A Means To An End

I’ve been building this bench for so long that I’m a little sad to see it come to an end. It strange, usually projects tend to drag towards the end but this one really accelerated, so apologies for cramming a lot into this last update.

It’s been a challenging build but also a rewarding one. What i’ve liked most is that some elements have just fallen into place. The asymmetry in the top was dictated by the size of stock I had on hand. The two piece top was made of 4 beams, one was a good 7” wide and the rest were a little smaller. I used the 7” piece for the front as it was widest and it didn’t make sense to rip them all to a common width just to have the centre gap land right in the middle. I actually really like the fact that the work surface at the front totals 13” at the front and just over 8” at the rear. I also really like the fact that the 7” beam worked out to be exactly the same width as my sheldon vise. This really helped with the installation. The material for the legs had its fair share of structural defects, but all were addressed through epoxy reinforcement. It worked out to be kinda neat that I had enough material for 4 gnarled legs and 1 clear top. Without getting too mystical, in some ways i feel the bench build itself. Or at least dictated its final form. Anyways, on to the picture show.

The top was a bear to trim. I was able to make a kerf cut with my track saw but i still had 3” or so to hack through.

Man this was tough work. I nicked my fingers several times with this Ryoba, should have taped the edges….

I used miller dowels to secure the ledgers for the bottom shelf. Didn’t have to but if anyone ever looks up my skirt they’ll see a craftsman.

Next, on to the shelf boards. The veritas small plow is a finicky beast, can’t say i’ve mastered it but i was able to fiddle with it enough to get it plow an acceptable tongue and groove.

I find this type of work to be some of the most pleasurable. Light chamfering with an apron plane and a chisel.

Here she is, in the raw. Still needs a good danish oil bath and a few dog holes.

Made a quick jig to drill the dog holes straight and true. Lee valley sells this 3/4” brad point bit and 1” bushing, they make things easy.

On to flattening. You can see here the front beam lamination was slightly proud. All in all everything was sitting relatively well and it didn’t take too long to get things dead flat.

Full length shavings tell me I’ve found true flatness.

And when everything’s said and done here she is.

Another roubo workbench enters the world, built with wakened hands & built for a lifetime or two.

A Leg To Stand One

After months of planning, reading and designing in sketch-up, it was time to install the benchcrafted leg vice. It took a long time to get comfortable with the order of operations, I think I scoured just about every build on the internet to glean as much as I could about the process. It’s not that the benchcrafted instructions are bad… it’s just a visual guide would go a long way to making things click (fortunately there a few really great youtube videos floating around out there). Also, depending on the tools you have on hand you may want to switch up the process a little. So, if you’re planning your own build, keep reading and feel free to ask any questions below.

Using blue tape to mark out knife lines makes me feel less like a wood butcher and more like a wood surgeon.

Most of the waste was hogged out with a forstner bit. Make sure your drill press table is square before you get started…

I cut the pocket for the acetal bushing with a large forstner and then used a smaller forstner to drill the hole for the vise screw. This was a multistage process. My drill press quill didn’t have enough travel to make it all the way through, so I had to start the hole stop and then raise the table and start again. All in all it worked great.

Used a similar start stop process when making the holes for the steel rods. This extra long fisch 3/8” brad point bit will probably be a one use purchase but it was worth it.

I don’t like routers, probably because I don’t really know how to use them. I watched a few youtube videos and bungled my way through cleaning up the mortises. In retrospect my cut direction was wrong… Goddam 10 minute youtube videos saving the important stuff for last, my attention span isn’t long enough for that shit.

X marks the spot.

And here she is, just a little fettling to go but all the major work is done.

First Steps

I managed to drag two of the six walnut beams into my shop yesterday. A few passes with a hand plane gave me my first look at what was waiting for me. A few checks and cracks but nothing that can’t be stabilized. Moisture is a little on the high side but it’ll come down over the next few weeks. Building this Roubo will be an exercise in timberframing before cabinetry. I still have a lot of decisions to mull over… face or edge grain for the top, cabinets below or open space… who can I trick or bribe into helping me rip them down on the bandsaw.