WOW....I literally threw away the instructions without reading them at all and just watched your video! You provided PERFECT assembly instructions. You're a saint!!! I'm now a subscriber...LOL!
Just got my Workmate 425 this afternoon and after looking at the poorly illustrated instructions, I knew that I was in trouble. So I went to TH-cam and found your AWESOME video. With your help, I was able to assemble mine in about the time it took to watch you put yours together. The channel lock tip is pure genius! You saved me several hours of frustration and the need to use any foul language in the process. Thank you very much for posting!!!!!!
Superb how-to video: clear, linear, accessible. Thank you! I just assembled my Xmas gift WM425. Have lived with and used WorkMates for 30+ years. I'll add two things, might help others. 1) don't be surprised if the bolts for boards #2 and #3 are much stiffer to crank down than the first pair of bolts. Get a 13mm socket wrench instead of the little plastic thumbscrew. 2) be careful not to disturb the holey belt that links left and right jackscrews. True, you can put it back if you do (ask me how I know) but alignment is tricky. Better not to upset it in the first place. And yeah, the top boards aren't quite as flat as you could wish. But I'm not the same man I was 30+ years ago, either! Thank you again for the excellent how-to. I'm a new subscriber now.
Just purchased this, and the instruction booklet was useless. This video made it so easy to assemble, thank you so, so much. Not sure you realize how appreciative people are for these step by step video's. Kudo's to you!
The pins have a beveled point on one end. I tapped the pin closed a bit to shrink it diameter. With the smaller tip, it set right into the hole and was easy to tap in with the hammer.
Received my Workmate 425 this morning, had some issue lining up the 1st plank. With the help of your video I was able to put everything together. Excellent explanation. A big thank you!.
Brother this was one of the most well explained videos I’ve seen on TH-cam! I built mine with your help and instructions….even used the Vice grips for the turn pieces 👍🏽
My sister and I tried to assemble this bench using the instructions only. Very poor drawings. After struggling and determining that we did something wrong, we watched your video and saw where we went wrong. Except for the one inch metal piece which we could not hammer in nor use a wrench. So, we got some nails and inserted them so that they won’t fall out when turning the nobs. You do whatcha gotta do. Thanks for the video.
You can ALSO remove the center board as you showed is possible....BUT ALSO.....you can then re-position the "rear-most" board ( the one furthest away from you, with "Workmate 425" lettering)..... to the center-position location, of where the middle board USED to be.....to make better use of the holding "dogs" and where the holes for these are and for the clamping distance between the 2 boards to be less...
Just came to the comments to say thank you! I opened it, saw the directions and said, nope! Sure enough, here you were. Perfect video. To the point, helpful, honest and accurate. The channel locks made it a breeze!
Black and Decker should be ashamed. Worst 'instructions' ever. No words to explain anything and pictures only give a general idea. You're video was spot on. Well done!
Thank you, thank you thank you for the great instructions. Big help Black & Decker should’ve hired you to explain how to put this . Whoever was in charge of those instructions that were provided for Black & Decker needs to find a new job and hire you to do it right thanks again.😊
Awesome video. Thank you so much. Direct and to the point. Just finished my assembly thanks to you. I used some oil on the small pins and the wholes and it seemed to help.
Got this for a birthday gift yesterday night . Didn’t want to be to loud putting it together that night when I got home so watched this amazingly well done video . This morning put it together from what you told me in the video last night and ditched the instructions. Pretty simple build but I can see how the lock sliders could get swapped around
@@HelpAtMyHome Thanks it was feb29 so I don’t actually have a birthday till next year for leap year . Turing 40/ 10 years old haha I have used the table quite a few times over the last week for my wood carvings and building a chicknick table for the chickens . Cheers
Outstanding. This is a very well done explanation -- much better than others I have seen on TH-cam and infinitely better than the terrible instructions that came with the product. Thank you.
Thanks for the tip about using the vice grips on the pin for the cranks. It worked perfectly. Thanks for a great job on this video. It had me up and running in no time. Great job and keep up the good work on your channel. It is appreciated. Thanks again.
