Workbench is finally completed!

[Clint Baxter]

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It's been a long time in the making but this Roubo has finally crossed the finish line.

I obtained the materials for the bench a couple years ago. My previous bench was destroyed in 2011 when serious flooding occurred in North Dakota. The water level got to 4" over the top of the doors, (a little over 7' deep), and remained for nearly a month. The old bench top literally went to pieces.

The new bench is primarily constructed of hard maple and Jatoba. The hardware all came from Benchcrafted and I used the criss-cross on the leg vise. Pricy stuff, but oh so nice in use. I also used some red oak that went through the flood for the shelf boards. I'm not a big fan of red oak but these ended up having some nice staining which gives them some additional character. I used the Jatoba for the dog hole strip, the wagon vice block, the leg vise chop and the sliding deadman. I also used soft maple for the gap stop.

I started on the bench top shortly after receiving my parts and materials. Work got pretty hectic and shop time became scarce and it was a year later before I was able to work on the base. Last fall both rotator cuffs decided to act up and I was lucky to be able to lift my arms, much less lift the pieces of a Roubo.

Doctor visits, a few injections, rest and therapy and I was finally able to get my arms back into commission, (thankfully avoiding surgery.) Nights and weekends gave me enough time to complete what you see here. It'll be nice to finally clamp a piece to something rock solid and be able to chisel, saw and plane with impunity.

Now if I can just keep it clear enough to use. Space is at a premium in my shop and it took a lot of rearranging to just get these pictures. One of these days I'll get the new shop done where I can hopefully give this a dedicated location.

I did get the Benchcrafted hardware for a Moxon vise as well so that will hopefully occur this winter after I get a few other projects done.

Thanks for looking.

Clint

[Frederick Skelly]

That's a heck of a nice bench Clint. Nice combination of woods. I've mixed maple and jatoba once or twice too and like the look of them together. From what I've heard, you can't possibly go wrong with Benchcrafted.

Congratulations on finishing her up. Now, go build something cool with her!
Fred

[Brent VanFossen]

Nice-looking bench, Clint.

[James Pallas]

Very nicely done Clint. Picture perfect.
Jim

[Scott DelPorte]

Beautiful work!

[Clint Baxter]

Thanks to all for the comments

Clint

[Mike Cherry]

Stunning! What type of finish did you use?

[Clint Baxter]

The only thing on the bench and shelf is a single coat of Watco Danish oil. The deadman and vise chop have multiple coats of Watco.

Clint

[Phil Mueller]

Beautiful bench Clint. In the process of a bench build myself albeit a bit less exotic on the wood or hardware. What are the final dimensions...particularly the legs...doesn't look like the 5"x5" in Schwarz's plans.
Thanks for sharing!
Phil

[David Eisenhauer]

Great looking bench - has to be a user for sure. Did you use the Benchcrafted plans?

[Bill McDermott]

Very handsome tool there Clint. What is the rounded mortise at the top of the right leg for?

[Stew Denton]

Clint,

Beautiful job, very nice bench. Now you get to enjoy using it.

Stew

[Clint Baxter]

Beautiful bench Clint. In the process of a bench build myself albeit a bit less exotic on the wood or hardware. What are the final dimensions...particularly the legs...doesn't look like the 5"x5" in Schwarz's plans.
Thanks for sharing!
Phil


Great looking bench - has to be a user for sure. Did you use the Benchcrafted plans?

I purchased and used the Benchcrafted plans.

I made my bench 5" longer than the size listed on the blueprint, maximizing the length of the lumber I was able to source. The bench as built is 92" long. I also made it taller than the plan at 39", adding four inches of height, to accommodate my height (6' 5"). The front to back dimension follows the plan, which allows one to run the individual top sections through a 12" planer. (And in my case, I was able to joint the top as well on my A3-31.��)

I I forgot the height differential when I drilled the hole in the front right leg that allows you to push the first dog up. My oversized hole, however, makes it a bit easier to access the dog for raising.

The legs are made with doubled up 8/4 lumber ending up 3-1/2" thick. The plans have you make them 5-3/8" wide to compensate for the legs being less thick than the original Roubo. They're plenty stout, even with this slightly smaller size.

