Mk3 Workmate

‘Workmate’ model 536, combined vice and workbench, by Black & Decker, 1980-1991. This design, otherwise known as the Mk3, was manufactured until April 1991. It was the primary design mark at the time, and was manufactured and sold internationally.

The 'Workmate' designed by Ron Hickman and later manufactured by Black & Decker has been a major design and export success, equipping many tradesmen and procviding a case study in the development and defence of a major consumer innovation.

This developed design incoporated a dramatic reduction in material content, reducing the weight of the dual height economy Workmate to only 7.75kg. The revised geometry also gave greater stability when erected, and improved ‘packaging’, so that each Workmate took up less space on the shop shelves, a crucial consideration when selling in bulk.

It was part of a family comprising both single and dual height ‘economy’ models (reflecting the economic outlook of the time), and also a dual-height ‘De Luxe’ version, purposely designed to suit a wide range of alternative/additional features, depending on the needs of local markets globally.