Just got my B&D Workmate 425 yesterday, and with the help of your video was able to assemble it today! Your presentation, explanation/instructions was excellent. Filming of the pieces to be used was very clear, and more importantly exactly where they were to be inserted was brilliant. Thanks once again for a very clear well thought out and presented video for a complete novice like myself. Kind regards.
This is extremely well explained, although there are some sound issues. I built my Workmate 425 without watching the video. It came out okay so this was validation. If I had watched the video, though, I could have cut the build time at least in half. The directions with the product are not at all intuitive and it took me awhile to figure out the steps.
Excellent vid. Straight to the point. Didn't waste my time with 5 or 10 minutes of intro, theme music, crappy video effects, etc. Exactly what I needed to know in minimum time, and completely accurate. And, Boy, did the idiots writing the instructions for the Black & Decker Workmate 425 screw the pooch on this one or what? The supplied directions for the workbench were so bad they were EPIC!
The roll pin for the handles has a slight bevel at one end to help start the pin driving into the hole. Find that beveled end to make it start easier. You're right. The assembly instructions, text and pictures, are horrible. hahaha. The "pipe holder" slots on the edge of the wood were confusing to me. To use both pipe slots for holding a pipe horizontal, you have to take out the middle piece of the top and then use the front and back pieces for the pipe clamp. Then, for the vertical holding pipe slots, it's even more confusing. The wood table top piece closest to front has the vertical slot on the left while the back piece has the vertical slot on the right. Seems like a mistake to me. Would have worked better if both were on the same side. Now, does anyone know what you're supposed to do for clamping odd shaped pieces where one side might be less wide than the other end and the clamps have to move separately to clamp the piece? I considered slipping the plastic belt off their gears that links the side handle cranks since I often work on parts that are not at right angles end to end. Or is there an intentional and designed trick for dealing with that situation? An old workmate bench I had years ago had the two handles as completely separate clamps.
I'm in the same boat. My old WorkMates had independently operating screws. I'm going to try out the new one for a while, and if it doesn't serve the purpose, the holey belt can be slipped off the cogs. Tip: first undo the little black spring in the middle that holds belt tension. You can put the spring back afterwards.
I got so frustrated with the instructions, I called my neighbor over to get a different slant. He had the same issues I had. I sent a request to B&D for help, they referred me to your videi. Turns out we assembled it correctly, and the instructions are screwy. I suggested they add a flyer to the instructions if they aren't going to reprint them more clearly.
This is a great video - I am pretty handy, and the device is quite intuitive, but the instruction booklet is not great (Honestly, it is far better than other multi-lingual pictorial manuals)
The instructions said to put the back board in the middle. Wasn't until I looked at the picture on the box that I realised I was doing it wrong. Those handle pins though........ grrrrr.
Have you ever replaced the plastic belt drive? I repeat, plastic belt drive. Talk about cheap and nasty. If you have and you have a video that would be very helpful. Thanks.
WOW....I literally threw away the instructions without reading them at all and just watched your video! You provided PERFECT assembly instructions. You're a saint!!! I'm now a subscriber...LOL!
Glad it worked out!
Just got my Workmate 425 this afternoon and after looking at the poorly illustrated instructions, I knew that I was in trouble. So I went to TH-cam and found your AWESOME video. With your help, I was able to assemble mine in about the time it took
to watch you put yours together. The channel lock tip is pure genius! You saved me several hours of frustration and the need to use any foul language in the process. Thank you very much for posting!!!!!!
Glad to have helped!
Superb how-to video: clear, linear, accessible. Thank you! I just assembled my Xmas gift WM425. Have lived with and used WorkMates for 30+ years. I'll add two things, might help others. 1) don't be surprised if the bolts for boards #2 and #3 are much stiffer to crank down than the first pair of bolts. Get a 13mm socket wrench instead of the little plastic thumbscrew. 2) be careful not to disturb the holey belt that links left and right jackscrews. True, you can put it back if you do (ask me how I know) but alignment is tricky. Better not to upset it in the first place. And yeah, the top boards aren't quite as flat as you could wish. But I'm not the same man I was 30+ years ago, either! Thank you again for the excellent how-to. I'm a new subscriber now.
Thanks! And great tips yourself. Much appreciated.
