Thread: Not another Roubo Build? Sorry, but yes.

Some progress with the build over the last couple of days. I've glued the dog strip to the rest of the top section and here is one of the few areas that I've deviated from the Benchcrafted plans in that I've gone for round holes in the dog strip rather than the much more labour intensive square ones specified with individually made dogs in each hole. I'll be using a couple of Veritas brass ones instead.

Flushing the dog strip with the rest of the slab
DSCN0082.jpg

On to the end cap. After machining it to size I routed out most of the mortise and cleaned the rest out with chisels. I bought a corner chisel a couple of months ago and this is the first time I've used it. Instantly I'm wondering how I ever did without it. Very useful thingie.
DSCN0086.jpg

Test fitting the end cap on the tenon. Close but still a little finessing to go.
DSCN0087.jpg

Tomorrow it's time to rout out the cavity for the tail vise screw. Not something I want to do when I'm a bit tired.

The bench is looking really good, Richard. Maple is very impressive for the top - the North Americans obviously love it and they've got heaps of it over there but v pricey down here in Aus. It does makes sense to have a lighter coloured wood for the top for visibility, sighting down planes etc though. It will be interesting to see how you like the leg vise as your face vise. I had planned on adding one to my bench but opted for the HNT Gordon face vise instead. I'm sure the benchcrafted model will be a pleasure. Also interesting to see that you're in Kendenup. That was my hometown and my parents still live there. I'd love to have a look at the bench when it's done. Good luck with the rest of the build. Cheers, Zac Fergie.

Originally Posted by Fergiz01

The bench is looking really good, Richard. Maple is very impressive for the top - the North Americans obviously love it and they've got heaps of it over there but v pricey down here in Aus. It does makes sense to have a lighter coloured wood for the top for visibility, sighting down planes etc though. It will be interesting to see how you like the leg vise as your face vise. I had planned on adding one to my bench but opted for the HNT Gordon face vise instead. I'm sure the benchcrafted model will be a pleasure. Also interesting to see that you're in Kendenup. That was my hometown and my parents still live there. I'd love to have a look at the bench when it's done. Good luck with the rest of the build. Cheers, Zac Fergie.

Yeah, the maple was pricey but my aging eyes will appreciate it. When I was thinking about the build the HNT Gordon vises were the other option I considered but I felt the Benchcrafted stuff was more in keeping with the Roubo style. Next time you head off down here to see your parents send me a PM and I'll give you my details so you can drop by and have a look.

Today's task has been to rout out the cavity for the tail vise. It turned out to be pretty stress free.
DSCN0088.jpg

Still some fine tuning to go but mostly there....
DSCN0089.jpg

I must be nuts for trying to cut houndstooth dovetails in the front laminate instead of the standard ones shown in the plans but it seems if I don't I'll regret it later. I just hope I don't regret it soon. Messed up the marking on this side a bit and went over the lines a bit so this face will have to go on the inside.
DSCN0090.jpg

Once again I think I'll leave the cutting of these for a new day and a fresh mind.

Well, I tried........but after one effort that looked like a dog's breakfast at the houndstooth dovetails (pun intended) I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and went with the standard dovetails instead since I couldn't really afford more than one failed attempt. A bit deflating but better to accept it and move on. A little beyond my meagre skill levels at present, such is life.
DSCN0091.jpg

Time to flatten the tops. This could take a while......
DSCN0092.jpg

It's all good, I reckon I've learnt more about using a plane over the last two days than in the preceding 18 months of my woodworking journey, scribbling all over the slab with a pencil, planing away, checking with a square, going at it again. It's slow, patient work, but the results are good.

It's better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. I'm sure if you had enough material for another attempt you would have got there in the end. Which part of the process did you struggle with (marking out, sawing, chiselling, etc) ? It's still a good looking bench and regular dovetails are probably much stronger anyway. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Originally Posted by KahoyKutter

It's better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. I'm sure if you had enough material for another attempt you would have got there in the end. Which part of the process did you struggle with (marking out, sawing, chiselling, etc) ? It's still a good looking bench and regular dovetails are probably much stronger anyway. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Mostly poor sawing. I probably could have rescued the tails in the end but three quarters of the way through making those I made the call that I didn't think I had a chance of cutting the pins in the end cap and started again. Not so surprising really, I've never cut half blind dovetails before let alone houndstooth ones to the depth of 1 1/2". I'm glad I had a go at it but I'm also glad I pulled out when I did.

Originally Posted by Biggus

Mostly poor sawing. I probably could have rescued the tails in the end but three quarters of the way through making those I made the call that I didn't think I had a chance of cutting the pins in the end cap and started again. Not so surprising really, I've never cut half blind dovetails before let alone houndstooth ones to the depth of 1 1/2". I'm glad I had a go at it but I'm also glad I pulled out when I did.

