Repairing my B&D Workmate

[GLFaria]

Hi,
I have no idea if this is the right forum to post this. If not, I apologize, plase moderators move it anywhere you see fit.

I'm in the process of completely overhauling/repairing my old and pretty much battered WM 625 E05, early 70's vintage, aluminium risers, made in Ireland.
I don't want to make a showroom piece of it, this has been a working "tool" for over 40 years and I intend it to remain so. I will only be woorking the "mechanical" side of side of the thing - eliminate plays, compensate for wear where possible, etc., so I can again get the most of it. No painting over. I need a bit of advice on finishing the tops.

I can hear someone ask "why bother?". Well, that Workmate is what I have for working on, and it fits well in my very small workspace. I don't care for the more recent versions - they are properly rubbish - and second-hand WMs of this vintage are hard to come by around here, with outrageous asking prices - just recently I saw what seemed to be a 626 E04 for sale, apparently in good working condition but showing much rust on the steel parts, for 100 euros! :shock:

Back to the works.
The tops are, or at least look very much like, 7/8" Baltic birch. This is consistent with what Landis states in his book.
I am now working on the movable top - planing the edges square, re-shaping the v-groove, removing undesired "additions" (old dry varnish, dry glue patches...), etc.

I intend to give the sides and bottom some coats of Danish oil after re-shaping. That should be enough.

It's the upper side finish I am not sure about. Originally it had a brownish protective coat of some kind. Some sort of rather tough and hard-wearing matte varnish is my guess, but I may be (probably am) wrong. Most of it remains, but there are places where it has been severely damaged (see picture).

Anyway, as I said, this protective coat is very hard-wearing and is water resistant, and I would like as much as possible to replicate its qualities with a compatible finish.
I would prefer this protective coat not to be too thick, and certainly not shiny or slippery. I am leaning towards a polyurethane spray varnish, but don't know if it would be up to the task (this, of course, assuming it is compatible with the original remaining finish)

I never worked with Baltic birch, so don't have any idea about its peculiarities or finish. May I ask for suggestions, please?

Thanks
G.

 

[bugbear]

The original finish is very tough stuff - some kind of mulyi-pack epoxy, I imagine.

BugBear

 

[Aggrajag]

I was looking for new rubber feet for my 90s model, which also has rain damaged wood, and it was cheaper (£19.95 shipped) to buy a new identical model from Amazon.

However you're certainly correct - yours looks much more sturdy than mine.

 

[Harbo]

I would give PU Varnish a try - it's pretty durable.

I have two of the early version with the very thick ply top - they are not varnished?

Rod

 

[memphis32]

I'd always assumed it was some sort of plastic coating. It seems similar to some flightcase panels I have, which apparently have a phenolic coating (WISA-Hexa grip ply - it's smooth the other side).

Could you use your old tops as templates for some new already-coated ply?

 

[ED65]

I don't care for the more recent versions - they are properly rubbish

Ain't that the truth? I've handled a new model of the one my sister and BIL own which is about 15 or 20 years old and even in that period the quality has clearly taken a steep nosedive. WMs of the vintage of your one are like tanks by comparison.

I am leaning towards a polyurethane spray varnish, but don't know if it would be up to the task (this, of course, assuming it is compatible with the original remaining finish)

Oil-based poly is good and tough and I'm sure up to the task.

Varnishes will stick well to nearly any material that's hard quite as long as they can achieve a mechanical bond. After degreasing uniformly scuffing the surface should be all that you need to do.

I've always assumed the old finish was varnish and given the vintage it's unlikely to have been polyurethane. So that points to phenolic being a likely candidate, given its hard-wearing properties. Although, if it's coloured with pigment it might just be a basic alkyd varnish, the pigment can add a remarkable amount of additional durability because the particles are so hard.

 

[Racers]

I bought one from a car-boot sale that is about the same vintage but just about unused, it was dirty but a pressure was sorted that out and removed all the white paint splashes.
It was £8 and I certainly felt the extra weight by the time I got it to my car.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

I've got the aluminium H frame model, with the pressed steel base and legs.

The earlier all-alloy models look great (a bit like the Eagle lander), but are fragile.

The later ones are ... poor.

EDIT: mine is "WM626 Type E04" (or number 02) according to this page

http://www.stylingandsalvage.com/2013/0 ... mates.html

BugBear

 

[AJB Temple]

One of the stupid things I did when we moved into a temporary rented house for a year (house hunting period) was to chuck out my old B&D workmate with the alloy braces etc. There was nothing wrong with it. I was just very short of space (so also chucked out lots of sash cramps and a big heavy duty disk sander among other things). Since then I have regretted all these things going missing. You can buy decent folding benches still, but not from B&D.

 

[GLFaria]

Thank you all for your help.

I have half a can a can of Rust-oleum spray poly. I will make a test run on a small patch - both a bit over the original finish and over where there is none (BTW, should I use a sealant?) - so I can check what comes of it. If it works, I will use it and let you know.

G.

 

[Harbo]

Mine are the "rare" 125's and still going strong!

Rod

 

[ED65]

(BTW, should I use a sealant?) .

Poly is a sealant.

 

[GLFaria]

(BTW, should I use a sealant?) .

Poly is a sealant.

Thank you

G.