My first workbench build: Background
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, and have been finding it a great resource in general. I figured I should contribute a little bit to it. So here it goes, my first workbench - a MINI ROUBO!
(You can find it on my Instagram under Siggykc)
I know "Why not go the full hog and build a full sized Roubo??"
This is just to put it into context, as I simply lack the space to house a full sized Roubo workbench.
I am an average bloke (I work in the city) living in a small flat sized house, with a tiny garage that would normally just fit a car like the cooper mini with nearly no room to spare.
Thus the majority of the work is carried out one day a week when I have set time aside to drive 20kms to my parents house, where my dad has a woodworking setup.
One fortunate resource I have access to is my father. I could write a whole book on the guy (actually a few people have already stated that).
My father has some serious street cred. Being trained the old fashioned Tage Frid/Klausz way. He grew up in Southern Germany, the son of a cabinet maker and started his lengthy apprenticeship at 16, doing the journeyman years then completing his master cabinetmaker qualification. The whole time he lived in a men's hostel with tradesmen and he learnt from some seriously good guys that taught him how to do everything by hand and by machine. The fella came to Australia in the early 70s and became the head restorer and frame maker at the National Gallery. The stuff he can do…is gobsmacking. If anyone is interested in photos of his work, let me know.
Enough being side tracked.
My dad was aware not to build the bench for me, but rather act as a consultant, to bounce ideas off and learn techniques from on scrap material. I am an engineer by trade so understand the concepts of manufacturing and have some metal working skills, but this was the first real woodworking project for me.
Mission profile:
Provide woodworking capabilities for small projects such as chairs, side tables and furniture restoration for a period of 4-5 years. Then being used in a larger workshop for very fine jobs/assembly, as by this time I shall have enough space to build a full sized workbench.
Bench must be portable enough that 2 small people can manage to safely transport the bench. Thus a knockdown design is desirable.
Most importantly, must look good enough to be stored/used as a table in the house during times where it may not fit in the garage due to other workshop jobs.
Timeline:
Started in June 2019, aiming for completion late August 2019.
Work-time is on Saturdays, as I work a full time job during the week and Sundays is for house chores.
Materials:
Bench Hardware
I had been looking and looking, and in Australia we are limited in our access to the stuff people in Europe or the US have. BUT, we can get Benchcrafted gear. And after visiting the Benchcrafted distributor in Australia, I was sold on the quality of machining and build, at least from an engineering perspective.
Timber
My father's workbench is a full sized Scandinavian workbench. Solid Beech top. Beech being light in color allows for much easier working and adjusting of tools than with a dark workbench. Using this logic, I decided to use Hard Maple. Boy is it exxy here in Australia! Not to mention only a handful of places have it. For contrast, I managed to find people offloading some darker colored hardwoods that I want to incorporate into my tail vise somehow.
Dimensions:
I didnt follow the Benchcrafted plans, because i needed different dimensions.
This led to some hurdles along the way, which I will describe as I post updates.
Generally the size was set to 1550mm Long, 650mm Wide, 850mm Tall. As an indicator I am 165cm tall.
The boards of maple I obtained were a mix of 1 and 2 inches thick, and 5 inches wide.
I ripped them down on the saw, and then jointed and thicknessed them accordingly. Saving all the offcuts to use wherever I could.
Please feel free to hit me up with suggestions or questions, I love feedback!
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, and have been finding it a great resource in general. I figured I should contribute a little bit to it. So here it goes, my first workbench - a MINI ROUBO!
(You can find it on my Instagram under Siggykc)
I know "Why not go the full hog and build a full sized Roubo??"
This is just to put it into context, as I simply lack the space to house a full sized Roubo workbench.
I am an average bloke (I work in the city) living in a small flat sized house, with a tiny garage that would normally just fit a car like the cooper mini with nearly no room to spare.
Thus the majority of the work is carried out one day a week when I have set time aside to drive 20kms to my parents house, where my dad has a woodworking setup.
One fortunate resource I have access to is my father. I could write a whole book on the guy (actually a few people have already stated that).
My father has some serious street cred. Being trained the old fashioned Tage Frid/Klausz way. He grew up in Southern Germany, the son of a cabinet maker and started his lengthy apprenticeship at 16, doing the journeyman years then completing his master cabinetmaker qualification. The whole time he lived in a men's hostel with tradesmen and he learnt from some seriously good guys that taught him how to do everything by hand and by machine. The fella came to Australia in the early 70s and became the head restorer and frame maker at the National Gallery. The stuff he can do…is gobsmacking. If anyone is interested in photos of his work, let me know.
Enough being side tracked.
My dad was aware not to build the bench for me, but rather act as a consultant, to bounce ideas off and learn techniques from on scrap material. I am an engineer by trade so understand the concepts of manufacturing and have some metal working skills, but this was the first real woodworking project for me.
Mission profile:
Provide woodworking capabilities for small projects such as chairs, side tables and furniture restoration for a period of 4-5 years. Then being used in a larger workshop for very fine jobs/assembly, as by this time I shall have enough space to build a full sized workbench.
Bench must be portable enough that 2 small people can manage to safely transport the bench. Thus a knockdown design is desirable.
Most importantly, must look good enough to be stored/used as a table in the house during times where it may not fit in the garage due to other workshop jobs.
Timeline:
Started in June 2019, aiming for completion late August 2019.
Work-time is on Saturdays, as I work a full time job during the week and Sundays is for house chores.
Materials:
Bench Hardware
I had been looking and looking, and in Australia we are limited in our access to the stuff people in Europe or the US have. BUT, we can get Benchcrafted gear. And after visiting the Benchcrafted distributor in Australia, I was sold on the quality of machining and build, at least from an engineering perspective.
Timber
My father's workbench is a full sized Scandinavian workbench. Solid Beech top. Beech being light in color allows for much easier working and adjusting of tools than with a dark workbench. Using this logic, I decided to use Hard Maple. Boy is it exxy here in Australia! Not to mention only a handful of places have it. For contrast, I managed to find people offloading some darker colored hardwoods that I want to incorporate into my tail vise somehow.
Dimensions:
I didnt follow the Benchcrafted plans, because i needed different dimensions.
This led to some hurdles along the way, which I will describe as I post updates.
Generally the size was set to 1550mm Long, 650mm Wide, 850mm Tall. As an indicator I am 165cm tall.
The boards of maple I obtained were a mix of 1 and 2 inches thick, and 5 inches wide.
I ripped them down on the saw, and then jointed and thicknessed them accordingly. Saving all the offcuts to use wherever I could.
Please feel free to hit me up with suggestions or questions, I love feedback!