BLACK DECKER WM225 Portable Project Review

Great little workbench. As other users have said, the instructions suck (if I remember correctly, there is actually a step in the booklet that tells you to put the screws in the wrong holes). I had to watch YouTube videos to make sure I was doing it right. Even the small metal pin that holds the plastic knobs in place doesn't seem to fit in the holes at first; You really have to hammer them, but eventually they'll fit. Pretty sturdy, small and perfect for the minimalist in me. I turned this…

I love this thing! I'm new to tools and everything but I installed it in my garage so I have some space to work with. I'm a petite woman (5ft 1in) and it was easy enough for me to assemble it myself. It's light enough for me to move around and hang and take off on the garage wall. I've only used it with my combi miter saw, but it worked great. I bought a few extra swivels but there were enough (4 I think) so the extra ones weren't strictly necessary (I just added more around the saw to secure…

I was hesitant to purchase the WM225 because several reviewers have complained that it is difficult to assemble, poorly made (someone wrote it has sharp edges that need protective gloves to protect them!) or generally poor quality. That's some nonsense. Assembly is easy, no more difficult than a LEGO set. While the instructions are presented in the form of diagrams rather than text, there is nothing confusing or odd about them. There are no rough or sharp edges and I'm very happy with the…

This is my fourth Workmate. The original, bought in the UK in the early 1970s, had a cast aluminum H-frame which offered considerable rigidity. Since then, frames have been made from thin, stamped steel, reportedly reducing production costs, but at the cost of losing the strength of the original. The second iteration, bought here circa 1980, has held up fairly well despite being stored in an unheated barn for the last four years, but lately the threads have started to slip. I have another one…

Let me start by saying that the first project you will do with this workbench will be assembling this workbench. It's almost completely disassembled. crank handles. They say you have to hammer very tight pins into the cranks to attach them to the main screw rods. You'd better have an extra pair of hands to hold the hammer underneath, since the frame is so light you're likely to bend a bit if you try to hammer it in. What worked for me was to press them in place with a c-clip. A pair of pliers…