Knock down staked Roman workbench. Am I CRAZY??!!

[chris carter]

I really want a brutally simple, low Roman workbench. Mostly for fun. But I also have some expected home carpentry projects on the distant horizon so there would be some practicality to having a bench I can put in a room and go to work without having to run down to the basement woodshop every 5 minutes. That said, I have limited space in the multi-purpose basement so I need to be able to store this thing flat up against a wall and totally out of the way. And to encourage actual use of the thing, I need to be able to haul it out and slap it together in 2.5 seconds.

My thinking, which might be highly flawed, is to make a simple staked bench where I can just knock the legs out. One possibility is to ream the holes and taper the legs, but just don’t wedge them in; that way I can knock them out. The potential downside is that it might be difficult after the first couple uses to get the legs to sit level on the ground. Another option would be to NOT taper the holes/legs and just leave a shoulder on the legs. Of course, this could lead to them loosening over time and starting to wobble a bit. However, if they are splayed and raked, then does it really matter all that much? I mean, the rake and splay I would think, with body weight, prevent the whole thing from wanting to rack or wobble. Or perhaps I’m underestimating the forces involved.

Maybe both of these options really suck and someone has a better idea (other than building a mini Moravian – I’ve ruled that out). I should add that I have a pole lathe so in a worst case scenario a few years down the road if I had to make new legs, it would not be a problem.

[Jerome Andrieux]

I think I would just build a thick top saw bench, to be used as a saw bench in the shop and a small bench around the house.

I have built a small roubo style bench that I put on top of my regular bench, move around the house, use as a saw bench or a shaving pony. It is as useful as it is heavy.

[Jim Koepke]

The potential downside is that it might be difficult after the first couple uses to get the legs to sit level on the ground.

That is where a set of these would come in handy:

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You might want to search for ones that have a swivel base at the bottom.

jtk

[chris carter]

Jim, that's a good idea.

Although, it made me realize, if the legs get off I could just shove a shim under one leg. My basement floor is uneven so my split-top roubo has a shim under one leg to compensate. And my old workbench now resides in our garden shed, which has a slightly wonky floor, so it has a shim under one leg too (just like when it was in the basement, although a different leg now!). So if I’m two for two on shims under legs, there shouldn’t be a problem going three for three!! And just as I’m writing this I’ve realized that no matter where I put the bench, the floor will not be perfect so there will probably always be a shim no matter what.

[Jim Koepke]

Shims are a good solution for this.

Just remember to keep a few with the bench legs when you take it to a different site.

jtk

[Joe A Faulkner]

So this idea added to your idea migh really be crazy. I’m not sure what your interior decor style is, nor do I know how compatible your taste might be with others in your household. I would call our style casual, eclectic. So if it where me, I’d be tempted to make a Roman workbench that doubled as a sofa table, coffee table or kitchen table Or hall bench. Something that I could use as a workbench in the house when needed, but otherwise has a place in the house. Because I know I would rarely want to carry a heavy slab up the stairs so I could assemble legs for bench work and theN de-iassemble it to move it out of the way.

[ken hatch]

Chris,

I'm a broken record but I am what I am. I do not have a photo of my portable Moravian stacked in a corner of the shop on this computer but if you are interested I'll dig one up later. Bottom line what you describe wanting is just what I do with one of my Moravian benches. each piece is light and easy to carry to where the bench is needed and it takes just a couple of minutes to put together and break down. Once set up it is a fully capable work bench with vise, dog holes and stable as my shop benches.

It is easy enough to set up and re-store that I will do it for even very short jobs, much easier to take the bench to the work than the work to the bench.

ken

[Scott Winners]

So this idea added to your idea migh really be crazy. I’m not sure what your interior decor style is, nor do I know how compatible your taste might be with others in your household. I would call our style casual, eclectic. So if it where me, I’d be tempted to make a Roman workbench that doubled as a sofa table, coffee table or kitchen table Or hall bench. Something that I could use as a workbench in the house when needed, but otherwise has a place in the house. Because I know I would rarely want to carry a heavy slab up the stairs so I could assemble legs for bench work and theN de-iassemble it to move it out of the way.

This post is another example of why this website would benefit from a like button. I was thinking, yeah, just build a saw bench for little stuff, you can drag a staked sawbench from the downstairs shop to the upstairs site pretty easy and have the legs properly wedged in, but this man right here, Mr Joe A Faulkner, is a brilliant human being.

