Black and Decker Workmate - still with dangerously sharp edges?

can be removed so the platform can be used like a saw horse with nothing sticking up.e.g.to put a door on.

Have they never heard of the principle of levers? I'd be scared putting any force on the edge of one of those with it essentially balanced on a pivot.

JGH

????

The thing is built like a brick sh*thouse. Its rated at 200kg!

A cast alloy Workmate? Never heard of one. Are you sure it's a Black & D ecker?

In message snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com, MM <kylix snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk> writes

The original Workmate had cast alloy frames. B&D bought them out.

Adrian

Still got my original with cast ally frame. Although earlier ones had even more cast ally.

It's a mixture of plain ally and blue painted steel. First ones were all ally coloured.

and they had decent ply tops. I've still got mine - I hope.

The B&D workmate is certainly not an item that has improved over time. Compared to my original one the present one is a lot flimsier and full of sharp edges, I only use it these days in desperation.

Richard

The original was pretty expensive. Current ones pretty cheap.

It took you nine years to spot that reply to your post in 2011?

Tim

The first two versions had two alloy H frames.

All the rest was sheet steel painted blue.

Hickman's original design the Mk 1 had a flat piece of ply as a base.

One sold today on eBay for £395

The listing is incorrect. They weren't made for Black and Decker. At that stage Hickman sold them himself.

When Black and Decker bought him out around 1973 they redesigned the base with four folding legs, and made the top thinner around 1" birch ply with holes to take bench pegs as on full size workbenches. This was the Mk II.

Later versions the Mk III onwards with hollow steel frames are lighter, allegedly, even stronger.

But all still incorporate Hickman's original innovatons, Foldng down when not in use,and the vice top.

michael adams

...

There is something wrong here somewhere.

A close examination of one of those photos shows "Black and Decker" in red, on the label on the front of the top. Supposedly on a 1968 model.

And yet on the Workmate Wiki page it claims

He had his first breakthrough in 1968, after convincing a DIY magazine to let him exhibit at the Ideal

Home Exhibition in London, which enabled him to sell 1,800 units that year.[2]

Itself a quote from

The thick plottens

That's my version. I've even got some extension arms to hold bigger things like doors. But I didn't reaise it was B&D then. I'm not sure their name was on it.

I bought four replacement feet, and leg springs (called latches) for mine on eBay a while back, and they work fine.

michael adams

...

Having just checked on mine. When its upright, "Workmate" is on the front of the front frame and is what you see immediately. Looking through to the back frame that has "Black and Decker" on it. And that's the same from both directions. So both frames have "Workmate" on the outside, and "Black and Decker" on the inside. On mine anyway. I'm not sure of the position when it's folded.

michael adams

...

Just looked. Mine is the same, but I've never noticed the B&D name before, just seen "Workmate".

So have I, but one of the feet got lost during a move and I've been unable to find a replacement - usual eBay sources no use. Resting on a handy offcut of approx the right thickness is so diy!

The originals were cast iron - I have one. It was only later that the legs became angle iron.