Black & Decker Workmate Portable Work Center and Vise

A compact extra set of hands that earns its keep

After a month of projects in a cramped garage, the Workmate became my go‑to extra set of hands. It’s a simple idea—a folding work surface that doubles as a vise—but it fills a lot of gaps in a small shop or on a jobsite where a full bench isn’t practical. I used it for clamping, sanding, light assembly, and as an outfeed or tool stand, and it handled each role with fewer compromises than I expected.

Setup and first impressions

Assembly is straightforward but not entirely intuitive. The included instructions got me most of the way, but I still spent a few minutes studying the parts to understand the leg geometry and jaw orientation. Plan on 15–30 minutes with a nut driver and a Phillips screwdriver. A tip: loosely assemble the top slats and jaw hardware first, square everything visually, then snug the fasteners. That step matters for alignment.

Out of the box, the heavy‑gauge steel frame made a good first impression. Welds are clean, and the scissor‑leg mechanism opens and locks positively. At roughly 25 pounds, it’s light enough to carry one‑handed yet substantial enough not to feel flimsy. Some of the stamped steel edges on my unit were a touch sharp. Five minutes with a deburring tool or 220‑grit sandpaper knocks down those edges and makes it nicer to handle.

The wooden clamping surfaces arrived flat and stayed that way after exposure to a week of summer humidity. One nitpick: the printed graphics on the top can transfer a bit of black pigment if you sand aggressively with a piece clamped directly over the ink. A strip of painter’s tape or a thin sacrificial board on the jaw face solves it, and I’d recommend that anyway to keep the tops tidy.

Clamping and workholding

The clamping system is why you buy a Workmate, and it’s the strongest part of the package. The split top works as a vise, opening and closing to pinch material between the jaws. The rear jaw is adjustable and can skew slightly, which lets you clamp tapered or irregular pieces without fuss. Four included plastic pegs drop into dog holes in the jaws so you can secure round stock, odd shapes, or support wider panels across the top. I clamped a 2×4 upright for edge planing, cradled a chair leg between two pegs for sanding, and pinned a 24‑inch panel flat to route its edge—no drama, no slip.

Clamping force is ample for most woodworking tasks. For metalwork, I’d still use a dedicated vise, but for wood, PVC, and aluminum profiles, the Workmate’s jaws proved secure. If you plan to do lots of finish work, consider adding replaceable jaw caps or applying a light coat of paste wax to the wooden tops; both help items slide into position without marring and reduce glue adhesion.

Stability and capacity

The rated load capacity is 450 pounds, and the frame feels up to the claim. I set a benchtop planer on it and ran reclaimed 2×6s without any signs of sag or racking. As with any folding stand, stability depends on setup. On level concrete with the braces fully locked, it’s solid. On pavers or grass, you’ll want to check that each foot contacts the ground and consider a sheet of plywood under the feet. Adding a sandbag on the lower crossbar or a small toolbox hanging from the frame further damps vibration for planing and routing.

The footprint is compact, so you can straddle the bench for hand‑tool work without banging knees on a wide base. The trade‑off is that very long workpieces need outboard support. I often paired the Workmate with a single roller stand, and that combination handled 8‑foot boards and sheet goods across cuts.

Ergonomics and height

Dual‑height legs are a smart touch. In the higher position, the bench is comfortable for standing tasks like assembly, sanding, and cutting. Fold the secondary legs under and the working height drops, which is useful for heavy planing, as a miter saw perch, or when you want a lower, more controlled stance. Swapping heights is quick once you’ve done it a couple of times.

The top area is modest, so you’re not assembling cabinets on it, but it’s plenty for small projects, cutting parts to length, or holding a drawer while you install hardware. For repetitive tasks—say, drilling pocket holes in a batch of rails—the ability to clamp, work, unclamp, and repeat without chasing your stock around the bench makes you noticeably faster.

Portability and storage

Portability is one of the Workmate’s strongest suits. The frame folds flat in seconds and locks closed so it doesn’t accordion open while you carry it. At just under 25 pounds, it’s light enough to haul up a flight of stairs or into the yard. Folded, it’s slim and slides behind a shop door or along the garage wall. It also fits across a trunk or behind the front seats in a compact hatchback. There are no wheels on this model; you carry it like a suitcase. If you move it around a large site frequently, a small hand truck helps.

Build quality and durability

Overall build quality is good for the category. The steel feels thick enough to survive real use, the pivots don’t wobble, and the fasteners are decent. My only alignment issue was the front and rear slats sitting slightly offset after initial assembly. Loosening the bolts, tapping the slats into alignment, and re‑tightening fixed it. Re‑check those bolts after the first few days of use; the frame settles a bit.

The wooden jaws resisted warping during my test period. To keep them that way, don’t leave the Workmate in the rain and avoid storing it directly on damp concrete. If you’re hard on your gear, a light coat of exterior polyurethane or oil on the wooden tops will prolong their life without affecting clamping.

Small annoyances and easy fixes

• Instruction clarity: The pictorial guide gets you most of the way. If you’re new to this style of bench, a quick assembly video is worth the time.
• Sharp edges: Deburr the stamped steel where your hands naturally grab during folding.
• Ink transfer: Use painter’s tape or a sacrificial jaw face if you’ll be sanding or scraping on clamped workpieces.
• No wheels: It’s not a rolling cart. Plan to carry it or pair it with a dolly if mobility is critical.

None of these are deal‑breakers, but they’re worth knowing so you can address them on day one.

Where it shines—and where it doesn’t

The Workmate excels as:
- A portable clamping station for irregular shapes
- A secondary bench in tight shops
- A quick setup surface for miter saws, benchtop tools, or routers
- A sanding/finishing helper that keeps parts secure and at a manageable height

It’s less ideal for:
- Heavy metalworking that needs a fixed vise and anvil mass
- Large‑scale assembly where a full‑size bench is faster
- Environments where you need built‑in mobility (no wheels)

The bottom line

The Workmate isn’t trying to replace a permanent workbench; it’s designed to give you a versatile, stable, and portable surface that clamps well and sets up fast. On that brief, it succeeds. The 450‑pound capacity inspires confidence, the adjustable jaws and pegs handle odd jobs that stump sawhorses, and the dual‑height frame adapts to how you like to work. You’ll want to fine‑tune alignment during assembly, soften a few edges, and protect the jaw faces if you’re picky about surfaces—but those are ten‑minute jobs that pay off over years of use.

Recommendation: I recommend the Workmate to DIYers, renovators, and pros who need a compact, reliable clamping bench that travels easily and stores flat. It’s sturdy for its weight, genuinely useful in day‑to‑day tasks, and flexible enough to cover a surprising range of jobs. If your workflow demands wheels or a huge work surface, look elsewhere. For everyone else, this is a small, thoughtful piece of kit that pulls far more than its weight.