get a solid grip on that thin piece of wood. I tried putting a scrap piece of 1/4" plywood on the other end of the jaw to balance the gripping force, but that didn't help much. Again, I could put more pressure on the handles/pivot nuts/drive belt), but I don't know how far I can stress those plastic parts. Any suggestions/info on what to do in these situations would be great to have. Thanks! And a big Thank You on all your cool WorkMate videos!
Hey Bryan, I don't think it's a good idea to turn the handling in different directions at the same time. The clicking you hear is the mechanism sliding which should be okay. When clamping shapes that are not semetrical crank both handles in the same direction until both are tight in which case you might crank one longer then the other. In the case of edge clamping like you did with you 1/4 work piece it sounds like you did every thing correctly. It could be that the belt is slipping sooner that it should as you tighten the jaws. You might try slipping off the belt and try it that way the next time you need to clamp in the same way. Thanks for stopping by and posting your questions. Cheers!
Hi, where do I find part number for workmate 550 ? I need a locking leg latch but no part number available for this model. Is this model the same as Workmate 425 type 3?
Thank you for the follow up, I enjoy watching your videos, was just watching them yesterday! My workmate says it’s Model 550 but in a very tiny letters on the side I found it says Workmate 425 type 3. I ordered the leg latches and installed them yesterday. Works perfectly. Next project is to replace the top! Thank you.
Domenic Larosa Let me see if I have done this on another one of my videos. My 425 is the same as yours I may have shown how to do this on my 500 so let me check. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
SNS1212 - Good question. I have not used the 1000. However, it does appear to be easier to set up as it does not collapse downward. I personally prefer the flexibility of having different height settings for different types of work pieces using the 425. Thanks for stopping by and posting.
James Gibson You should be able to clamp pipe with he pegasus but not quite in the same manner. Have you seen my video on the Workmate vs the Pegasus? You can see how it clamps in that video. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you for the videos. I did see the comparison video. I think with the clamps or Dogs and a clamps I could hold PVC pipe in it. I like the Workmate but the Pegasus with those clamps makes me chose the Pegasus over the Workmate. I do like the color of the Workmate better but the Pegasus is the one I will buy.
James Gibson Well, I don't think you can go wrong with either one of these benches. It all comes down to what type of work your going to be doing. I would be interested to know your thoughts of the Pegasus after you have used it a few times. Cheers.
I ordered one on the Home Depot website. They didn't have one in store so I ordered one. One being the Pegasus. When I get it I will let you know how I like it. Thanks for the videos because it helped me make a decision.
I bought this bench the other day the wood they use is the same cheap laminated bamboo they use in dollar store cutting boards ,one of my clamping panels was cracking and bowed I only noticed a week later so I don't know if came out of the box like that, I fixed the problem by replacing the the 3 wood parts with solid maple now its a bench unfortunately just the wood cost me $75
You could just as easily use a pool noodle of the correct size instead of the gray pipe insulation you see in this video. Thanks for stopping by and postinging. Cheers!
This is a pretty solid little workbench. While once you figure out how it comes together, it is physically Easy to assemble ru-vid.comUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh by yourself. But the diagrams explaining the steps are really pretty bad. I could not get the handle pins in all the way despite multiple attempts, so I just used a screw I had on hand for the 2nd handle. I could not get the first pin in further or pull it back out. You are supposed to hammer it in, but I had no leverage and the handle is plastic and I did not want to risk breaking it. I will get a lot of use out of the bench because of the convenient size and height. It does fold up nicely for storage. They even explain how to fold it so you don't get pinched...that is important!
Can someone kindly verify that these are the swivel pegs that are compatible with my Workmate 425. Black & Decker 79-010-4 Workmate Swivel Grip Peg. Thank you
Peter Batah As far as I know all the pegs are compatible with all of the workmate series of benches. I have taken old pegs from old benches and put them on my new bench, vice versa. This is how I know.
Hi Michael, If you purchased it from a big box store you might be able to get some help there. Otherwise: Stanley Black & Decker 1000 Stanley Drive New Britain, CT 06053 Phone: (860) 225-5111
I think this is one of my first videos which I shot with my old phone that did not have image stabilization. I have to chuckle when I look back on this and other older videos. Cheers!
