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Thread: Newbie Roubo bench top questions.

  1. #1
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    Newbie Roubo bench top questions.

    I want to build a solid top Roubo workbench, or something close to it anyway. In my neck of the woods for some reason nobody has good wood near me. I have the big box stores and literally all they have that's dried, aside from the overpriced hardwoods which would bankrupt me, is 2x4x8' studs. No 2x6 or anything slightly useful like that. There's some hardwood stores a couple hours away but they never have enough selection to go home with all my wood in one trip and I have no interest in or time to go back and forth. I live in Redwood country so there's plenty of that but it's so overpriced it's not even worth considering, not that it would be good for a bench anyway.

    Now to my question:
    How bad of an idea would it be to trim down those 2x4's to about 1" x 2.5" and use them stacked and laminated to get a ~5" thick top that's ~22" wide? Would the layering for thickness be a obvious no-no for some reason? I realize it'll be a crappy solution, and I'm okay with that as long as it's not something that'll tear itself apart.

    Also, I was thinking of doing a short non-built-in set of drawers on the Roubo shelf with clearance under the top, which I could remove if it got in the way. Could the weight of this set of drawers make up for a thinner top, in the 3" range?

    I'll take any and all help I can get. Thank you in advance.

    - Kevin

  2. #2
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    It would help if you added a rough geographic location to your profile so some one might know a nearby source..

    Using 2X4's from a big box store for a work bench top will leave you with a fairly soft top that will dent and ding easily. Just as a suggestion take a look at work bench tops from McMaster Carr that are pre-made. Their prices are reasonable for glued up butcher block bench tops.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 09-07-2017 at 1:06 PM.
    Lee Schierer
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  3. #3
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    Hard to believe anyone cannot easily obtain 2x6's.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  4. #4
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    Not sure how wedded you are to the idea of a Roubo exclusively, Christopher Schwarz included a chapter in his "The Workbench Design Book" on building the "24 hour workbench." That design uses 2x4s from a big box. It is not specifically a Roubo, but a solid workbench nonetheless. Likely it would serve as a good workbench for making a better workbench. You may be able to find the design online for free with a little searching.

    That said, a little hunting should provide you with solid hardwood of the dimensions you seek. To Lee's point, any hardwood should outperform big box construction lumber.
    "the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.” Confucius

  5. #5
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    Lee, I live north of San Francisco a ways. The local big box stores around me don't carry dried 2x6's. It's bizarre. Only green, and I don't want to wait that long. They do offer them at their other locations 2+ hours from me. Not helpful if I'll likely have to pick through the boards and get a few each trip. As for softness, I want a softer top. I don't mind dings. Rather the bench ding than my work. Plus I simply can't afford hardwood at the moment.

    Bill, I'm not dead set on a Roubo, it's just the one that sounded the best to me after a lot of research. I'd rather not use bolts but I suppose it's not a bad idea to go with that to then use it to build a better bench later. I'll check that out further. As for hardwood, there's a few retail dealers in the Bay Area but the board sizes are so far off what I'd need that after waste I'd spend a small fortune I don't have if I bought them all in one trip. If they were closer I could go pick a board or two each visit but I can't justify traveling so far multiple times.

  6. #6
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    Kevin, it's will work fine to lay up a bench top out of construction grade 4 x 2's. I would be inclined to go the easy way and laminate them face to face to create a top 4" thick. Pick straight ones and clamp top and bottom. Use a decent glue. It's how they make laminated beams. Cheers

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Lomman View Post
    ...lay up a bench top out of construction grade 4 x 2's. I would be inclined to go the easy way and laminate them face to face to create a top 4" thick....
    Here, 2x4's measure 1-1/2" x 3-1/2". So he would only have a 3" thick top.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  8. #8
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    Andy, apologies for taking the supplied measurements at face value...

    Kevin, as an alternative to my original comment, use the stock you have to glue up 5 or 6" wide timber, dress it, glue up face to face and there you have it. Cheers

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