I love TH-cam for just this reason. Not all heroes wear capes sir.
Just purchased this, and the instruction booklet was useless. This video made it so easy to assemble, thank you so, so much. Not sure you realize how appreciative people are for these step by step video's. Kudo's to you!
Thank you!
Couldn't have done it without you! Thanks a million!!
Thank You. Your instructions were very clear and easy to follow. This should be helpful to anyone like me who got this bench without instructions.
The pins have a beveled point on one end. I tapped the pin closed a bit to shrink it diameter. With the smaller tip, it set right into the hole and was easy to tap in with the hammer.
I looked under a magnifier for any bevel, and couldn't spot it. Your eyes must be very good.
Received my Workmate 425 this morning, had some issue lining up the 1st plank. With the help of your video I was able to put everything together. Excellent explanation. A big thank you!.
Glad it helped
I took your advice and didn’t look at the instructions. Your vid was spot on. The thing practically built itself. Great presentation!
Brother this was one of the most well explained videos I’ve seen on TH-cam! I built mine with your help and instructions….even used the Vice grips for the turn pieces 👍🏽
Awesome, thank you!
Same here- I’m waiting on Amazon to deliver- thanks for making this video
same here, was lost without this!
My sister and I tried to assemble this bench using the instructions only. Very poor drawings. After struggling and determining that we did something wrong, we watched your video and saw where we went wrong. Except for the one inch metal piece which we could not hammer in nor use a wrench. So, we got some nails and inserted them so that they won’t fall out when turning the nobs. You do whatcha gotta do. Thanks for the video.
You can ALSO remove the center board as you showed is possible....BUT ALSO.....you can then re-position the "rear-most" board ( the one furthest away from you, with "Workmate 425" lettering)..... to the center-position location, of where the middle board USED to be.....to make better use of the holding "dogs" and where the holes for these are and for the clamping distance between the 2 boards to be less...
Just came to the comments to say thank you! I opened it, saw the directions and said, nope! Sure enough, here you were. Perfect video. To the point, helpful, honest and accurate. The channel locks made it a breeze!
Glad I could help!
Black and Decker should be ashamed. Worst 'instructions' ever. No words to explain anything and pictures only give a general idea. You're video was spot on. Well done!
Thank you, thank you thank you for the great instructions. Big help Black & Decker should’ve hired you to explain how to put this . Whoever was in charge of those instructions that were provided for Black & Decker needs to find a new job and hire you to do it right thanks again.😊
Awesome video. Thank you so much. Direct and to the point. Just finished my assembly thanks to you. I used some oil on the small pins and the wholes and it seemed to help.
Thank you for this video tutorial, Following your instructions it went right together.
You are a lifesaver! Thank you!!
Thanks for the video. The paper instructions included were useless. WIth your help I was able to assemble.
Excellent instructions! Thank you!
Got this for a birthday gift yesterday night . Didn’t want to be to loud putting it together that night when I got home so watched this amazingly well done video .
This morning put it together from what you told me in the video last night and ditched the instructions.
Pretty simple build but I can see how the lock sliders could get swapped around
Happy birthday!
@@HelpAtMyHome
Thanks it was feb29 so I don’t actually have a birthday till next year for leap year . Turing 40/ 10 years old haha
I have used the table quite a few times over the last week for my wood carvings and building a chicknick table for the chickens .
Cheers
Outstanding. This is a very well done explanation -- much better than others I have seen on TH-cam and infinitely better than the terrible instructions that came with the product. Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words
Very helpful video! Thank you so much!
Thanks for the tip about using the vice grips on the pin for the cranks. It worked perfectly. Thanks for a great job on this video. It had me up and running in no time. Great job and keep up the good work on your channel. It is appreciated. Thanks again.
Glad to have helped!
Just got my B&D Workmate 425 yesterday, and with the help of your video was able to assemble it today! Your presentation, explanation/instructions was excellent. Filming of the pieces to be used was very clear, and more importantly exactly where they were to be inserted was brilliant. Thanks once again for a very clear well thought out and presented video for a complete novice like myself. Kind regards.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for a very well thought out explanation of how to assemble this workbench:)
Enjoy it! Thanks for watching
This made installing the WM easy. Other TH-camrs make it unnecessarily complicated. With this video, anyone can do it. All you need is a small hammer.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thank you!!
