YouTube aha! moment....

[MarkSingleton]

Some years back I picked up a Black and Decker Workmate 225 at a yard sale, cheap. It has come in 
very handy lots of times over the years since, but I kept tripping over it when NOT using it. It would always
seem to be in the way and I would have to stop and find a new spot for it.

     The other day I was watching some YouTube, like a lot of us do, and came across a simple addition that
makes all the difference, at least for me. Why I had not thought of it earlier I don't know. Now it will earn its
keep every day!

The bare tool itself:

   


Fold the "bottom legs" into the low position:

   


A simple assembly of half inch ply I had laying around and four strips ripped 
from cut off two by fours. A  few lag screws to use up some 
old HF casters that were doing nothing....

   


another piece of scrap ply to fill in the "bottom" and form a storage tray...

   


and, yet another scrap piece of ply ( love using up stuff in the "pile I am gonna get to" ) with 
a cleat to clamp into the vise:

   



 And the beauty of it is, this is not permanent. When I need the bare tool, it simply lifts off the base 
and away you go.  It provides a home for my chop saw for now and wheels out of the way easily.

Full credit to several YouTube posters/content creators. This is NOT my original idea. And yeah, it's
a pretty minor bit of woodworking. But it has already helped me out in a big way in my little shop, so
it might help someone else here!!

[ez-duzit]

The wheels make it virtually useless for its original purpose--a work-holding bench which stays put while you work.

[farmerj111]

Makes a nice rolling table.  I still use the Workmate that my wife bought me for my birthday 36 years ago.  One of Black and Decker's better inventions.

[Tony Z]

I have had one for 30 to 35 years, same one, bought new. Have used it any times, conversely, I go months without needing it. It folds up nicely, leans against the wall, not taking up much space.

Only thing I made for mine, was a board to clamp in/on the Workmate, with a turntable attached. Beautiful for finishing items.

[Gary G™]

I still have one from 30-some odd years ago and another came from somewhere.
I made L-brackets to hang one off a rack when not in use.
I like your rolling cart.

[WJB]

B&D didn't invent it, Ron Hickman did. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...ad-78.html

[wjt]

Black & Decker Workmate I have had for 40 years.

Various configurations make it a work surface that gets used a lot even though I have other benches in my shop. I can switch from one setup to another in one to two minutes. The mobility feature is really appreciated especially as I get older.

The photos show its various modes.

Base unit
Crosscut Miter Saw stand
Workbench w/dog holes and T-Track (original use of this auxiliary top was a downdraft table)
Utility bench made from masonite w/wrap around poplar apron (it sets on the top w/dog holes and T-Track)

The mobile base design came from a youtube video. It has 2" casters that flip up to allow it to set on four 2" diameter rubber feet which makes it very stable.

The Workmate simply sets in the mobile base so can be easily removed and used as a stand alone unit if needed.

I could have added a foot lever to raise and lower the mobile base but I can still tie my own shoes so did not incorporate that feature. Perhaps as the years roll by the ability to raise and lower it without bending over will look like a really good idea.

Bill

[KyleD]

I can see your point in doing that Mark. However, I would build a plywood stand for the miter saw and keep the Workmate un-encumbered. It folds down to a very compact size and stores out of the way. In my case that is below the in-feed table of my jointer. 
 
It is the perfect extra or travel bench when you need one. It sets up in an instant. If I had it in use as a miter saw stand I just know I would go without it rather than finding a place to set the saw while I used the workmate.
 
I have had the same Workmate for 35 years. It has been used for such varied things such as a motorcycle work stand, a clamp to hold long metal bars as I cut them, mobile carpentry, rummage sale table, and countless other uses I have forgotten.

I had to replace the little plastic thingies that snap the splayed legs into position once but otherwise I am sure the Workmate will outlive me.

[AHill]

Yes, this story has a Workmate tie. Read on.

Years ago, my daughter had gone into the garage to retrieve something out of the car. I had taken off my wedding ring earlier to play softball and left it in a storage tray on the console. She saw my wedding ring and, with good intentions of returning it to me, she accidently dropped it in the garage and lost it. We searched for hours and could not find it. The driveway slopes uphill to the garage. I even searched the driveway, curb, grass, and street to no avail. I ended up buying a new wedding ring.

Fast forward to about 4 years later and I'm moving out of that house to a larger home. I pick up the Workmate, and begin to configure it in the stowed configuration. Out of the rubber foot of one leg rolls my wedding ring! I assume it had somehow bounced up several years earlier and got captured in the foot. It wasn't visible because the open part of the rubber foot is on the interior of the legs.