[steven c newman]

Sawbench?
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Have a seat....or..
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Sit the tools and supplies on, or..
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Set up a mitre box on it, to cut the trim for around a doorway....

[chris carter]

So this idea added to your idea migh really be crazy. I’m not sure what your interior decor style is, nor do I know how compatible your taste might be with others in your household. I would call our style casual, eclectic. So if it where me, I’d be tempted to make a Roman workbench that doubled as a sofa table, coffee table or kitchen table Or hall bench. Something that I could use as a workbench in the house when needed, but otherwise has a place in the house. Because I know I would rarely want to carry a heavy slab up the stairs so I could assemble legs for bench work and theN de-iassemble it to move it out of the way.

Joe, that is not crazy at all and I would totally do that. But my wife would consider that CRAZY AS F*#@. And that would make me a crazy married man.

There is another reason for the knock-down legs besides just out-of-the-way storage. We have a side-split house and it can be very tricky getting big stuff around some of the corners at the bottom or top of stairs. Navigating those turns without legs on a 6ft+ low bench I know will not be too difficult by myself (I'm planning to make the bench from doug fir, so it will not be too ridiculously heavy). But I know that if it had legs permanently attached, it would be quite the endeavor.

The more I've been thinking about it, the more I think unwedged tapered mortise/tenon is probably the way to go. I've got some off cuts of construction lumber I might try making a stool from as a test run of the idea and see how it holds up without wedging. I gotta make a reamer first though.....

[Scott Winners]

I recall I have done a similar thing. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?282195-Social-Distancing-tool-box-with-removable-legs

I am overall happy with it. I will make longer legs for it when I get around to it. But I have't put any real lateral force on it. I don't know if it would hold up to sawing, and am not at all confident I could plane on it.

I am done using BORG softwood for staked legs, even well seasoned with no runout. It just isn't strong enough. Once I calculated the board foot price of BORG softwood I scurried over to my local hardwood emporium and haven't looked back.

I do have the tapered reamer and tapered tenon cutter from Lee Valley here. I got my first tapered tenon about 3/4 of the way done on my shaving horse with draw knife and spokeshave (stunningly straight grained hard maple) and bought a lathe. My current priority is to get the lathe integrated into my shop space.

Sounds like we are on parallel paths, look forward to your results here and future threads.

[Stew Denton]

Chris,

This may not work at all for you, and it is very much of a "make do" situation, but the old carpenters solution to that same sort of problem is one or two 2X10 or 2X12 planks on a couple of saw horses. I have worked on such starting back in early 1970s when I worked for a carpenter, and on and off ever since, in fact that is what I work on now. The horses do take up space, however. Your shim method is almost mandatory for that sort of set up unless you often set up in the yard like I do.

Another "make do" is a couple of pieces of particle board or MDF glued together, to make a more stable surface, with a piece of 1/4" Masonite glued on the face. If weight is an issue, you can use 3/4" ply instead of the MDF. You can stabilize things quite a bit by just having a couple of 3/8" bolts mortised into the top and through the top 2Xs of the horses. You remove the bolts from the top to move the set up, and secure them with wing nuts to fix the top in place. You can even cut a piece of 2X and put it in the ply/MDF boards to have a place in the top you can drill for hold fasts. The hold fasts greatly increase the set up possibilities.

This type of "work bench" is super quick to set up and put into service. To edge plane you clamp a straight and square 2X2 to the top with clamps, and then clamp the lumber to the side of the 2X to hold it upright. Quick grip clamps are wonderful for this. To plane a surface, clamp a batten across the bench for a stop and then nail a board (or clamp it) to the top to hit the side of the planed board, etc.

Clamps and wood blocks are your friend for such a set up. I have both a small (3") and large (5") vise set up on boards that can be clamped to the bench top.

Carpenters have used such a set up for decades, maybe even for centuries. It is quick to set up, easy to haul somewhere, simple to store and does not take up much storage space. With some clamps and jigs, etc., you can do a lot of stuff on it. Is such a setup as good as a real bench....nope, but it does work, and has a lot of flexibility with the right set ups.

Stew

[Richard Line]

Perhaps a crazy suggestion, but would a 3 legged bench work. After all, 3 points define a plane so an uneven floor shouldn't be a problem. As long as the user is sitting on it their weight and legs would steady the bench. Without sitting on it, maybe not so good.

