Turn your Workmate into a framing clamp

Black & Decker Workmates are just about the handiest shop accessory to come along since the sawhorse, but they do have their limitations. For example, the mechanism exerts clamping pressure in only two directions, so you still need pipe or bar clamps when clamping four-sided projects like picture frames.
By fashioning four of the add-on blocks shown below, you can clamp frames and some odd-shaped workpieces with your Workmate. Size the dowel to fit the dogholes in your Workmate, and cut the threaded rod to a length that suits your needs (6-8" should do it). Note that you must flatten the end of the rod before adding the clamp block so the block doesn't fall off.
—Lyle Kruger, Effingham, Ill.