Underhill's Roubo bench

Hi everyone; I'm the new guy.

After watching Roy Underhill's vids on making the Roubo workbench, I went out and bought some (green) oak and sharpened my tools...

The top is 9" wide by 3" thick and 4' long. (I bought it 5' long, but quickly realised that there wouldn't be enough room for me in the workshop, bit the bullet and chopped a foot off.)
I decided on 'beefing up' the bench a bit (just in case) and got myself some 5" by 3" by 4' for the legs.
(I got them a bit longer than necessary so that I had some room for 'mistakes'.)

Truing the top, the face edge and the ends was no problem...I've done that many times before.
My problems have begun...you guessed it...with the 'rising dovetails'.

I practised on some scrap wood and then got stuck into the bench itself.

Not too difficult to mark out and cut, but damn I'm finding the fitting difficult!
One joint a little too loose, the other a little too tight...:no:
At least they're square...!
(There's a helluva difference between the soft cedar and the hard oak when it comes to fitting...as I'm sure you'll all understand.)

I'd appreciate any advice on how to fit these joints properly...and I haven't even got onto the back legs yet.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

The Pom.

PS It seems I'm a 'darksider'...the only power tool in my possession is the bench grinder.

Photos, photos, photos. :D
A shoulder plane, a skew block/rebate plane and plenty of patience :; (they would be my weapons of choice anyway)

Getting surfaces flat and true is fundamental to the joinery on a big bench. Measuring and cutting mortises will have errors if the surface has variations and those little errors all add up.

Mark out with a sharp knife and creep up to the line with chisels, pay particular attention to getting the sides square. For the tenons, I found that a few files were handy for getting them nice and flat and even after the cutting was done.

In my signature is a link to the Roubo I am close to finishing. I'm looking forward to seeing your build progress.

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I'm mightily impressed with your bench, NC.
Looking forward to seeing yours too, Groggy.

I'll include pics shortly (your :D has been noted, NC:q)...my wife was taking photos this afternoon, but this is England, and sunlight is a rare commodity...

I'm wondering if I've made a mistake going for the cheaper option of green oak?
The top has a shake that is opening up on the side that I've cut the sockets, which is a pain, to put it politely.
I've got a thermometer and hygrometer in the garden house, which is the workshop, telling me that the humidity is 45% at 20 deg C. :(

Even though the temperature doesn't move more than 10 deg down or 5 up at this time of year, the sockets are expanding every day. I've put the top into the smaller (damper) shed in the hope that this will slow everything down.

I'm going to have to be quick to get the bench together and then insulate the garden house.

I think you're all going to have a great laugh at my efforts...entertainment guaranteed.

Grab a seat fellas...:doh:

PS I've just been over to your bench thread again Groggy, and watched the video. Wait until you see me try the same thing with a brace and bit...

Sounds like quite a challenge T'Pom.
I'm not sure how much you can do while it is still moving so much. You may have to wait for it to acclimatise.
Looking forward to pics all the same. :D