[ken hatch]

Chris,

I got around to taking a current photo of the stored bench. It takes longer to dig it out than the time needed to carry the bench parts to where needed and put it together. Will Myers has a video of him putting the bench together is less than a minute, I'm a little older and slower :).

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ken

[Joe A Faulkner]

Chris, keep us posted as to what you build in the end. Certainly it can be done and as suggested by some, saw horses and small fixed benches can be used for similar purposes, in the end all require some storage foot print. The knock down bench might be the most compact. I have two of these and love them for carpentry applications. And they are useful for some rough dimensioning work as well. But I would not want to adapt them for planing, mortising, or dove tailing. And they do not break down for storage.

[chris carter]

Wow, thanks for all the great ideas and insights everyone!

I think a short-legged Moravian bench would probably be the most functional. I found this photo from a Chris Schwarz blog post of just that: https://www.flickr.com/photos/popularwoodworking/5445270519/in/album-72157625923731671/ Although I don’t think I would put a leg vise on it.
But I think part of my motivation is the “fun factor” of something crudely simple – and it doesn’t get much more simple than a chunk of wood on four sticks. It’s also only two trips to the “job site”; one for the top and one for the legs!

I do kind of like the tiny sawhorse idea as a back-up. If loose legs cause problems, I’ll have options and one would be to just make some tiny sawhorses and loose peg them into the top. But I’m hopeful that loose legs will work because after scouring the internet looking for loose leg examples of roman benches (spoiler alert: I only found a couple and could not ascertain much about whether or not they would work long term), I did discover that unwedged legs are pretty much standard practice for carvers’ log mules. It’s not the same thing, but I’ll consider it a proof of concept. It makes me think that the only reason you don’t see roman benches with unwedged legs is because normally you wouldn’t need to knock the legs out so why not just go ahead and wedge them?

I’ll give it a shot. We intend to build a small garden this spring so I have an actual deadline, which means it will probably get done. But first, I need to make a reamer and I have a chunk of beech and an old compass saw blade sitting on my bench waiting for me….

[steven c newman]

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Portable, folds flat when not in use. Has it's own built in vise....
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I can attach a mitre box to the top...doesn't mind working outdoors, or inside..
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helped build my front porch deck last year..
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Have since added a gate ...
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B&D Work Mate, Type 2.....

[Jim Koepke]

B&D Work Mate

Too many of my early years were spent on one of those. It can be a wobbly, unstable work place for many tasks.

Some of my sawhorses/saw benches have been built using threaded inserts. They can be taken apart or assembled rather quickly. Care taken with lap joints and proper bracing can make them stable:

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One pair was made to serve as bandsaw out feed tables when needed. They would take up too much room if they couldn't be knocked apart for storage.

It would be simple to make the top out of 2X12 or heavier lumber.

jtk

[ken hatch]

What am I missing, for likely less storage space, less than a couple of minutes to put it together and take apart, with each module light and small enough to easily carry, and little more build time than a set of good saw benches you can end up with a fully functional work bench. I know different things blow different skirts but if you want something almost as easy to set up as a WorkMate but functional, a portable Moravian is the best answer. I know I did the "yes but" over the subject for several years wanting something that was fully functional but would also fit in the side bins of the motorhome until I watched the Will Myers video. I knew then that I had found a portable workbench but didn't have a clue how good a workbench it would be until working on one.

Of course, as always YMMV.

ken

[Alan Schwabacher]

A simple top, perhaps made of two layers of 2x12 glued face to face, with tapered mortises and unwedged staked legs could work fine for many tasks. I would number the legs and mortises, and add an alignment mark to make sure the legs went in the same way every time.

The Moravian bench does look more capable, but would take more than the couple of hours to make of the simple version. And if you decide you need the greater capability of the Moravian, you can always repurpose the top.

[Jim Koepke]

I gotta make a reamer first though.....

Chris, if you do go the route of tapered mortises and legs could you show us the build of your reamer?

There are likely others than me who would like to see how youd do this.

TIA,

jtk

[Scott Winners]

Chris, I noticed last night in the Schwarz (Anarchist Design) book for knockdown tables he uses cylindrical rather than tapered tenons, and thus cylindrical mortises as well.

