On 2016-02-08, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Am Montag, 8. Februar 2016 15:46:30 UTC+1 schrieb Leon Fisk:

The more expensive B&D Workmates use a loose belt to tie the two hand
cranks together. Turning one crank then moves both until some
resistance is met. Then you need to turn each crank individually for
maximum holding strength. These usually have a mechanism to flip up one
of the clamping boards to the 90 degree position too. A lot less throat
capacity in that mode though...

That's interesting. Anyone got a link to the picture of the loose belt
arrangement? I'd link to see that.

Not a picture -- but I have one of those WorkMates. The belt is
sort of a flat belt with holes punched in it going between the two
cranks, with the right crank preferred by shape for the general default
use.

The belt goes through the metal channel just behind the cranks,
and beyond a certain torque will climb over the gear on each screw and
slip one hole at a time. The belt is loose enough so the center is
sort of pinched together between the two screws.

I would love to have one built to better standards, but the
WorkMate has some nice features, such as a base that it folds down to,
and some extra folding legs, so you can raise it by about 8" or so.
There is a step on the front, so you can use a foot to hold it down
while sawing something held in it.

But the table top sections are made of laminated cardboard and
have drooped between the rails somewhat. My other (older) WorkMate
appears to have Bakelite for the table top sections. That one came from
Home Despot, while the fancy one came from an estate sale. Looking up
the manual PDF files on the B&D site shows only one early version had
the belt connecting the two screws.

O.K. The following site has an exploded diagram. Note that the
belt/chain is twisted, so you see only a loop at the ends. It is part
26 in the drawing.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/black-and-decker-wm225-type-workmate-parts-c-4167_4340_4342.html

The "WM225 Type 1".

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | (KV4PH) Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---