Workmate 79-001 Accessories
Universal Baseplate WM190
The Universal Baseplate WM190 is a Workmate accessory that was brought to my attention by a Workmate owner in France. It was made in France and may have never been sold outside that country. It is undoubtedly quite rare.
The WM190 is designed to bolt to the bottom of a benchtop tool and then to fit over and clamp conveniently into the jaws of a Workmate. It is made of stamped steel, with 17 holes intended to match up to the mounting holes on a wide variety of benchtop tools. The examples they show include a drill press, grinder, and lathe but of course it could also work with other benchtop tools such as a planer, disk sander, etc.
The owner bought it in 2022, with its box but without an instruction manual. The box had a date of 01/09/1978 stamped on it, probably indicating September 1, 1978. It's shown here on his vintage Workmate WM625.
The holes look distributed somewhat randomly over the surface. I would guess that they may have located them to match the currently available Black & Decker power tools. It's unlikely they will match every tool an owner might want to use, so it's probably expected that the owner might have to drill additional holes. The WM190 is functionally the same as the "Power Tool Mounting Board" made from scrap wood that was suggested as a DIY project in the instruction manual for every Workmate 79-001. It's somewhat surprising that they tried to sell a commercial version of what is a very basic and cheap home project. That may be why the WM190 was never sold in the U.S. or the UK.
The WM190 is designed to bolt to the bottom of a benchtop tool and then to fit over and clamp conveniently into the jaws of a Workmate. It is made of stamped steel, with 17 holes intended to match up to the mounting holes on a wide variety of benchtop tools. The examples they show include a drill press, grinder, and lathe but of course it could also work with other benchtop tools such as a planer, disk sander, etc.
The owner bought it in 2022, with its box but without an instruction manual. The box had a date of 01/09/1978 stamped on it, probably indicating September 1, 1978. It's shown here on his vintage Workmate WM625.
The holes look distributed somewhat randomly over the surface. I would guess that they may have located them to match the currently available Black & Decker power tools. It's unlikely they will match every tool an owner might want to use, so it's probably expected that the owner might have to drill additional holes. The WM190 is functionally the same as the "Power Tool Mounting Board" made from scrap wood that was suggested as a DIY project in the instruction manual for every Workmate 79-001. It's somewhat surprising that they tried to sell a commercial version of what is a very basic and cheap home project. That may be why the WM190 was never sold in the U.S. or the UK.