[chris carter]

What am I missing, for likely less storage space, less than a couple of minutes to put it together and take apart, with each module light and small enough to easily carry, and little more build time than a set of good saw benches you can end up with a fully functional work bench. I know different things blow different skirts but if you want something almost as easy to set up as a WorkMate but functional, a portable Moravian is the best answer. I know I did the "yes but" over the subject for several years wanting something that was fully functional but would also fit in the side bins of the motorhome until I watched the Will Myers video. I knew then that I had found a portable workbench but didn't have a clue how good a workbench it would be until working on one.

Of course, as always YMMV.

ken

For me, the thing missing from a low Moravian is the excitement. I have no doubt it would be super-efficient for work (of course, so would power tools….), but it would feel much like working on my Roubo, just lower. I want a different experience. I want something crude and utterly simple. It also would take a lot longer to build, and would probably require several trips with the parts to set it up somewhere and I just want to knock something together and go. I don’t want an electric skillet; I don’t want a cast iron skillet; I want a pointy stick and a campfire!

[chris carter]

A simple top, perhaps made of two layers of 2x12 glued face to face, with tapered mortises and unwedged staked legs could work fine for many tasks. I would number the legs and mortises, and add an alignment mark to make sure the legs went in the same way every time.

That is literally my exact plan right now. You must have hacked my computer....

[ken hatch]

For me, the thing missing from a low Moravian is the excitement. I have no doubt it would be super-efficient for work (of course, so would power tools….), but it would feel much like working on my Roubo, just lower. I want a different experience. I want something crude and utterly simple. It also would take a lot longer to build, and would probably require several trips with the parts to set it up somewhere and I just want to knock something together and go. I don’t want an electric skillet; I don’t want a cast iron skillet; I want a pointy stick and a campfire!

Chris,

Too funny :D.

Good luck with the build.

ken

[chris carter]

There’s not a ton of good resources for making a tapered reamer. I relied on these two texts http://www.greenwoodworking.com/SawSteelTaperedReamerPlans; https://arivinghome.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/making-the-tools-part-i-the-tapered-reamer/; and this video which includes a fail (fails are always helpful!) https://youtu.be/DEZ3oeI-SoQ .

Feeling a bit intimidated, I set aside the beech piece of stock I milled up and grabbed some pine. Turning beech on a pole lathe is not the most fun so I didn’t want to screw up and have to start all over. Nothing is easier than pine so I figured it would be a good practice run to figure things out. Cosmetics were not a concern for this thing, just function. And it’s indeed ugly, but it does in fact work! I was under the impression that pine would be too weak, but it worked really well. In fact, I probably could get away with skipping making one from beech – but I’ll do it anyway so I have something that will last a long time (and not quite so ugly).

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[Joe A Faulkner]

Looking good. Is that a file that you are using as the cuttter?

[chris carter]

Looking good. Is that a file that you are using as the cuttter?

It was a section of the blade from a compass saw that I NEVER used. I cut off the tip because the back edge sloped horrible (and if the wood gets too narrow, it lacks strength). I would have left the handle side (make a bigger hole), but the teeth were filed down (I guess for the handle?) and would have required filing off all the teeth to get down to the same level and I would have ended up with the same size hole roughly. I did have to joint the teeth straight a little (scooped in the middle) and the back a little (hump in the middle). The taper is 5 deg. I put a 25 or so degree angle on the back edge (opposite side as direction of turning, which was clockwise) and then put a hard burr on it. That, plus the exposed teeth, do the cutting. The key is that the edges should BARELY protrude from the wood blade holder.

Instead of thinking of it like you would a metal tapered reamer like you would chuck up in a drill or brace, think of it like a conical card scraper in a holder – because that’s exactly what it is.
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[Jack Dover]

An important question: are you ready to change your methods of work? A Roman workbench assumes quite specific planing techniques for example. Also do you envision projects that require you planing and mortising in a room rather than in a workshop? Most projects around the house nowadays require a good work table, not a workbench.

A Roman workbench might also not be all that portable. How much a beam should weight so that you can stake legs into it or not sag under your body weight? If legs are not wedged, how are you going to carry it around?

I would personally go with a pair of sawhorses and 2x plank. If I'd know I will often work onsite, I'd use a 8/4" poplar beam, they're light and rigid enough for all the purposes and that's what many Japanese carpenters use as a primary workbench. In my opinion all these Roman, Lithuanian and ancient Mayan workbenches are great to write a blog about, but not very convenient for practical purposes. Unless you're Roman of course.

