Roubo'ish bench

[Steve1]

The top will be 24" wide, standard split top size. The length is probably going to end up in the 60-72" range. The Roubo is 87" long according to Benchcrafted/TWW plans. I'd be stretching it to get the 72" long. .

One good thing about making it a little smaller is that you may actually be ably to move it, when you need to.  All that maple ain't going to be light.

My workbenches fortunately have enough height between the floor and the bottom beam, that I can slide my pump jack under it to lift it a bit, then slide a set of dollies under it.

 

[DynaGlide]

The top will be 24" wide, standard split top size. The length is probably going to end up in the 60-72" range. The Roubo is 87" long according to Benchcrafted/TWW plans. I'd be stretching it to get the 72" long. .

One good thing about making it a little smaller is that you may actually be ably to move it, when you need to.  All that maple ain't going to be light.

My workbenches fortunately have enough height between the floor and the bottom beam, that I can slide my pump jack under it to lift it a bit, then slide a set of dollies under it.

I was planning on a set of Rockler workbench casters. They remove when not needed leaving just the bracket behind.

 

[festal]

The top will be 24" wide, standard split top size. The length is probably going to end up in the 60-72" range. The Roubo is 87" long according to Benchcrafted/TWW plans. I'd be stretching it to get the 72" long. .

One good thing about making it a little smaller is that you may actually be ably to move it, when you need to.  All that maple ain't going to be light.

My workbenches fortunately have enough height between the floor and the bottom beam, that I can slide my pump jack under it to lift it a bit, then slide a set of dollies under it.

I was planning on a set of Rockler workbench casters. They remove when not needed leaving just the bracket behind.

I just installed Powertec version on my bench. Excellent idea

 

[DynaGlide]

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-q5pCGLk/0/7a91bc68/1280/i-q5pCGLk-1280.mp4

I'm having way too much fun with this. I was pretty nervous about drilling out for the giant acme screw. I bought that WEN benchtop drill press to do it and it was a little sketchy but coming at it from both sides got it done. The rest of the install took some fiddling, careful drilling and tapping and measuring and wiggling but it all came together nicely. I may be putting a pin in this for a while before tackling the tenons on the rails and tops of the legs.

Matt

 

[nclemmons]

Great progress, Matt!  Thanks for the detailed photos.

Have you considered Andrew's vise? https://www.in-kleind.com/store/Twin-Turbo-Vise-c34750217

 

[DynaGlide]

Great progress, Matt!  Thanks for the detailed photos.

Have you considered Andrew's vise? https://www.in-kleind.com/store/Twin-Turbo-Vise-c34750217

Thank you Neil! As much as I'd like a twin screw vise I think the consideration for me is going to be of space. I have decided to go with the Benchcrafted tail vise. I'll have to make some changes to the top and possibly the distance between the legs to fit it in but I should be able to get a 72" or so long bench this way. I use my Festool clamping elements all the time and the thought of having a moving dog block integrated into the bench that does a better job at work holding is enticing.

When I started on this bench build I talked myself out of doing the wagon/tail vise because it seemed like too much work and outside of my skill range. I've built up the courage to tackle it and do the condor tails. If it comes down to it I can phone a friend for help when it comes to that part of the install.

Between vacation and hitting some snags I've been on a holding pattern but slowly starting to get back to it:

I made a sub fence for the Incra miter to reduce tearout while doing the tenons:

And discovered my table saw blade height drops in use. There's no adjustments to tighten it up so I resorted to using a clamp on the hand wheel which worked fine:

I left the tenons oversized for now in all dimensions. I ordered a router plane to trim them to fit and will do so for each mortise and label accordingly.

The other thing slowing this down is wood is expensive as heck. I had sold some tools off recently to start a bandsaw fund but I think instead I'm going to have to use that money to get the tail vise and wood for the top or else this isn't getting finished until next year.

Matt

 

[hdv]

Sorry if I misread your post, or just misunderstand it. A router plane can be used for mortices and grooves. For tenons, a shoulder plane would be better. Of course, you could make a jig/fence to support the overhanging part of the router plane when planing tenons, but even then I would prefer a shoulder plane for such tasks. In my experience sneaking up to a good fit is a lot easier to do by planing the tenons.

