Subject: Re: B&D Workmate Bench

From: "William M. Youngman" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 21:43:25 -0800

Cadisfli wrote:
> 
> I am considering buying the B&D (Workmate?)workbench for setting up shop
> out on my deck in good weather or when my 10' X 12' shop becomes too
> cramped (most of the time).  A sales rep at a store demo was using one,
> but told me that the Makita version was much sturdier and better overall.
> I have had no luck finding one of these benches, short of ordering one. Is
> anyone familiar with this bench, or how it might compare with the B&D
> workbench?

Cadisfli,  I can't speak for the Makita.  However, I have been using a
B&D workmate for several years.  As long as you don't expect too much of
it, it will prove quit useful and serviceable.  It's not real heavy or
rigid, but as long as your using it for realitively light work, it's a
good piece of equipment.

Bill Youngman

---

From: Jim Nelson <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 97 20:10:09 -0500

Heck, this is only an aside, but here goes: "The Workbench Book", by
Scott Landis, contains an entire chapter about the invention of the
Workmate by a Lotus (the car ) designer named Ron Hickman, and its
subsequent development by Black and Decker.
 
It is an interesting piece of engineering, and its success seemed
to follow the return to good fortune of Black and Decker, a company
which almost succeeded in digging itself a grave for its reputation
fifteen or twenty years ago through over zealous value engineering.