[Jim Koepke]

I really want a brutally simple, low Roman workbench. Mostly for fun. But I also have some expected home carpentry projects on the distant horizon so there would be some practicality to having a bench I can put in a room and go to work without having to run down to the basement woodshop every 5 minutes. That said, I have limited space in the multi-purpose basement so I need to be able to store this thing flat up against a wall and totally out of the way. And to encourage actual use of the thing, I need to be able to haul it out and slap it together in 2.5 seconds.

[edited]

Maybe both of these options really suck and someone has a better idea (other than building a mini Moravian – I’ve ruled that out). I should add that I have a pole lathe so in a worst case scenario a few years down the road if I had to make new legs, it would not be a problem.


An important question: are you ready to change your methods of work? A Roman workbench assumes quite specific planing techniques for example. Also do you envision projects that require you planing and mortising in a room rather than in a workshop? Most projects around the house nowadays require a good work table, not a workbench.

A Roman workbench might also not be all that portable. How much a beam should weight so that you can stake legs into it or not sag under your body weight? If legs are not wedged, how are you going to carry it around?

[edited]

Sometimes we wander far from the original intent. One of my thoughts was about all of the portable or traveling bench concepts posted here in the past.

Here is a golden oldie > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?38637

Chris mentions his intent of using this for some household work. He likely won't be using this for sticking new molding or planing rough lumber for window surrounds. It is most likely to be used like a decked out saw bench. Something to saw a piece to final length or for mitering/coping a corner joint. A support for shooting a piece for a fine fit, not banging out a mortise.

It would likely be a simple matter to make a holder for the legs on the underside of the top to keep it all together in storage or when moving. It could even accommodate multiple leg sizes to provide for different heights for different work.

jtk

[chris carter]

The low Roman workbench is finished. It’s made from two 2x12x12ft doug fir boards laminated together. It’s 6 – ½ ft long, 10-3/4 inches wide and 22” tall. I went with the tapered leg tenons, unglued and unwedged. They work absolutely perfectly and in hindsight I don’t know why I fretted so much over this. They’ve gone in and out two dozen times and it’s always been rock solid. I’ve got three spring loaded dogs at the end of the bench and then the classic bunch holes for wedging wood.

A couple unusual features for a Roman workbench:

1st, instead of ordinary pegs, I made pop up pegs that are just like the dogs, but longer and without the flat face. The main advantage is being able to fix them at any height, including below the surface of the face of a board (useful for something like using a router plane, by way of example). They are also never in the way as I just sink them below the surface of the bench rather than having to remove them if I need the area clear. I’ve seen other people with like six or seven pegs to accommodate different heights, but I only need just the three this way.

2nd, I put an apron on the end. The number one complaint I read about Roman benches is trying to do joinery – particularly dovetails and tenons. You can put a tapered notch on the side of the bench for this kind of work, and that was my initial plan. However, after lots of videos and blogs, I discovered that while they technically work, they are still fairly compromised – particularly with anything other than narrow boards. To get around this problem I’ve seen people add a straight up vise to the end, but this was unappealing to my inner-caveman. The default option is doing this work horizontally (ugh). So I added an apron for holdfasts. It was a bit of a geometry puzzle, but it turns out that just those two very precisely placed holes allow me a mind-boggling array of work holding positions for every conceivable circumstance I could possibly come up with – and a few inconceivable ones as well. The joint is ridiculously strong, but after considering the years of mallet whacking this thing will take I went back and added a little bracing to the backside.

I hadn’t planned on making this so quickly, but there were some surprise cub scout woodworking projects sprung upon me. Part of my motivation for this bench, which I hadn’t mentioned before, was my 3rd grade son. I’m NBA sized and so is my Roubo bench at 42” tall. That meant anything my son did required doing it from the top step of a step stool which made positioning his body difficult and was generally annoying. We did a cub scout project yesterday and this bench was just WAY better for him.

It’s fun to work on. It’s amazing how effective three pegs and a triangular wedge can be at holding work. It’s almost like a brain-teaser figuring out where to put the peg holes to maximize their efficiency – and they REALLY hold the work well. In fact, while I’ve used the holdfasts on the apron a couple times, I have yet to need them on the top to hold anything.

