My Roubo...finally...

[Harold Burrell]

OK. Here it is. A little over 2 yrs in the making. It's not much...compared to the beauties posted here...but it's mine.

And I think it will be fun to use.

It is totally made out of construction grade lumber (except for the Leg Vise, which is maple, and the End Vise, which is ash).

I also included a shot of my LV BU Jack...just so David could see him (Jack says "Hi", by the way). :)

295384

[Mike Cherry]

It is beautiful! I kinda wish you had some build pics! I am motivated by your build because you used construction lumber. Inspiring!

[Prashun Patel]

Beautiful. Congratulations.

Question: How do you keep your end vise from racking when it's doing tail-vise style work as in the pic?

[David Weaver]

It's lots nicer than my bench - looks good to me!

[Judson Green]

Nicely done, Harold! Much can be done with just good old construction lumber.

What's your first project gonna be?

[Stew Denton]

Harold,

Nice, Nice, Nice! Wish I had one something like it and a shop to put it in.

Stew

[Christopher Charles]

Looks great to me! I hope you find it a pleasure to use. Congrats and we'll look forward to seeing projects fly of the bench :)

Cheers,
C

[Pat Barry]

Very nice work Harold. Looks very solid. Should stand up well for years to come. Are you planning to finish it? BLO, etc?

[Harold Burrell]

Thanks guys. Of course (as is the case with everything I build) I only see the mistakes. But...hey...it adds character, right?


I kinda wish you had some build pics!

No you don't! Most of them would have included me throwing stuff and walking away grumbling. Me and those through mortises in the top didn't get along.



Question: How do you keep your end vise from racking when it's doing tail-vise style work as in the pic?

Good question! The answer: I dunno. I've only used it like twice. :D



What's your first project gonna be?

Oh, man...I am in the middle of MANY projects. A sideboard for my wife...a dining room table for some friends...ad infinitum...

What I do want to do asap is to make some jigs and fixtures for this thing. You know, bench hook, shooting board, etc...


Are you planning to finish it? BLO, etc?

Yeah...probably the BLO/varnish/MS thing.

[Phil Stone]

Very nice, Harold. I hope to join you soon in the ranks of freshly be-Roubo'd Creekers.

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful. Congratulations.

Question: How do you keep your end vise from racking when it's doing tail-vise style work as in the pic?

It does look great.

Like Prashun I would like to see some pictures of the underside of the tail vise.

Vertical racking is harder to deal with than horizontal racking.

jtk

[Don Rogers]

Very Nice Harold. You will get great pleasure in using it.

Mine is coming along nicely so far, but I don't think I want to wait 2 years.
Don

[Malcolm Schweizer]

WOW, that looks great! Is that 6" thick? I believe that end vice isn't beefy enough. (intense sarcasm) That thing looks like you could clamp a small car with it.

[george wilson]

It certainly looks heavy enough to not walk around while you are planing on it.

[Judson Green]

It does look great.

Like Prashun I would like to see some pictures of the underside of the tail vise.

Vertical racking is harder to deal with than horizontal racking.

jtk


I see that Harold is using round dog technology, so for work held between the dogs horizontal racking probably isn't much of an issue. I employed a single round dog (in the vise) as a work around for just this issue.

Vertical racking; made mine to close up at the top first- slight draft on the vise. Jury is still undecided on this one. When not closed tight the jaw is a bit lower than the bench surface.

[Martin Peek]

Beautiful bench! Congratulations on finishing!

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

You are being too critical of yourself. It sure likes like one of the beauties you mention.
Please do show the underside. I, too, am curious.

[Harold Burrell]

OK...

Please forgive my ignorance, but...I am not sure what all of interest is in my tail vise. It is just about as cheap as you can get.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004875/7501/WoodRiver-Small-Front-Vise.aspx

I just kind of bolted it thru the holes in it with lag bolts. If there is "racking" I haven't noticed. It just kind of opens...and closes.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Congratulations on the bench. I am sure it will be fun to use for decades to come. To get the most out of your holdfasts you might want to add a couple of holes in the bench for incorporating battens to help with work holding. Checkout:

http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/?p=1936

for more on battens and holdfasts.

Happy Woodworking!!!

[Paul Saffold]

Very nice, Harold. You'll enjoy your efforts for years to come.
Paul

[Harold Burrell]

Congratulations on the bench. I am sure it will be fun to use for decades to come. To get the most out of your holdfasts you might want to add a couple of holes in the bench for incorporating battens to help with work holding. Checkout:

http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/?p=1936

for more on battens and holdfasts.

Happy Woodworking!!!

Wow...that is pretty cool. Seriously, this is the kind of stuff that I am looking for.

I went right out into my shop and made one. :D

[Brian Holcombe]

Awesome work Harold! I certainly do not envy anyone whose had to put a top onto one of these benches with four of those tenons.

I've done rising Dovetails with a tenon (similar, but slightly different) and fitting one at a time is hellish enough.

i'm also tortured by small details that no one else seems to notice, so on almost every project I will go back at some point and change them slightly after a year or so. After that I am happy with them.

[Fitzhugh Freeman]

In my case my query about the tail vise was based on being half awake... I need a stretcher at the top on my bench (need removable top for now) and am trying to decide how to have the vise and stretcher fit in the same space. In spite of having had Roubos dancing in my head for a few years I was not thinking about your lack of such a stretcher and just went "tail vise question? Uh, um, yeah me too."

I always focus on the disprovements on things I make, whether in the kitchen, the shop, wherever. I hope you can see how well you did a lot clearer than the things you'd change. It is quite the accomplishment.

