Manufacturer: Black & Decker
Model: WM425
Rating: 
(62 reviews)
List Price: $159.92
Our Price: $84.98
Features
:
- Workmate portable project center; holds up to 550 pounds; folds for storage
- Portable workbench and vise with one-handed clamp system
- Steel construction and rubber feet
- Includes insert to convert vise to workbench, extra block, four swivel pegs
- 29.2 by 8.9 by 29.5; 48 pounds; 2-year warranty
Product Description
Workmate&tmreg. 425 Workbench, 1 Handed Clamp Portable Project Center, Front Jaw Swings Up For Vertical Clamping, Folds For Easy Storage, Holds Up To 550 LB.
Amazon.com Review
The Black & Decker Workmate Project Center might just be the item you need to make your home shop complete. Its versatility makes it an especially ideal choice for those with limited shop floor space: use it as a workbench, a bench tool stand, a vise, or a sawhorse, then quickly break it down and store it out of the way. Because it’s lightweight and portable, you can move it conveniently wherever it’s needed. The one-handed vise clamp system, with its exclusive clutch design, provides quick and easy clamping. The Workmate also features an extra block to expand your work surface, four swivel pegs, and an adjustable front jaw that swings up for vertical clamping. Its legs fold under to provide the lower height and stability needed when you’re using it as a base for bench tools, and its all-steel construction and rubber feet ensure a stable, strong work surface that supports up to 550 pounds. All in all, we were pretty impressed. With features like these, it’s no wonder the Workmate is a popular choice for light-duty and home shop use. –Tim Block
5 Comments
My husband had had one of these years ago but had given it (well-used) to a friend when he’d moved and no longer had space for his workshop. We got married a few years ago and now had space, so he asked for it for Father’s Day. We assembled it that night, but ran into a couple of things we consider design flaws, most notably, the attaching of the crank handles.
The holes in the handles and the holes in the metal rods onto which they need to be attached just couldn’t be made to line up correctly. You need to be able to force a spring steel rod through these two holes (compressing the steel while doing it is designed to make a nice tight connection) but since the fit is supposed to be so tight, there’s no way to do it unless these two holes align perfectly. After a very frustrating half hour, we finally found some bolts and nuts that did the job.
Other than this, and the fact that he felt it wasn’t as rock-solid as the other one he had (20+ years ago), he was very impressed with the design, quality and versatility. And as far as the rock-solidness, he still feels it’s a very sturdy and generally well-engineered item – in fact, they’ve actually improved it in a couple of ways since the earlier version.
Not quite as rugged as Workmates of yor.
But when gotten on sale well worth the price.
I bought two, one goes on loan, one stays at home.
It arrived very quickly…within 3 or 4 days from the time I placed the order but when I went to assemble it I discovered that they had sent the top boards for a Workmate model 626 instead of the 425. They didn’t fit at all. I called Black and Decker and talked to a friendly gentleman who sent me the correct top. It too arrived in 3 or 4 days. The assembly instructions were pretty good and it went together okay. However the three boards that make up the top are all slightly different lengths and don’t match up at the edges…they’re off by at least a quarter inch from each other.
The older model, in its collapsed state, would stand up on its own. This new one will fall over if left unsupported.
The plastic band that keeps the two vise cranks working together is really junky and I’ll probably wind up just taking it off and throwing it away.
It works for its intended purpose and it was cheap and I got what I paid for. I would have rather paid a few dollars more and received better quality. It’s a sign of the times I’m afraid.
The instructions seem like they were translated from English to Klingon then back to English so I used the pictures on the box as a guide. Once I got it assembled it worked perfectly. One of the few Black and Decker products I would recommend.
I bought this unit to replace my (several) year old (and failing) Workmate bench. To say the new units are not built as well as the older units is something of an understatement.
The top attachment is not as good
The alignment of the screw (clamps) is not as good.
The list goes on and on
But, it’s still a useful item