Dave Pugh
11-07-2014, 7:02 PM
I needed a new workbench as the one I was working on was really just an old kitchen counter and cabinets. This is my very first workbench that I built, first project of this size, and first time using all handtools for the project. Well, I did use my drill press to drill the holes that the vise screw goes through for the leg vise. I did choose the Roubo design and had fun building it. Instead of using a thick slab for the top, I went with gluing boards face to face. The legs are douglas fir 4x4, bottom support boards are 2x6, and the top is made from 1x4 pine from the local big orange store. The top is 21 inches wide, 3.5 inches thick, and 6 feet long. Tenons cut by hand with saws and chisels, mortises done with brace and auger bits and chisels, and the bench top flatten by hand planes. Also the board used to make the leg vise is hickory, and thankfully it was already pretty flat and surfaced. I was just going to do some clean up on it, but I quickly learned that dry hickory is not exactly an easy wood to work with by hand. The vise handles are 1 inch diameter cherry rods, and I turned the knobs on them from cherry. For the leg vise, I am using a parallel guide board at the bottom.
Here is a good photo of the top of the bench right before I finished flattening it.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/DavidPugh/IMG_20141025_133101_162_zps0f832829.jpg
The completed bench with vises attached and vise handles with knobs, and with dog holes drilled into the top
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/DavidPugh/bench_zps217fb43b.jpg
Here is a good photo of the top of the bench right before I finished flattening it.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/DavidPugh/IMG_20141025_133101_162_zps0f832829.jpg
The completed bench with vises attached and vise handles with knobs, and with dog holes drilled into the top
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i214/DavidPugh/bench_zps217fb43b.jpg