Black & Decker WM125 Workmate 125 350-Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench

by Black & Decker

Product Description

Amazon.com

Those who have Workmates will tell you they won’t part with them. It’s an indispensable extra pair of hands in the shop, a spare work surface when the workbench is too cluttered, a stand for benchtop tools, extra clamping surface and a hundred other uses. The tough steel X-shaped frame makes this model sturdy yet lightweight at just 15 pounds, a great improvement over the older versions, yet sacrificing nothing in terms of stability and strength. The jaws open at the turn of the handcranks and can be angled for odd-shaped gripping or clamping. Bench dogs hang onto your workpiece for you, offering up to 10-3/4 inches of clamp space. It folds nearly flat, taking up virtually no space at all. No shop, home or professional, should be without one of these.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste

Product Description

BLACK and DECKER 'WorkMate Original Jaws' resist warping and swelling. Quality steel tube construction for durability. Includes swivel pegs and integral retention grooves in jaws for versatility and holding reliability in clamping different materials. Opens and closes eas ily for simple set up and clean up. Specifications: Bench Height - 29-3/4"; Parallel Clamping - 4-5/8"; Diagonal Clamping - 24"; Parallel Peg Clamping - 10-3/4"; Diagonal Peg Clamping - 22-3/8"; Work Surface - 9"x 24"; Weight Capacity-350 lbs.

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 33.3 x 5 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000077CQ0
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: WM125
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #6 in Home Improvement > Building Supplies > Material Handling > Workbenches

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably poor quality and manufacturing, February 9, 2009

By 

Christian Fox (Rocky Top) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & Decker WM125 Workmate 125 350-Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench (Tools & Home Improvement)

Since I have been very happy with the heavy-duty WorkMate owned for the last two years, and needed to replace my old worn-out 2x4 sawhorses, I purchased the WorkMate WM125.

Unfortunately, Black and Decker has lost the handle on quality control in their offshore manufacturing. The WM125 is just plain flimsy, and assembling it was an adventure, or perhaps an ordeal would be more accurate. There was missing hardware, hole mismatches in components, and a severe thread mismatch between the jackscrews and their fittings. One of the roll pins for the handcranks was too large to force fit into the jackscrew. One of the bamboo planks had impact damage to one end that could not have been caused by shipping, as it was well packaged.

Finally, with the thread mismatch severity in the jackscrew fittings, it is very difficult to turn one of the handcranks (the other one is not very difficult, just difficult).

It might replace one of my sawhorses, but it sure won't be easy to use for anything else. It's amazing to me how this WorkMate product line has deteriorated. The older heavy duty model with its quick release folding latch and heavy duty plastic top is apparently no longer manufactured, now replaced by what appears to be offshore bamboo-topped models. I hope the rest of the product line is not plagued by what I experienced, but I will not be buying any more WorkMates.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value, June 22, 2005

By 

Timur Tabi (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black & Decker WM125 Workmate 125 350-Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench (Tools & Home Improvement)

I like this Workmate a lot, especially considering how inexpensive it is. I don't have room for a real work bench, so I needed something that can be stored away compactly but isn't too complicated, and this bench fit the bill.

I recommend this Workmate for people who need a small work bench for the occasional project, but don't know much beyond that. The higher-end Workmates are probably very nice, but I would suggest that you get the WM-125 unless you know there's a feature of the higher-end models that you want. I'm still impressed at the versatility of this one. I've been using it for months, and I have no desire to replace it with a more expensive model.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good design, poor quality, January 5, 2006

By 

Howard E. Motteler (Catonsville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black & Decker WM125 Workmate 125 350-Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench (Tools & Home Improvement)

I bought this little Workmate recently from Amazon. It's a good
design but the quality was lousy and maybe not what it used to be.
One of the crank knobs came broken, and the general fit of the parts
was poor: the lead-screws that work the clamps were too stiff, even
after being greased; the pins that held the cranks were too big and
wouldn't come close to press fitting until I squeezed them down to a
smaller diameter with a vice grip; the plastic parts the front board
sits on didn't fit into the boards well and had to be pressed in with
a vise; and the foot-rest leg braces needed some bending before the
whole thing would sit square.

On the positive side, it's very portable and fine for light work,
especially for the price.