Black and Decker WM125 Workmate 125 350 Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench | List Price: $55.06
Discount Price: $29.97
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Brand: Black & Decker
Binding: Tools & Hardware
Features: - 350 pound weight capacity provides a sturdy work surface
- Workmate original jaws resist warping and swelling; opens and closes easily for simple set-up and clean-up
- Quality steel tube construction for durability
- Includes swivel pegs and integral retention grooves in jaw
- 2-year warranty
Four stars at this price. [Posted on 2008-02-18]
I purchased two of these Workmate 125 benches at a home improvement store for $20 each. (I believe they were mis-marked.) Were I to have paid full price I would have given it two or three stars. I have a workmate 225 which I use frequently and find very useful. The wm125 is lighter duty and does not have the same quality as the wm225 (the wood on the wm225 is finished slightly better, the hardware beefier and it seems to operate smoother.) Assemble took 30-45min taking my time, (I used a 1/8th inch round-over router bit to smooth the sharp edges of the wood.) I had no problems with assembly other than one bolt was missing for the leg assembly and the Black and Decker sticker on the front leg brace was out of place so I took it off. If I were only to have one Workmate I would get a 225 or 425, but as a backup or for very light duty the wm125 at this price is a great value.
Worth it with some modifications [Posted on 2008-02-18]
I got one of these, and when I wiped one piece of the wood with water, the paint came off (see pic).
A couple of days later, I decided that it was a good design and quality for the price, and wanted another, for use in painting doors. When I wiped the wood with water on the second Workmate, the paint stayed on - but the other piece of wood had blotches of paint on it from something else (this paint also stayed on - it looked like someone had made a mistake in painting the wood, and had done a poor job in trying to fix it).
The store where I bought them let me exchange the two pieces of wood (one from each of the Workmates I had) from another box in store. The paint stayed on the replacement piece, but the second piece also had a blotch of paint on it - I tried it as a replacement piece just for the heck of it, but the screw holes were way out of alignment, so I retrieved the original piece.
Another problem I had was that when I screwed a bolt into the plastic nut under the wood surface, which attaches to the vice, I stripped the first two threads - the plastic is very soft. I was able to get it to work just fine, but replaced this one piece also, since I was replacing the wood.
Improvements (see pic):
1.) Don't use the cotter pins that they give you for the handles. They are an impossibly tight tight fit. Using a hammer to pound them in, you'll hurt your thumb, and probably break the plastic, or bend the metal vice. I replaced them with nuts and bolts: 6-32 x 1-1/4"
2.) You can expand the table top yourself with a piece of wood that you get cut and planed at a lumber yard.
Block dimensions ( L x W x D )
Actual: 24" x 4-1/2" x 1-7/16"
Cut to: 24" x 4-1/4" x 1-6/16" ( 1-3/8" )
. . . I got the depth of the wood cut 1/16" of an inch lower than level, so that I can set screws on the table top, and they won't roll off.
Works well, but is difficult to assemble. [Posted on 2008-03-01]
The WM125 works well. It's most important feature for me is that it really does fold up small. (I live in an apartment.)
It's strong and stable enough to support a Dremel 220-01 Rotary Tool Work Station without shaking.
The only completely negative thing I have to say is that the assembly directions were terrible. I'm an engineer, and I had to completely start over three times before I got it right. The directions are so bad that at one point, I thought one of the clamping jaws (wood panels) was drilled wrong at the factory and was preparing to redrill it myself. Fortunately, I realized that I just had the other one backwords, because the directions showed it that way.
I also have one concern that isn't certain yet, but I expect to become a problem: The locking nuts are slowly collapsing the steel square tube legs. Basically, the locking screws and nuts, which prevent the work station from collapsing while you use it, are much tougher than the tubing in the legs. (This is good from a safety point of view: Better that the leg gets squashed over time than that the work station collapses while you are working with a power tool.)
Both of those issues to the side, I still consider it an excellent buy. If it does fail on me, I'll probably just buy the next better version. The basic design is excellent.
Nice little workmate for the money [Posted on 2008-03-06]
Very confusing instructions but I got the tables (bought two) put together just fine. The parts fit perfectly but you must put it together correctly (hard to do from the instructions). The leg braces are of different widths so they must go on the correct legs (the widest brace - the one with the B&D label - goes on the widest set of legs). The roll pins to secure the handles to the screw shafts are too big. So, either compress them to a smaller size or better yet, replace them with 8-32 x 1-1/4 inch machine screws with nylon insert lock nuts. The machine screw route is a perfect fit and leaves no slack (play) so the handles will last longer. It took a while to get the tables together due to the confusing instructions but in the end it was well worth it. They are very nice tables for the price.
Doen't work as a steady table [Posted on 2008-04-03]
I bought this item and found the set up to be ok until they tell you to hammer in metal pieces to hold the handles in. There is no easy angle to hit them in and it seemed to take forever to get them in while trying to not damage the wood parts. After deciding to return the item I could not fit the item back in the box because I could not get the handles off again.
The main problem was that it does not work as a table, just as a vice. The problem is that there is about 1-2 cm left in between the handles and the edge of the table. This means that the movable part of the table jiggles. So if one puts a clamp on the movable side of the table to hold a piece of wood steady, it will jiggle too. A good part of the reason why I bought it was to use it with a circular saw, but if the wood I am clamping down jiggles, there isn't going to be much precision in my cuts. I returned it and got a Stanley workbench instead. It does not jiggle at all. And yes, I did screw all screws and bolts in very tightly. It is a flaw in design.
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