Clint

[Steve Kinnaird]

Very sweet looking!!
Thanks for sharing.

[Andrew Hughes]

That's a fine looking bench I like it!

[John Kananis]

Very nice bench.

[Clint Baxter]

Very handsome tool there Clint. What is the rounded mortise at the top of the right leg for?

Aapreciate the comment. The mortise allows me to raise up the bench dog that comes through the bench top onto the top of the right front leg.


Clint,

Beautiful job, very nice bench. Now you get to enjoy using it.

Stew

Thanks. Have been looking forward to it. My old bench wasn't near as heavy and would move some in use, (built it from the Tage Frid plans in FWW.) I may have to put some non slip pads under it though seeing as how the one end sits atop laminate flooring.


Very sweet looking!!
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for commenting.

Clint

[Clint Baxter]

That's a fine looking bench I like it!


Thanks, Andrew


Very nice bench.

Appriciate the comment, John

Clint

[ian maybury]

That's a bit of a classic Clint - a very nice example. It's amazing how standard the Roubo has become in a very few years, isn't it?

[Reinis Kanders]

I am a bit taller than you, joint/plane on the bench, and also ended up with 39" high bench being a good fit for me.


I purchased and used the Benchcrafted plans.

I made my bench 5" longer than the size listed on the blueprint, maximizing the length of the lumber I was able to source. The bench as built is 92" long. I also made it taller than the plan at 39", adding four inches of height, to accommodate my height (6' 5"). The front to back dimension follows the plan, which allows one to run the individual top sections through a 12" planer. (And in my case, I was able to joint the top as well on my A3-31.😀)

I I forgot the height differential when I drilled the hole in the front right leg that allows you to push the first dog up. My oversized hole, however, makes it a bit easier to access the dog for raising.

The legs are made with doubled up 8/4 lumber ending up 3-1/2" thick. The plans have you make them 5-3/8" wide to compensate for the legs being less thick than the original Roubo. They're plenty stout, even with this slightly smaller size.

Clint

[Jerry Olexa]

Beautifully done!! Nice work!

[Mike Null]

That bench is so beautiful I would be apprehensive about using it. But I'd love to admire it everyday!

[Clint Baxter]

Beautifully done!! Nice work!

Appreciate the comments, Jerry.

Clint

[Dean Van Dolsen]

Fantastic job there Clint

[Dave Kennedy]

Really great job! I hope to take on a bench next year or maybe 2017. Love seeing the gorgeous benches on SMC!

[Clint Baxter]

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it when things look good, but appreciate it even more when they work well. It's great to have something that satisfies both equally well.

Clint

[Michael Peet]

Looks great, Clint! The criss cross didn't exist when I built mine, but if I ever have to do this again I'd definitely use one. The leg vise is great but moving the pin can get old.

I also like the hole you made in the leg for accessing the dog. I need to get creative when I have to clamp a piece shorter than 6" or so because I don't have a dog there!

Here's hoping you don't experience any more flooding and can enjoy many long years of service from this bench.

Mike

[Clint Baxter]

Looks great, Clint! The criss cross didn't exist when I built mine, but if I ever have to do this again I'd definitely use one. The leg vise is great but moving the pin can get old.

I also like the hole you made in the leg for accessing the dog. I need to get creative when I have to clamp a piece shorter than 6" or so because I don't have a dog there!

Here's hoping you don't experience any more flooding and can enjoy many long years of service from this bench.

Mike

The benchcrafted plans have you place that dog hole atop the right leg and then bore the hole in the leg to access the bottom of that dog. I placed my original hole too low in the leg and had to enlarge the hole. That, however, provided much better access than the original in the plans.

I'm hoping to avoid any future floods as well. But if I have to prepare for another, I plan on takin this bench with me. ��Particularly since it can be broken down, unlike my old bench

Clint

[Karl Fife]

The criss cross didn't exist when I built mine, but if I ever have to do this again I'd definitely use one.
Mike

Check out the criss-cross retro. It's meant to be installed on an existing bench without needing to put the front leg in a drill press. Hard to put the leg in a drill-press once assembled--unless your drill press is very large, and you have strong friends.