New Roubo Style Bench

[Stuart Ablett]

After some time with the workbench/SawStop set up I built a while back, I've decided that it just don't work.

Here you can see the old set up.....

I thought this was a good idea at the time, I was wrong, it does not work well.

It is too big, it takes up too much space, and I can only work from one side of the workbench, and each time I want to use the saw, I have to clear the whole thing off, don't work well...

I decided that I want the saw turned so the cutting direction is on the long axis of the workshop and I want a separate workbench.

I trimmed the rails down to 162cm/63" this should be an OK width, I had to cut down the extension table with the router insert as well.

One of the other reasons I was doing this was the DC on the SawStop just did not work well, I figured with a direct shot to the saw from the 6" hose it would work better, I'm sure it will, as this is what I found in the 4" DC pipe next to the saw.....

Yep, that pile of dust

No wonder the DC sucked on the saw

I have the SawStop basically done, now I need to buy the wood to make my workbench.

I'm going to make a Roubu or French workbench as described by Christopher Schwarz in his "The Workbench Book", like this......

He recommends Southern Yellow Pine, but I cannot find it here, to make a truly heavy duty bench out of say Maple here would cost me a lot, a WHOLE lot.
One wood that is close to SYP is Douglas Fir, and I found some!!

These are meant to be ridge beams, the top ones in this stack are 4" x 6" by 13' long and cost about $50 each, I think my workbench should be about 24" wide, so 4 of these beams laid side by side will be close to that, and a squared off piece for each leg, I should be good to go!

Should be quite the bench......

 

[Mohammad Madha]

Stu, I will be watching your progress with great interest. Hope to learn a lot from your experience.

 

[glenn bradley]

This will be a great thread. I was considering doing something a lot like your old setup to replace my cobbled outfeed. Can you elaborate a little on what you were dissatisfied with? I notice the bench you are after is targeting hand tools. Is that what made the other bench unworkable? I look forward to tagging along for the ride ;-)

 

[Steve Southwood]

Pressure, I feel pressure from this.

 

[Rob Keeble]

Make it good and heavy. Thats what mine lacks is heft. I threw out four old discs a month or two ago now i wish i had found a way to secure them to my bench to add heft.


The other thing is i am not convinced the leg vice is the greatest invention. But maybe its just me.

Funny thing is i am in the same camp as Glenn. You had me convinced your way was a way to go to get back some shop space given i have the items separate.

But now you mention the aspect of clearing the work bench to use the saw well its bad enough i use my saw as additional workbench space so i guess you saved me a whole ton of grief.

Are we woodworkers ever happy.

 

[Vaughn McMillan]

Looking forward to following along on the bench build.

Stu, why do you suspect the DC wasn't clearing that 4" line? I'd think your DC (heck, even mine) could keep swarf like that from building up. Was there some other obstruction in the line?

 

[Bob Gibson]

Lurking and Learning

 

[Ned Bulken]

well, having learned the limitations, I'm sure you'll enjoy building and using your new bench! Still, that was an impressive set-up, too bad it didn't work as you thought!

 

[Stuart Ablett]

Pressure, I feel pressure from this.

Steve, please don't, it will be some time until I'm ready to flatten the top of my bench!

 

[Stuart Ablett]

This will be a great thread. I was considering doing something a lot like your old setup to replace my cobbled outfeed. Can you elaborate a little on what you were dissatisfied with? I notice the bench you are after is targeting hand tools. Is that what made the other bench unworkable? I look forward to tagging along for the ride ;-)

The table/saw combo dominated my small space, I could not work around it, it was always in the way. As a tablesaw it worked OK, but, when I wanted to cut anything long, like ripping a long board, it was quite the process to turn the saw 90 degrees to do so. I have the Festool tracksaw to break down sheet goods, so I don't need that kind of huge table saw combo.

As a bench, it worked only OK, the biggest problem was I could only access what I was working on from one side, the table bench was too wide The leg vice and the regular vice worked well, and the dog holes with the hold fasts were great, but not enough space to work on stuff. Also I could not flatten the top of the bench when it was attached to the saw, this was frustrating, as the bench was not as flat as I wanted it to be.

I am moving more to hand tools, and smaller work, but I will be doing some cabinet work too, so having a more flexible work space is really important. with a separate bench and tablesaw set up I should get this. I will also need some more roller stands and I'll need to cull the junk out of the shop too.

I have a potential big customer for some work over the summer, so I had to get this done.

I cobbled this together from the remnants of the back bench I had built on to the saw....

.... as I know the often stated lament of guys building a bench is that you need a workbench to build a workbench!

I think I'll even stick my vice on this thing, just so I have a vice to use, it will be top heavy, but should work OK for a temp bench.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

Looking forward to following along on the bench build.

Stu, why do you suspect the DC wasn't clearing that 4" line? I'd think your DC (heck, even mine) could keep swarf like that from building up. Was there some other obstruction in the line?

