I bought my first Workmate (the classic cast aluminum frame type) at a garage sale at least 15 years ago. It was in relatively good shape with a plywood top. About a year ago I bought another used Workmate of a similar vintage that had one small difference… the top was particleboard instead of plywood. I tend to leave the Workmates outside year-round for projects and found that the particleboard did not, to put it kindly, hold up. After a year of Oregon rain, notice how severely the top is delaminating/disintegrating.
Slumped…
My other Workmate, left outside for 15 years, is very slightly warped but completely serviceable:
As you can see, the top is scarred from use but in great shape, even wet:
My small bit of advice in buying a used Workmate: unless you intend to only use it indoors or put it away promptly after use, get the one with the plywood top! I’ll have to make a new top for the disintegrated one now, won’t I?
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10 Responses to When Buying A Used Workmate…
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The new Workmate I bought a couple of years back has a top made from laminated bamboo. I imagine those will weather more like the plywood tops.
I found a Workmate similar to your plywood one in a pile of junk at someone’s curb. It looked awfully sad…but after some WD-40 and scrubbing, it’s perfectly usable. The boards are cosmetically pitiful but they work just fine.
I guess that I am confused as to why someone that appreciates tools would leave something like this outside for a year and not expect it to show weather damage.
Just my humble opinion…
Jason, you’re right in one sense but I have two defenses…the other workmate has held up fine all these years outside, so I didn’t give it any thought.
My other defense is that I’m out of space…seriously…so I don’t know where I would put it when folded up. Plus it is a pain to fold these things up.
I did only pay $10.00 for it, so making a new top out of marine plywood I’ll come out ahead.
I just made another set of plywood tops when the old ones got bad. It is easy to do. My Workmate has a steel frame; I would buy an aluminum one if I ever find one at a yard sale.
Yeah I would consider making a laminate butcher block style top for these…. then put some deep seal poly on it and then who cares where you leave it
in fact to be a true cheap ass…. go to the Re-store near you , and get some oak flooring and glue them together, and then just take a belt sander to smooth it out if you don’t own a planer
ShopMonger
It’s glue and sawdust, what did you expect? Next time try some house wrap, Tyvek is a good brand.
Want to have a GREAT top on there? Get some TREX Decking! I don’t care how much rain you leave it in, the frame will go before the top does.
I’ve got my Grandpa’s workmate that he purchased from Sears in the early 80’s. It is still in very good shape. I’ve even got the bench dogs that came with it. I got a 2nd one for free from a family friend that was relocating.
I haven’t paid a dime for either of them but they are probably used more than any tool in my shop.
For Sho!
I got 3 used workmates for a total of $40. 2 on craigslist and 1 at Goodwill. Replacing the plywood is very easy.
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