LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Project Information

I tell people that I am a woodworker. Sometimes, I think that my real hobby is a workbench builder who occasionally takes on woodworking projects. This Roubo is the 3rd - and hopefully last…- workbench that I have built for my woodworking addiction. My first real woodworking bench was built when my wife thought that she might still park in the garage again one day. It was only 4 feet long for space saving reasons. It had a 4" thick laminated top and was as ugly as it was strong. My second workbench was designed to be more of a looker than a workbench. At 5 feet long and with a 3" thick laminated top, it was larger, but not really very useful. It was stained and had a padded on shellac top that was a ridiculous surface for any type of real work.

Since the parking in the garage thing has gone away permanently, I decided that I could finally build a workbench that would be large enough to meet my needs, and be a bench that would be useful as well aesthetically pleasing. I ordered the Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Plans and started designing, The plans call for a bench that is 87" long. I did not want a bench quite that long, so I cut my bench down to 79". My intention was originally to end up at 78", but through fairly accurate clamping during glue ups, I did not need to trim much off the ends to even them up. Also, the bench was designed to end up at 24" wide. My first bench was 30" wide, and I really enjoyed the extra width, so I modified the plans to end up with a 30" wide top.

I batttled with my choice of wood and hardware for the bench. The Benchcrafted hardware is incredible. I have never heard anything but praise for it, and at $700 I would hope so. I couldn't justify to myself spending that kind of money on vises. Similarly, while I initially planned on building the bench out of ash, again, the price tag was not something that I could convince myself to spend. In the end, I went with Yost vise hardware and good old 2×12s from the big box stores.

I started the bench in earnest in mid January, but it wasn't until I was took a vacation in early February that I really made progress. The top is 4" thick. The legs are 3 1/2" thick and 5" wide. The base is about 42" wide. I like a taller bench even though I am 5'9". The final height is 38", which seems to be pretty perfect for me.

I won't go into great detail about the build, but I can tell you that there was a lot of jointing, planing and LOTS of glue. I used 2×12s that I carefully selected for grain and lack of defects. I was very selective when it came to pieces that would show to end up with clear bench top and leg faces. My clamps were constantly in use. I bored the round dog holes before laminating whole sections so that I could use my drill press.

The back half of the top is fairly straightforward, but the front half of the top is about 10" of solid top laminated to the square dog hole piece with a front lamination. I laminated a couple of boards to get a piece 1 3/8" thick and used a router to route out the dog holes. Then, I laminated another 3/8" thick piece to the front of that, followed by the front face. The square dogs are cut from scrap and have an ash spring to keep them from falling through the top.

My top glue ups were fairly flat aided greatly by the use of my biscuit joiner. I know that a lot of people don't love the biscuit joiner, but I can say that since I picked up the Dewalt joiner in October of last year, my panel glue ups are far flatter than they were prior.

The leg vise, using the Yost screw, was pretty easy. I had already constructed the chop, and it was in use on my previous bench. I did add the standard through leg parallel guide during the construction of the legs and base. I bought a piece of 3/8" steel that I cut to size and glued into a piece of dowel for the guide pin. I was so pleased with the screw that I ordered the Yost end vise to include on this bench. That is where my pleasure withYost vices ended. That might actually not be fair to say. From what I can tell, there is no version of the sliding end vise available that comes with any type of clear instructions on installation. I found an article from one of the woodworking mags where the author built a bench using what appears to be the Woodcraft version of the same vise, and used that as a guide. After following the included diagrams/instructions from the article, my vise did not line up properly, so I went back to the drawing board.

I decided that I really only needed the vise screw, so I tossed the slide portions. I cut a thick piece of pine that I drilled a 1 1/4" hole in to accommodate the screw, and cut out the shape of the sliding nut in another. I glued on a front and back face to the nut and then I glued on a wider top piece that would hold the removeable dog and ride in the channels that I routed in the top to accept the nut. In the end, it worked out, and I am pretty happy with the way that it works.

After sanding everything to 120, I gave everything a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil. I probably will end up building a storage cabinet that will sit on the shelf below the bench top, but thought I would spend a little time working on the bench so that I have a better idea of what I want to store in that cabinet. Also, I used dowels and drawboring to complete the base assembly rather than Benchcrafted's knock down hardware.

I love my new bench! It is heavy, has more features than I need, and is solid as I could hope for. The size is perfect for anything that I need it for, and I am very proud of the way that it looks. I am not sure that I will need to remove the gap stop often, but I can absolutely see that the I will use the slots for tool storage often. I also am really looking forward to having the ability to slide the gap stop over to use the slightly elevated stop as a planing stop. I ordered a couple of Grammercy holdfasts to provide additional workholding capabilities.

In all, I probably have about $300 in the bench in wood and hardware. Had I gone with ash and the Benchcrafted hardware, I would have been looking at closer to $1,400. I am very happy with the end result AND I am shopping for a new 8" jointer with the savings!

I am going to add several pics below from the build. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for looking!











Gallery

Comments

· Registered
Joined
·
3,876 Posts
Very Nice Project & Well Done! Thanks for all the Details and Pics!

Richard
 

· Registered
Joined
·
3,876 Posts
"Comment can't be blank." It's NOT! There is NO Comment other than the one Above!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
91 Posts
Beautiful bench. It should give you great service.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
215 Posts
great looking bench. I'm just finishing up building my Roubo workbench
 

· Registered
Joined
·
9,509 Posts
Lovely bench.
 

· In Loving Memory
Joined
·
8,391 Posts
You have good reason to be proud of the build. Outstanding work.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
12,450 Posts
Fine looking bench.
 

· Premium Member
Joined
·
2,802 Posts
Certainly looks like a nice stout bench! Happy days using it!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
8,785 Posts
Great job
 

· Registered
Joined
·
84 Posts
Saved this for further reference in the future… Seriously cool.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
64 Posts
Thanks to all for the comments. I appreciate it. I am glad to be finished working on the bench so that I can finally work on the bench!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
16,235 Posts
Very nice build, and the result is outstanding. Congrats!
 

· Registered
Joined
·
2 Posts
Nice build, I am in the last stages of my Split-Top Roubo Workbench build started in 2017 (I know it's been a long time, but life got in the way). When I laminated my benchtop boards I used an old method to keep them aligned. I used the Roubo clamp listed as figure 19 on plate 18. This is a great method to align and clamp boards.

-Aaron





I wrote a blog about it here: http://oldetoolworkshop.com/2017/12/19/roubo-to-the-rescue/
 

Attachments

· Registered
Joined
·
19 Posts
FANTASTIC BENCH! I don't know why some people disavow yellow pine… IMHO, it may be the best wood for a bench. Economical… not too hard… not too soft… I also think that it is very attractive.
BTW, ask any woodworker… a garage is expressly made for a workshop… it was never intended to be parked in… that is only a widely circulated myth… come-on, get real!
 
Top