It sure looks great from here.
Edit - I also vote to see any build photos you took. :)

[Harold Burrell]

I also vote to see any build photos you took. :)

I took no build photos. Mostly because (and I'm just being honest here) my shop is a mess. I am THE most unorganized person on the planet. Seriously. I will only occasionally share pictures of anything I build...and even then it is always in the house. In the extremely rare cases that I will post a picture of anything from the shop, it is always from "just the right angle".

So...there it is.

As far as the build itself, well...everything I did was from the Chris Schwarz book. So my pictures would probably have looked a lot like his...just without the cool hair. :D

I will try to get some underside pics, though.

AFTER-THOUGHT:
Maybe what we need here is a sub-forum of some sort for the "Organizationally Challenged". You know, where we can post pics without fear of being judged. And where all of us OC's can even compliment each other with the creativity of our messes. A place where we can all get comfortable and find acceptance for "who we are".

Yeah...I need to talk to Keith about this... ;)

[Rob Luter]

Nice job. It looks pretty stout.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I took no build photos. Mostly because (and I'm just being honest here) my shop is a mess. ...

Maybe what we need here is a sub-forum of some sort for the "Organizationally Challenged". You know, where we can post pics without fear of being judged. And where all of us OC's can even compliment each other with the creativity of our messes. A place where we can all get comfortable and find acceptance for "who we are".

Yeah...I need to talk to Keith about this... ;)

Harold, if you become president of the organizationally challenged forum, I think I''d be in the running for VP. Just checkout

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?149984-Hoosier-Workshop-Make-Over

or

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?215632-Workbench-getting-there as evidence.

[ken hatch]

Wow...that is pretty cool. Seriously, this is the kind of stuff that I am looking for.

I went right out into my shop and made one. :D

And? Don't keep us hanging :-).

[Mike Allen1010]

Very, very nice Harold! I'm sure you'll enjoy that bench every time you use it!

I'd say the over/under on how long it takes the very nice shelf between the stretchers to become buried in tiny bits of wood "you just can't part with" is about one project. Time for the pile of scraps to be so large that you forget/can't find the "perfect scrap" - 2 projects. Don't ask how I know this:).

The "bench appliance" I use the most is a 3" x 6" piece of maple with a dowel that fits in the bench dog holes, that I clamp a adjustable desk lamp/worklight to for putting light on the small workpieces I can't see anymore. I get mine at target/Office Depot and they usually last about three – four months before they break. I usually get them 2 at a time because there sometimes hard-to-find and I'm lost without it.

Thanks for sharing your work and the pictures!

All the best, Mike

[daniel lane]

Beautiful bench, Harold. Nice to see the construction grade wood being used so successfully. I've recently found a source of 4-by and 6-by doug fir and have been pondering a similar build, I think you may have inspired me to go for it!



daniel

[ian maybury]

Good going Harold. My Roubo has been starting 'tomorrow' for several years - but has finally reached the stage where all the parts are ready and it's time to go...

[Harold Burrell]

Beautiful bench, Harold. Nice to see the construction grade wood being used so successfully. I've recently found a source of 4-by and 6-by doug fir and have been pondering a similar build, I think you may have inspired me to go for it!



daniel

It is my understanding...that construction grade pine will harden significantly over time. I am sure that it will "ding up" much more than, say, maple though.

However...it is, after all, a workbench. :)

[Tony Parent]

Question: How do you keep your end vise from racking when it's doing tail-vise style work as in the pic?
I have a similar setup for my end vice. I use one of these and love it.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=69605&cat=1,41659

[daniel lane]

It is my understanding...that construction grade pine will harden significantly over time. I am sure that it will "ding up" much more than, say, maple though.

However...it is, after all, a workbench. :)

Harold, my understanding is the same, especially for yellow pine. I'm not so certain about doug fir, but the numbers show it to be slightly stiffer, slightly lighter, and about the same hardness - before the aging, I would guess. Still, even if it's a bit soft, that is actually appealing to me. I like the idea of my "work dings the workbench" instead of the other way around. That's one reason I've been looking at using (untreated) doug fir, instead of maple or ash. Plus, by my calculations, I should be able to get all of the lumber for about $300. And that's for a 5" thick top! If I drop to the 4-by material, it'll be about $250.

Hard part will be handling the lumber. I'll have to show up at the lumber yard with my sawbenches and a hand saw in order to get it to fit into the truck! (My plan is to buy 12 or 16 footers and cut them down to transport, I've heard many times that the longer stuff is usually clearer than the shorter stuff.)


daniel

[Graham Haydon]

Nice work Harold. You have a good foundation for many a project there.

[Harold Burrell]

Harold, my understanding is the same, especially for yellow pine. I'm not so certain about doug fir, but the numbers show it to be slightly stiffer, slightly lighter, and about the same hardness - before the aging, I would guess. Still, even if it's a bit soft, that is actually appealing to me. I like the idea of my "work dings the workbench" instead of the other way around. That's one reason I've been looking at using (untreated) doug fir, instead of maple or ash. Plus, by my calculations, I should be able to get all of the lumber for about $300. And that's for a 5" thick top! If I drop to the 4-by material, it'll be about $250.

Hard part will be handling the lumber. I'll have to show up at the lumber yard with my sawbenches and a hand saw in order to get it to fit into the truck! (My plan is to buy 12 or 16 footers and cut them down to transport, I've heard many times that the longer stuff is usually clearer than the shorter stuff.)


daniel

For my top, I wanted as much thickness as possible. I knew I was going to have to a bunch of flattening after the glue up, so I was going to go with 2x6's and face glue them. However, I ended going with 2x12's and ripping them in half. It was cheaper and I even got a little more width out of them.