Black & Decker - WorkMate 125 - X frame, Model # WM125 (Rating: 4)

I just got my B&D Workmate 125 put together. I'd heard horror stories about the assembly process, in fact, the guy that sold it to me at the B&D outlet told me not to pay too much attention to the instructions. He was right. The instructions are terrible, but I still got it together in about 30-45 minutes while watching TV. Granted, a number of the holes for the bolts didn't line up very well, but with a set of vise grips, a few hammer taps and minimal cursing, it went together fairly smoothly.

I've heard a lot of old-timers tell me that these things aren't built as well as they once were and while I don't doubt that, mine feels pretty sturdy and I anticipate getting plenty of use from it. The frame is made from stamped and folded sheet metal. The top is made from laminated bamboo which is nice and dense. It also has grooves cut in the vise faces to hold round objects in place. This is the base model. There are a couple of step ups from this one including the WM 225 and the WM 425, which have a few more bells and whistles and support a bit more weight. It is DIY grade. I'd like to see the little handles upgraded to metal or a heavier plastic, but that's about my only complaint.

It's as small as a sawhorse, but with the clamping feature you can customize it to do a sorts of tasks. I anticipate building a tabletop downdraft table with a dog on the bottom for the vise to clamp onto. As a bonus, the two components (table & workmate) will equal the height of my tablesaw and BOO-YA!, I've got an outfeed table too. In the same manner, I can build tool bases from scrap plywood to fit into the vise as well, or anything else. It also folds up neatly for storage and is light enough to hang on the wall out of the way.

It's rated for 350 pounds. I haven't pushed it too far, but I weigh about 195 and it didn't budge when I put all my weight on it and shifted my weight around (sorry, that's as scientific as I could get on short notice).

Retail appears to be around $30, but I picked up mine at the B&D outlet for 14 bucks! Great deal for the money.

Four stars for its value and accurate description, reserving the last star for something a bit more industrial.