Roubo Workbench - More Progress

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KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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eyekode said:
I forgot your bench is narrower than mine. I had to span 20.5"! But yours is 18" wide right? If your stretchers are 1 3/4 then you would need 14.5" right? Anyway it still sounds neat!
Salem
Click to expand...

Yep, much narrower than yours due to the single slab its made out of. It is just under 18" wide. The Stretchers are actually 2-1/2" wide which should work out to about 12+ inches, but in actuality the measurement is right at 11-3/4". So I'll rip the board to 11-1/2" to allow for expansion/contraction.

I'm anxious to fit it but should probably let it acclimate to the shop a few more days. It was pretty dry (haven't actually measured the moisture content yet) but it was in an open-air shed at Jack's. Its been in the shop now since Wednesday morning. I should probably break out the moisture meter and check it. Things seem to be at equilibrium around 12-13% in the shop this time of year.

- Ken.
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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I got a good bit done over the weekend.

I made up a bunch of wedges on the band saw using my simple wedge jig. It's just a block of wood notched out at 4 degree angle using the miter gauge. It makes it simple using the fence to turn out a bunch of 4 degree wedges.

I used some maple scraps and made up a bunch of them.
DSC_0280_800x532_.jpg

View image in gallery​

I then used a chisel to fit them to the mortises for the legs.


I mixed up a bunch of the long open time epoxy and left it very runny this time - no thickeners. I poured this into the gaps around the leg tenons and installed the wedges. Those legs aren't going anywhere now.



I also worked on the bottom shelf. Here is the board I got to use for the shelf. Because it is rough on all four edges I had to use the track saw to get some straight edges for the table saw rip.



It came out of the thickness planer looking pretty good.


I decided that I do need to build a sliding deadman into the front of the bench. Had to make do with a roller here.


Got the shelf board finished and left the finish to dry overnight.


Making lots of progress now. Flattening the top is going to be a challenge though.

- Ken.
 
eyekode

eyekode

New User
Salem
Ken, that is a beautiful piece of maple! And I don't think those legs are going anywhere.

I just finished my prototype sliding deadman. It works very well but I may bail on it. I really want storage under my bench. But can't figure out how it should work together with a deadman. Then I had an idea: what if I put holdfast holes in the carcass of the storage? There must be some fatal flaw to this idea because I have not seen it done elsewhere :). I will draw it up in sketchup and see what I think.
Salem
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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That should work if you make a thick enough frame on the front of your storage solution. The adjustable hold-fasts that Lee Valley sells might work just fine. They sell an optional shorter post for it that I sometimes use in my old built-in bench that only has shallow dog holes.

- Ken.
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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I cheated. But then I never said I was going to use all hand tools on this project. Sometimes power is more appropriate and easier on the back.

Using planes to flatten the top was going very slowly due to the amount of material that needed to be removed. So I created a jig. I went to Lowes and bought 4 premium 1x4's which I selected to be very straight and true. Using one on top of the other to judge the height I got the lower one tacked to the sides of the bench so that it was level and just the right height for another 1x4 to ride on and clear the top edge across the whole bench top.


I then took 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood for stiffness and attached them to two 1x4's with a 3/4" gap for a router guide template to slide in. I used another short piece of 1x4 to hold everything together and overlap the track I'd essentially made on each side of the bench with the 1x4 rail. With a 1/2" spiral up-cut bit in the router I was able to set the jig, slide the the router in the slot across the bench and make a 1/2" wide perfectly level section of top. After a full day of moving 7' by 1/2" increments the top was level. Not smooth, but level.


I then used the planes, scrapers, and finally the random orbit sander to make the top smooth. It is almost ready for finish at this point.



There was a 6mm difference between the highest spot on the bench (near an edge on an end) and the lowest spot (in the center). I ended up taking a 7mm cut with the router to get a uniform level top all over. I made a lot of sawdust and chips.
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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Corporate Member
It's FINISHED!! :icon_cheers


This last weekend I finished drilling the dog holes and put a coat of finish on the top of the bench.

I used a router with a 3/4" spiral up cut bit to start the holes so I could get an accurate layout and get them started straight. I finished them up with the 13" swing Brace and Bit.




There are a few little details to do like putting a date "2011" in the front of the chop. I also want to make a chisel rack for the back of the bench. And I think I need some rubber pads on the legs due to the indoor/outdoor carpet that is over the concrete in my shop. (Not my choice, the carpet was already there and I haven't bothered to remove it.) Despite it's mass the thing wants to slide a little on the carpet especially sideways. Once I clean out the corner and move the bench under the window where it will finally reside, that should be minimized anyway by being flush to the wall.

Now to get that bow saw built.

- Ken.
 
eyekode

eyekode

New User
Salem
Ken that second endcap looks really good. Actually the whole bench looks excellent. I can't believe you can shove that thing around!
Salem
 
MarkE

MarkE

Mark
Corporate Member
Excellent! Very nicely done.

So this bench will be against the wall? Will you have room to move it away from the wall if you need to work on the opposite side of a workpiece? I guess it is probably easier to move the workpiece than it is to move the workbench.
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
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Corporate Member
MarkE said:
Excellent! Very nicely done.

So this bench will be against the wall? Will you have room to move it away from the wall if you need to work on the opposite side of a workpiece? I guess it is probably easier to move the workpiece than it is to move the workbench.
Click to expand...

Thanks all.

Yes, I should be able to angle it out toward the middle of the room to get around the back side. It is a narrow bench to start with (only 18" wide x 7'3" long) so I can easily reach across it, but it may be necessary at times to have room behind it.

Against the wall, under the window will get me as much natural light as possible and the pegboard around the window is excellent for miscellaneous tool storage. A lot of my hand saws hang there now, but I need to re-think my tool organization now that the bench is done.

- Ken.
 
Canuck

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member
Really nice work there, Ken!!:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

Betcha it will pass the test of time many times over and provide years and years of service.

I too have enjoyed the periodic progress reports. Thanks for sharing!:icon_thum

Wayne
 
KenOfCary

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
I added a final little detail to the bench.

I did a pretty rough carving of the year it was built on a small piece of maple and inlaid it into the front vice chop. It looks really hand carved - full of mistakes here and there, but very original.


Just a little finishing touch.

- Ken.
 
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