Neander Roubo bench build pics- final half

[Mike Allen1010]

Below are pictures of the last half of my bench build. I'll add "replies" to this post so I have room for more pictures.:

Trimming of the through tenons- joints came out tighter than expected. I still added some wedges from the top to close up gaps:

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Here's the chop for the tail vice. Found a nice piece of figured maple and pared some decorative elements for the outside corners:

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I used a Rockler quick release tail vice because it was readily available in my time window. Doing the installation upside down and backward made it easy to get the orientation of the 2 quick release parts reversed. This vice hand been returned to the store, I'm guessing because someone got the pieces reversed and thought the vice was defective. Never knew how convenient a quick release vice could be! After some final planing the two mating surfaces of the vice fit nicely:



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I started drilling the ¾” round bench dog holes with brace and bit but quickly pooped out and settle for starting them with the brace and bit but finishing them with a power drill. I hadn't used this kind of power drill bit before but it worked great!

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final pics in attached posts below

Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Preparing the chop for the LV twin screw face vice:

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I had to add some 3” wide face pieces to the underside of the bench to accommodate the through threaded rod fittings.



I've used this vice on my-previous bench and it had become wobbly. When I disassembled it I found out why; both the bolts attaching the threaded through fittings and the wood screws holding the vice chop had become quite loose! I reinstalled it with larger size fasteners and it hums like a Swiss watch!

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Before final installation of face vice, I planed the face surface of the benchtop edge, legs and stretchers to ensure they were square to the benchtop and in a single plane:

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Here is the face vice finally installed. I added some spacers under the vice screws, surfaced with low friction, high density plastic to provide greater support and prevent racking when the chop is opened wide:


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After final tweaking, both clamping surfaces came out flat and parallel -- I love it when a plan comes together!

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Deadman pics below in next reply

Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Ripping the triangular shaped guide rail for the sliding dead man:

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Cutting the corresponding “V” groove in the bottom of the sliding dead man -- this was definitely a chore- but turned out okay:

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I made some shelves out of pine-and use ship lapped, rabbet joints. First time I'd ever cut a half round bead with a garage sale molding plane I’ve had forever- this is definitely a skill I'd like to get better at!


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Last group of pictures below

Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Time for final flattening of the benchtop. Pics below show marked high spots and the final results after freshly sharpened planning. I'm pleased with the flatness of the final work surface:

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Here's some pictures of the completed bench after a couple coats of Watco and thin leather glued to the bench dog and vice surfaces. I can already tell I really like the gripping power of the leather lined vices (aerosol contact cement worked best for attaching).


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Finally at home in the shop:


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In summary, building my bench was a lot of physical work, much of which could be avoided with the thickness planer and joiner. However the joinery was fairly straightforward and in many cases pretty fun. Getting a flat, true final bench surface really improved my planing skills, and once the rough planing was done, was less work than I anticipated.

Finally, I am truly surprised at how much easier it is to work at my new bench as compared to my older bench. It is 2 inches lower (use the pinky test), and I can't open believe how much easier hand planing as. Secondly workholding is second nature and is quicker, smoother and much more solid than what I had before. If you're considering building a new bench I would encourage you to give it a try. I'm glad I did.

Thanks to everyone here at the Creek for the inspiration and for looking.
Mike

[Paul Saffold]

Mike, thanks for the nice wright-up and all the photos. Nice bench. Looks like you've got a few saws there.

[Jerome Hanby]

Nice bench, I like your deadman...

[Steve Branam]

Awesome, dude! I notice you have a few handsaws, too.

[Federico Mena Quintero]

Impeccable bench! I'm more and more tempted to build a deadman like that.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Great looking bench. What are the dimensions of your chop on your tail vise, and how thick is your bench top? I'm hoping a bench build is in the works in my shop sometime this calendar year.

[James Owen]

Great looking bench and a good write-up. Really cool looking deadman.

[Michael Peet]

Excellent bench, Mike. I'm always impressed with you guys who do them all by hand.

Mike

[Mike Holbrook]

Wow Mike, Im jealous of the bench and those fine saws as well.

I am curious about what looks like a split top sawbench in the last picture. Is that your own design? It looks great too, is there a design/drawing for it available somewhere? I like yours better than the Schwarz design I think.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

I am curious about what looks like a split top sawbench in the last picture. Is that your own design? It looks great too, is there a design/drawing for it available somewhere? I like yours better than the Schwarz design I think.

Don't mean to jump in, but I'm reading Jim Tolpin's new book, The New Traditional Woodworker, and the sawbench appears to be his design. There is instruction on how to make it in the book if memory serves me. Fun read, by the way.

[Jim Matthews]

Awesome, dude! I notice you have a few handsaws, too.

There's room for more, somewhere. I wonder if he experiences FM radio interference from all that steel hanging around.
(It reminds me of golfers collecting clubs.)

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

P. 164 of Tolpin's book ....

[Hans Braul]

Mike,
outstanding work (emphasis on WORK)! This project must have given you tremendous confidence in your ability to work effectively with hand tools.

Hans

[Zach England]

A question:

Where the end vise is mounted why is there not an inside jaw between the end-grain of the bench top and the outer jaw? Do you foresee a problem clamping against the end grain? I am not sure I have ever seen an end vise mounted like that.

[Archie England]

Great looking bench build! Your timing couldn't have been better.

BTW, I'm feeling better about my gathering of handsaws, now! Much better, knowing that there are others so afflicted with the need for, oh say, "several" hand saws :-)

[Mike Holbrook]

Zach, Veritas' instructions for their QR vise say the side of the bench can be used as an inside jaw for their vise, if the top is thick enough. I wonder about the end grain though as I may use a QR in that position as well. Maybe if the top is thick enough a board of the same thickness could just be added to the top end so the end grain would be covered?

[Mike Allen1010]

Great looking bench. What are the dimensions of your chop on your tail vise, and how thick is your bench top? I'm hoping a bench build is in the works in my shop sometime this calendar year.

Joe, the chop for my end vice is 3 1/4" wide, which gives me about 2 inches between the bench dogs and the edge of the vice. This is larger than my previous bench and I find it makes it easier to quickly orient boards and secure them with the quick release. The chop is 5 1/2" deep, which I needed to accommodate the diameter of the vice screw and guide rods. The benchtop is 3" thick.

"A question:

Where the end vise is mounted why is there not an inside jaw between the end-grain of the bench top and the outer jaw? Do you foresee a problem clamping against the end grain? I am not sure I have ever seen an end vise mounted like that."

Zach, this design came from Chris Schwarz Ruobo style bench in his "workbench design" book. I took some time to plane the end grain so that it was flat, straight, 90° to the benchtop and mated completely with the Vice chop. I also lined both faces of the vice with leather. So far it works great and I don't think wood movement should be a problem here but I guess I'll find out over time.

Thanks for your kind comments and thanks to everyone here in the Creek for the inspiration to build the bench in the first place.

All the best, Mike