There were three tools on the one DC run under the tablesaw/bench combo, the far router table, the TS and the near router table, all had blast gates, but the limited space meant I had to use hard 90 degree turns not sweeping double 45 degree turns and the TS was actually a "T" junction, being between the two router tables, this forced the air to do a very hard 90 degree turn, and being the third such turn in the 8' or so long run of only 4' pipe, well, it did not have enough airflow. The cabinet of the saw was about 6" deep in sawdust the the DC did not get.

So the short answer is "bad design"

 

[glenn bradley]

the limited space meant I had to use hard 90 degree turns not sweeping double 45 degree turns and the TS was actually a "T" junction

This is why I cringe when I see folk's nice, new, duct designs that they have not even ordered the ducting for yet and already they include 90's and T's . . .

 

[Jonathan Shively]

So Stu, is it done yet??
I have started an L shaped bench around my saw. Finding the clearing problem you speak of. In the midst of a project a cut becomes a problem. Where in the shop is this bench going to go? Will you design it to only work from the one long side?

 

[glenn bradley]

the biggest problem was I could only access what I was working on from one side

Bingo. That'll do it; I can't imagine giving up access from both sides, now that I've had it.

.... as I know the often stated lament of guys building a bench is that you need a workbench to build a workbench!

Truer words have never been spoken. I too cobbled a bench together to build my bench on. The cobbled version now serves as my outfeed table of which I spoke of wanting to replace/upgrade.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

So Stu, is it done yet??

Well, I have a funeral to attend in the morning, otherwise I'd be giving it a go for sure!

I have started an L shaped bench around my saw. Finding the clearing problem you speak of. In the midst of a project a cut becomes a problem. Where in the shop is this bench going to go? Will you design it to only work from the one long side?

I'm not 100% of placement yet, but with two separate units, I can move them a round a bit. Part of the placement problem is the DC, I'd rather the saw be as close to the DC as possible, so that puts in on the North end of the shop, with the workbench more on the south end, which is closer to the hand tools. We shall see I guess!

 

[Stuart Ablett]

I had some time tonight, so I made a quick trip out to Super Viva Home. I needed a bunch of casters to make some more carts for the sake fridge, that was my main reason to go, but I also took the opportunity to buy some wood.....

My buddy Tim came along for the ride, he is a photographer and is setting up a home studio, he needs to make some arches to hang some lights and stuff from, so he wanted to see what he could find at the DIY shop, nice to have the company for the ride out and back!

The beams I got are 21cm wide by 10.5cm thick by 4 meters long (8 1/4" x 4" x 13') They have this MASSIVE cut off saw at the DIY, and at 50 cents a cut, I let them cut these beams

I decided on 160 cm long and 63cm wide (5'3" x 24 3/4") that should fit and give me plenty of bench to work on.

I bought two of these beams, cut three slabs for the top, and two pieces for the legs, the leg pieces I will later rip in half to make four legs.

The two pieces on top will be made into four legs.

Now I've got to order the hardware for the leg vice and a few more things.

I hope to get a start on this soon, but we shall see.

I've got lots of other things to do as well you know!

Cheers!

 

[Stephen Bellinger]

Stu looking foward to riding along with ya on this.. Sorry coun't resist.

 

[Ned Bulken]

Stu, I was trying to picture 13' long beams threading their way through traffic on top of your van... glad they had the cut-off saw and at that price per cut, it must have made the trip home Much easier!

 

[Bart Leetch]

Well Stu as you know your shop & mine when I still had it were about the same size & this is the way I made space with a full sized cabinet saw.

I installed the router table into the left wing & pushed the right end of the saw up against the wall & set the table-saw on about a 2 1/2" riser. I also built a new base for my jointer that set the jointer fence just below the table-saw table. Then I built my bench so it's top was at the bottom of the table saw miter slots. This allowed me to tuck the jointer in along the left side of the table-saw & the bench was behind the table-saw. I just pivot the in-feed end of the jointer & can joint up to 8' long just a bit more.

Also I would have purchased if possible 2x material for the bench & ripped it & turned the grain vertical. Or maybe I missed something about your bench.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

Bart, as always you too use your space well!

I got some time this morning, I dug out my jointer, it does not have the longest beds, but is is wide! ]

I face jointed the worst side of each board and then the edges to give me nice tight joints!

I think with some glue and clamps I should be in business!

The legs are dressed down to 10cm or just a touch under four inches, I hope that is thick enough, the Roubo bench usually has 5" thick legs, but then it is 8' long too, mine is only 5'3" long so I'm hoping the thinner legs will be fine.I have to decide how I'm going to attach the legs to the top, stub tenons like Christopher Schwarz does it in his book, or through tenons.... I'll us the drawbore pins for sure either way.

Need to get out the glue I guess!