The channellock tip saved me, thank you so much!
This is extremely well explained, although there are some sound issues. I built my Workmate 425 without watching the video. It came out okay so this was validation. If I had watched the video, though, I could have cut the build time at least in half. The directions with the product are not at all intuitive and it took me awhile to figure out the steps.
Well explained. Thank you
Excellent vid. Straight to the point. Didn't waste my time with 5 or 10 minutes of intro, theme music, crappy video effects, etc. Exactly what I needed to know in minimum time, and completely accurate. And, Boy, did the idiots writing the instructions for the Black & Decker Workmate 425 screw the pooch on this one or what? The supplied directions for the workbench were so bad they were EPIC!
Thank you for this!
Thanks what size channel locks are those?
12in, but smaller I’ll work
@@HelpAtMyHome Thanks!
That split pin is called a spring pin, very common in assemblies.
What kind of tool did you use to insert the rivets into the cranks?
12 inch tongue and groove pliers, but smaller ones will work
This video is better than the instructions manual from the box!
The roll pin for the handles has a slight bevel at one end to help start the pin driving into the hole. Find that beveled end to make it start easier.
You're right. The assembly instructions, text and pictures, are horrible. hahaha.
The "pipe holder" slots on the edge of the wood were confusing to me. To use both pipe slots for holding a pipe horizontal, you have to take out the middle piece of the top and then use the front and back pieces for the pipe clamp.
Then, for the vertical holding pipe slots, it's even more confusing. The wood table top piece closest to front has the vertical slot on the left while the back piece has the vertical slot on the right. Seems like a mistake to me. Would have worked better if both were on the same side.
Now,
does anyone know what you're supposed to do for clamping odd shaped pieces where one side might be less wide than the other end and the clamps have to move separately to clamp the piece? I considered slipping the plastic belt off their gears that links the side handle cranks since I often work on parts that are not at right angles end to end. Or is there an intentional and designed trick for dealing with that situation? An old workmate bench I had years ago had the two handles as completely separate clamps.
I'm in the same boat. My old WorkMates had independently operating screws. I'm going to try out the new one for a while, and if it doesn't serve the purpose, the holey belt can be slipped off the cogs. Tip: first undo the little black spring in the middle that holds belt tension. You can put the spring back afterwards.
Thanks for the helpful video ! liked and sub'd !
Thanks!
Likewise, earned my sub.
I got so frustrated with the instructions, I called my neighbor over to get a different slant. He had the same issues I had. I sent a request to B&D for help, they referred me to your videi.
Turns out we assembled it correctly, and the instructions are screwy. I suggested they add a flyer to the instructions if they aren't going to reprint them more clearly.
This is a great video - I am pretty handy, and the device is quite intuitive, but the instruction booklet is not great (Honestly, it is far better than other multi-lingual pictorial manuals)
5:03 thanks for that, frigging most annoying part those damn pins, I can't believe they have this as part of the assembly...
still like my 35 year old workmate. no step on it, but that is ok.
Thanks for a well done video. You definitely made the set up a lot easier. Black and Decker literally drew pictures and walked away 🙄. Shame.
for some reason my first board is higher . i need this thing level .. help.. the instructions sucked...
I think you probably put the little black slider piece in upside down
The instructions said to put the back board in the middle. Wasn't until I looked at the picture on the box that I realised I was doing it wrong. Those handle pins though........ grrrrr.
thanks for the video - my pins won't go in not matter what I do
Try the plier approach or perhaps small c clamp
Man I thought I was stupid. SMH thank you
Trust me: you are not the problem here
Thank You!!! This thing has the crapiest instructions EVER!!!!
Have you ever replaced the plastic belt drive? I repeat, plastic belt drive. Talk about cheap and nasty. If you have and you have a video that would be very helpful. Thanks.
Not yet!
Well that is not actually building it it is putting it together 😢😮😅😅😅
Easy don't follow the instructions manual.
I guess the instructions were printed for a man, all pictures & no words, women need words! 😂
They don’t look the same