 

[tsmi243]

Sorry if I misread your post, or just misunderstand it. A router plane can be used for mortices and grooves. For tenons, a shoulder plane would be better. Of course, you could make a jig/fence to support the overhanging part of the router plane when planing tenons, but even then I would prefer a shoulder plane for such tasks. In my experience sneaking up to a good fit is a lot easier to do by planing the tenons.

Router plane for cheeks, not shoulders.  Works great.

 

[DynaGlide]

Paul Sellers video turned me onto the router plane for tenon cheeks. Lie Nielsen has a nice one too. Yesterday I purchased the mortise and tenon video by David Charlesworth and he probably demonstrates it better than anyone using a dial caliper to perfectly come up to the fit he wants.

While I'm not as good as any of those people I am liking how precise the trimming is:

 

[DynaGlide]

This is going a lot slower than I planned but that's okay. No rush and other things come first. First rail is fit. Part of the delay is figuring out what techniques work best for me. So far it's table saw to get tenon oversized, router plane to fit the cheeks, then chisel to round over the corners and trim up any problem areas. I added a leather strop to my sharpening routine and that has made doing the fine paring much easier.

Matt

 

[DynaGlide]

Base is coming along slowly but surely. This is a marathon for me not a sprint. I have a decision to make that's keeping me from moving foward: 20mm or 3/4" holes? I have to do the front right leg (and later the tops) with whatever I pick.

Naturally I have a lot of 20mm Festool stuff but zero experience with holdfasts. It seems the overwhelming majority of traditional bench hardware is 3/4".

Thanks for any and all opinions on this,
Matt

 

[rmwarren]

Matt, my gut is that there's not a lot of use case overlap with 20mm dogs on this type of bench. The thicker bench precludes using the clamps, and I think longer dogs are more functional in a thick bench than the relatively short MFT style dogs.

Do you have an interest in adding holdfasts to your arsenal? If yes, I think you may be limited to 3/4".

Andy Klein has some interesting takes on dogs for thicker benches in case you are not familiar with them.

RMW

 

[DynaGlide]

Matt, my gut is that there's not a lot of use case overlap with 20mm dogs on this type of bench. The thicker bench precludes using the clamps, and I think longer dogs are more functional in a thick bench than the relatively short MFT style dogs.

Do you have an interest in adding holdfasts to your arsenal? If yes, I think you may be limited to 3/4".

Andy Klein has some interesting takes on dogs for thicker benches in case you are not familiar with them.

RMW

That's kind of where I'm headed as well Richard. I don't foresee using traditional Festool stuff on this sort of bench. The holes are really only there for holdfasts, which seem better suited with 3/4".

 

[hdv]

Yeah, I do agree: go for 3/4" in a real bench with a substantial top.

As a matter of fact I have standardised my complete shop to 3/4" holes. I used to have some 20 mm stuff, but I ditched it. I have some worktops with holes in them (not a full grit), but I opted to make those in 3/4" too. I bought a Famag brad point and Forstner just for that. I never missed the 20 mm holes since doing that. No more messing around with 2 different dog hole systems. But that is purely a personal and subjective opinion. It definitely is not based on some objectively determined advantage.

TBH, there is one exception: I have a few 20 mm holes for the TSO triangle, because I really didn't want to ditch that wonderful tool. However, I might not be representative, because I own a slider and therefore do not use an MFT-like top for cutting. When I use the guide rail for cutting I use the TSO PGS and/or GRS and I don't need dog holes for that.

 

[DynaGlide]

[member=66485]hdv[/member] Thanks for the real world experience with the 3/4 holes. I went ahead and ordered a Wood Owl Overdrive bit to make them. It should get here sometime today thanks to the magic of Amazon.

 

[DynaGlide]

 

[Joelm]

That is looking great!

 

[festal]

Looking really good

 

[hdv]

Nice and sturdy!

I am reading the Anarchist's Workbench at the moment and you are dangerously close to getting me to build a new workbench for myself.  [scared]  [tongue]

 

[DynaGlide]

Thanks guys. It's been an experience that's for sure.

[member=66485]hdv[/member]