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[Joe A Faulkner]

Looks great. I'd be tempted to find it a semi-permanent place in the family room :)

So for cutting dove tails, say on a drawer side, you would use hold fasts against the apron? How high above the bench would you extend the top of the board? I'm fascinated by this little bench. Thanks for circling back and giving us an update.

[chris carter]

Looks great. I'd be tempted to find it a semi-permanent place in the family room :)

So for cutting dove tails, say on a drawer side, you would use hold fasts against the apron? How high above the bench would you extend the top of the board? I'm fascinated by this little bench. Thanks for circling back and giving us an update.

Yes, the holdfasts on the apron. As for height, it's really not much different than cutting dovetails on a regular bench because when sitting the bench top is at about the wrist bone level. So I'd say whatever height you normally place your stock to cut dovetails at would work just fine.

Really the only change is that my bench is narrower than my shoulders so in order to keep my arm properly aligned I need to scooch my butt over to the left a little so I'm kind of sitting more on my right sit bone instead of both (with the stock on the right side of the apron). But this morning I stumbled onto just sitting side-saddle style with both legs over the left side of the bench. This was insanely comfortable and easy to cut straight.

A couple pics showing how stock can be held for cutting dovetails.
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[David Bassett]

.. I'm fascinated by this little bench....

In case you're unaware, (I don't see it explicitly mentioned here,) there's a whole book on the subject:

Ingenious Mechanicks (https://lostartpress.com/collections/books/products/ingenious-mechanicks) by Christopher Scwarz.

Also, he's made (the most relevant) part of it available free:

Free Download: ‘Roman Workbenches’ (https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/07/24/free-download-roman-workbenches/)

[Joe A Faulkner]

Thanks David. I caught his demo of the bench on Roy Underhills show, but I was not aware of his book. Thanks for the tip

[ken hatch]

Chris,

Looks good. Congrats,

ken

[chris carter]

[QUOTE=David Bassett;3082048

Also, he's made (the most relevant) part of it available free:

Free Download: ‘Roman Workbenches’ (https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/07/24/free-download-roman-workbenches/)[/QUOTE]

The “Roman Workbenches” doc was a great resource for me when working on this bench. That said, if anyone decides to build a Roman bench, I would not use the hole pattern diagramed in it.

[chris carter]

It takes me all of 80 seconds to push the shop vac out of the way, haul it out into the middle of the room, assemble it, and be ready to go. It takes 75 to put it away. I've carried it around the house and it's super easy. The storage footprint is a whopping 11" x 12"
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No idea why the photo is sideways.....

[Jim Koepke]

No idea why the photo is sideways.....

Me neither:

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Though it isn't hard to fix.

jtk

[Scott Winners]

Please do keep us up to date on leg tenon/ top mortise fit and ultimate bench stability with the changing seasons. I hope it works, I really do hope it works.

[chris carter]

Please do keep us up to date on leg tenon/ top mortise fit and ultimate bench stability with the changing seasons. I hope it works, I really do hope it works.
I think I can probably answer that question already. When I bought the lumber a month ago my intent was to leave it my basement and let it get mostly dry before I built the bench. However, Cub Scouts gave my son a few woodworking projects and this necessitated just buying the wood and building right away. When I bought it the lumber was averaging 19% moisture compared to the DF apron on my Roubo bench (same thickness) of 12% (based on the settings I used). I just checked and (probably thanks to the forced air heat running constantly) it has already reached equilibrium at 12% (same settings, which matches the other old DF in my shop). I think that’s a considerably bigger moisture change than I would ever get with fully dry wood from seasonal change indoors. And I can also say that there has been no change in how well the legs wedge in the holes.

I’m in Maryland so we have crazy humid summers and dry as a bone winters. Because of forced air/heat the dry indoor air is middle of summer and middle of winter. The uncomfortable humid times here late spring and early fall when it’s warm out, but the air doesn’t run because it’s just not quite hot enough, so it gets more humid indoors. I intend on using this bench outside when the weather is good and it will be interesting to see if the 99% humidity we get in the summer will do anything to it. It’s so easily portable that I have no intentions of ever leaving it out overnight. But I seriously doubt leaving it outside all summer (rain notwithstanding) would get it above the moisture it was when I first built it.

But if anything changes in the leg connections, I’ll be sure to update.