Sawing is my Achilles Heel as well. It's not too bad for typical dovetails, which are usually only around 15~20mm long (e.g. drawers etc), but the ones on my bench are almost 70mm long. That's why I cheated and used my bandsaw when cutting mine.

Originally Posted by KahoyKutter

Sawing is my Achilles Heel as well. It's not too bad for typical dovetails, which are usually only around 15~20mm long (e.g. drawers etc), but the ones on my bench are almost 70mm long. That's why I cheated and used my bandsaw when cutting mine.

Yeah, look I have trouble cutting nice slices from a loaf of bread and these dovetails are 2 1/8" long and 1 1/2" deep (sorry about the Imperial stuff, they're American plans and I've been thinking in the old stuff for a couple of months now after deciding at the outset it was better to do that than convert everything to Metric). This rock maple is surprisingly hard as well and I still have much to learn about sharpening.

Now that I have the end of this build in sight (sort of) I really have to restrain myself from making a dash to the finish line and instead refocus and continue slogging along being as fastidious and accurate as I was for the first half. Sometimes I just have to walk away from the work and give my brain a rest for a day or two and I feel one of those moments coming on. I reckon I'll take a couple of weeks flattening the tops as this is probably the most critical part of the build. After that it's pretty clear sailing, fitting the tops to the frame and making the gap stop, then finishing the top with BLO and turps.

Some progress with the build, after much planing to get it all level (apart from some minor work post fitting to the frame) and cutting the mortises in the underside of the slabs a quick test fit. Much relief and the slabs are very close to level with each other. Now to disassemble the whole lot for final cleaning up and finishing also to mount the retracting casters to the legs so I can move this baby around. After that whack it all back together and make the gap stop.
DSCN0094.jpg

It's been slow going for the last couple of weeks due to me doing myself a wee bit of an injury, a torn gluteal muscle says the doctor, with expected six week recovery time. So I've got a bum bum (or is that a dud bum?), sounds funny but hurts like you wouldn't believe. Spent about a week on my back unable to move except to go to the dunny or to drag myself into the kitchen to grab something from the fridge. After about ten days with the aid of some painkillers and a walking stick I've been able to get back into the workshop to do some light stuff, sanding off corners, throwing some BLO and turps onto the tops, dismantling the frame for a last coat of Danish oil and today fitting the retracting casters on to the legs and putting the frame all back together.
DSCN0095.jpg

DSCN0096.jpg
DSCN0097.jpg

Tomorrow I'll start doing some last detail finishing to the tops, mostly cleaning up the ends of the slabs which are still a little uneven in places and I need to make the dog block for the wagon vise, then it's time to fit these to the frame, exciting times!

Hi Biggus, sorry to hear about your injury, hopefully it’ll be better soon. Don’t exert yourself as it’s trying to repair.

I have the BC kit stowed in my shed but there’s no room at present for building the bench unfortunately. So I’m following your build keenly.
Im taking it, from a few comments you’ve made lately that you’d recommend making the top first? I’m a member of “the wood whisperer” and he says it could go either way. I’m thinking while still keen and fresh on big project that I’ll start with the more visible top, when I get around to it!

Originally Posted by AndrewPatrol

Hi Biggus, sorry to hear about your injury, hopefully it’ll be better soon. Don’t exert yourself as it’s trying to repair.

I have the BC kit stowed in my shed but there’s no room at present for building the bench unfortunately. So I’m following your build keenly.
Im taking it, from a few comments you’ve made lately that you’d recommend making the top first? I’m a member of “the wood whisperer” and he says it could go either way. I’m thinking while still keen and fresh on big project that I’ll start with the more visible top, when I get around to it!

I built the base first actually and that's what I'd recommend as long as you already have a workbench to do it on. I found the base fairly easy to make as long as you work accurately and take your time, double and triple checking your marking before you cut. The top on the other hand really stretched my only limited woodworking abilities and fairly entry level equipment. I don't have a long bed jointer and my combo planer/thicknesser was really only capable of getting the boards for the top reasonably close to straight and flat with the rest being done with hand planes. If you do make the tops first don't cut the mortises in the underside (the ones that mate with the tenons in the top of the legs) until you've made the frame.

You'll need plenty of space in the shop to make this bench. The first thing I'll have to do once I finish this is to do a major clean up as this project has completely taken over my work space for about three months now and I have tools out and lying around needing to be put away and all that, the place is a mess and I need to do some winter maintenance on my machines to head of any winter rust on the cast iron tops. I should have the bench minus the gap stop finished in maybe a weeks time, then it will be time to push it into the corner and down tools for a major clean up.

Cheers, Richard.

Hi B. As long as the bench is not a PITA!! Looking better with each photo you post. Thanks for keeping us updated