Maybe Dumb question

[harry strasil]

Why such massive legs on the Roubo style bench, to me they look so out of proportion?

[Jim Koepke]

My thoughts on the massive legs is easily understandable if you have ever had one end of the bench lift off the ground while planing a board.

Not sure if that is the reason, but it is one reason if my dream bench is ever built, it will have some heavy (and likely massive) legs and feet.

jim

[Richard Dooling]

Just a thought as I’m not real familiar with Roubo bench, but are the legs mortised directly into the top without additional frame members? If so I imagine you would want big thick tenons as well as broad tenon shoulders.

Also if you're installing a leg vise, would you want something pretty wide to work in conjunction with the edge of the top?

.

[Billy Chambless]

They look proportionate to me, but I then, my tastes lean toward the crude and massive. ;) As Jim said, the mass adds stability.


It's fun to speculate as to why the "original" Roubo-style benches had such massive legs. The reason could be as mundane as that it was easier than resawing the timbers to a smaller size

[Richard Francis]

Check out timber framing and maybe investigate the 'standard' sizes for timbers cut at the time.

[george wilson]

Some of you guys must be hot for Hillary :)

Actually,my bench has a solid beech 4" thick top,and 4"X6" legs with double mortise and tenon joints to top and bottom stretchers. I had beechwood logs custom sawed,and let the wood dry for several years before using.

The point was to make a workbench that would not move at all when planes were being used.

Lesser benches,like the Swiss bench I bought from Garrett Wade years ago,when they sold decent benches,had to be loaded with wood underneath to make them heavy. I think that bench had 2 1/2" square legs.

[harry strasil]

George, my NuBench has a pin oak top 1 3/4 inches thick, is 5 ft long and 27 inches wide and has 2 1/2 inch oak legs and it don't move around when you plane something. And I have 1/2 carriage bolts with square nuts embedded in the feet to level it with the bench setting on the oval heads on finished concrete.

[Dan Karachio]

Well, having been in Paris I can say it is not influenced by the legs of French women. If it was a Siberian bench, then maybe...

[harry strasil]

LMAO: youse better hopes one of dem siberian girls don't get aholds of youse, dey goes bear huntin wit a toothpick.

[harry strasil]

Ok, I still think the legs are out of proportion to the top on a Roubo. And I have to laugh every time I see the name Roubo, it reminds me of Robby the Robot on the old Lost in Space TV show.

I decided I would make one tho, it would make a nice stand for a dovetailed box I made a long time ago. So I scrounged around and found some timbers I really had no use for and built a small Robby today. Its not very pretty, wife and I haven't felt good since Saturday afternoon on our way home from KC,Mo. and, I had some surgery yesterday and the stitches were irratating me.

But here is my poor quick attempt at a Robby Bench. I think I mismeasured a couple of the mortises a bit. I made the top a bit thicker so the legs don't look so out of proportion.

This view doesn't look too bad.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/nu%20bench/roubo001.jpg




This one shows the out of kelter stretcher and some of the nasty grain in the Oak top pieces, but the Old Walnut worked real well.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/nu%20bench/roubo002.jpg



This picture is just added with another object so you can see the Massive Size of this Box and Bench.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/nu%20bench/roubo003.jpg

[george wilson]

Like I said,my Swiss workbench would move,or slide on the floor. Of course,Jon,my journeyman,and I are both (were) large and strong men.

[jamie shard]

Why such massive legs on the Roubo style bench, to me they look so out of proportion?

From your pictures, I would say the end view looks very proportioned... but the legs look too big on the front view. I'll bet if the bench was longer, it would come into proportion. For what it's worth!

:)

-j

[harry strasil]

Jamie, the pictures are of a miniature I made yesterday, see the zippo lighter in the last picture. Roubo Benches are the fad of the day, I just wanted to be able to say I built one. LOL

[Joel Goodman]

Now you need a tiny set of tools to match the bench!

[Raney Nelson]

Personally I don't really think the size of the legs matters so much as the size of the tenons in the top. 2-1/2" x 5" tenons can take a LOT of racking in stride, and make the bench really simple to make if you have access to lots of massive timbers. I believe massive timbers were not in short supply in 18thc. france.

My current bench is more of a traditional trestle design, with 2-1/2" square legs, top and bottom stretchers, and a 2-inch top with wide apron. With a tool chest in the bottom it's completely stable. But, I'm currently building a Roubo (I wanted a full 8' bench) and while dealing with timbers of that size is a bit tiring and tricky in a small shop, I have to say it's a real marvel of simplicity.

In the end, I really don't think there's much INHERENTLY more appropriate about one design over the other. Either is very capable of doing everything I might toss at it.

Mostly, I chalk the Roubo popularity up mostly to Chirs S (who's arguably done more 'research' on benches than almost anyone) liking them so much. Follow that up with a number of really oustanding craftsmen picking up the design (Jameel Abraham's Roubo is probably the nicest bench in every way that I've ever seen) and you have a critical mass for a trend.

There are some 'pluses' to trends, though: they mean that information, and materials, and solutions for these benches are readily available in spades. That makes for a very painless process all around, even for people building their first bench, or even first real project.

Vive Le Roubo!

By the way, Harry - nice bench. Is it stable under strenuous planing :)

[jamie shard]

Jamie, the pictures are of a miniature I made yesterday, see the zippo lighter in the last picture. Roubo Benches are the fad of the day, I just wanted to be able to say I built one. LOL

I know... I thought it was your test model for a future project!