My Hybrid Workbench Build Log

[Greg Parrish]

I bought the initial batch of rough cut lumber for a bench build back in December. I’m using soft maple and walnut for my materials. My plan at the time was to follow another online plan that combined a Roubo and a Nicholson into a single bench. While waiting on the wood to acclimate to my shop, I changed my directions about 12 times, finally settling on a more traditional, but shorter 6’, Roubo design.

Fast forward to a week or two ago and I found the Hybrid Workbench plans from The WoodWhisperer. https://thewoodwhispererguild.com/product/the-hybrid-workbench/ Realizing that the Hybrid bench design was a better fit for my needs, I downloaded the plans and watched the videos. I had already started on my Roubo build, but had only milled out some of the stretchers and two of the legs.

I cut down the two legs that I’ve glued up to more closely fit the Hybrid plan design. It will make the rest of my material go a little further too, as my planned legs thus far were going to be a chunky 5.5" wide by 4.5" deep. Part of the reasoning is that I’m going to be using a Benchcrafted classic leg vise with retro criss-cross. According to Benchcrafted instructions, I should be okay with a minimum 4" wide leg though.

On the other end, I’m going to be using a Veritas Sliding Tail Vise. I already have both vises, so my plan is to continue forward with a 6’ bench top including the extra material to the right side. This should get me the necessary overhang to mount the Veritas vise. Since there won’t be a front apron, I’ll have the veritas vise close against the right bench leg.

Anyway, just wanted to share, document my progress, and elicit tips and guidance along the way. I find that each input I receive helps avoid issues I may not have previously thought of.

Thanks
Greg

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Initial lumber purchase was around 80BF

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Leg glue up. This was before switching to the Hybrid Bench plans. These were chunky and intended for a classic roubo design.

[Greg Parrish]

Last week, I cut the legs down closer to the dimensions of the hybrid plans.
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Yesterday, I milled the rails/stretchers out, and then trimmed everything down to final dimensions per the plans.
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Next up will be to route out the mortises in the legs. Then I will work to cut the tenons on the rails/stretchers, and also to fit the Benchcrafted leg vise to the leg. Lastly, will drill my dog/holdfast holes in the other leg. Will tackle all of these items before I assemble the base/trestle.

In addition to my changes in bench design plans, my material usage has changed a little also. In order to have enough materials, I’m adding in some other wood as well. While traveling recently, I picked up a couple of pieces of cherry and hard maple. I used mostly soft maple for the legs and rails/stretchers. The remaining wood I’ll have to make my top from will include cherry, walnut and soft maple. I’ll also use the piece of hard maple as the front most strip since that will take more wear. Lastly, I picked up a 3” thick chunk of poplar. While I know it’s softer, my plan is to use it for my leg vise chop. In order to dress it up, I’m going to glue on a thinner piece of mahogany on the outside face.

With my wood choices, the top will have a cutting board Franken-Bench look, but all 3 variety’s used have similar hardness. The exception being the hard maple on the front edge which will add some wear strength. And, I don’t think the softer poplar on the chop will be an issue since that isn’t an area that will take the same abuse as the top itself………. At least that’s my thinking.
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Here is the chunk of poplar, on the right.

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And here is the piece of mahogany that I plan to slice of a thin piece to dress up the poplar.

Will share more updates as I move forward.

[Greg Parrish]

Started on the mortises using a brand new to me Festool OF1400, Festool Edge Guide, and 75-308 Freud 1/2" spiral up cut bit. Ran the router through a Festool midi vacuum for chip/dust collection. I will admit that I buggered up the first two mortises, but plan to push forward. I will improvise with a fix as I go. After these two, my approach got a little better and I got the pockets a little more dialed in. That said, they are certainly more sloppy looking than the ones made in Marc’s video. Regardless, I think they will work fine once glued. I may pin them for a little extra support as well. I think next time, I’ll take the time to establish a stop block before and after the cut. I found it difficult to see the cutting edge well to stop freehand. Maybe the OF2200 is easier to see, but I don’t know.

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Initial mortise layout

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First pass

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Router setup used. I’ve since ordered a 36mm hose to use because the 27mm didn’t seem to have enough suction.

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Second row cut

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And, here are some of the mortises I buggered up. I’m upset but not ashamed to share my screw up. The lesson learned is to use stop blocks next time. Also, the lack of adequate chip removal made it harder to see. Think the larger hose will help a little next time.

[Greg Parrish]

Obviously I’m making lots of mistakes and errors on this. You can see them all in the pictures. That said, I’m putting it out there, sharing the good and bad, as maybe it helps someone else do better or realize it’s okay if it’s not perfect. A year down the road and I won’t even remember the flaws until I look back at this log.

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Chopping out the strip between the router passes

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Getting ready to start cutting tenons

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For whatever reason, I didn’t have an extra throat plate for my dado stack and didn’t want to mess up this one that was set for 1/4” box joints, so I used my Forrest box joint blade to cut the tenons. Worked fine but took a lot more passes.

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Cut just the edge for fitting purposes before committing to the full tenon

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With trial and error I dialed in the proper thickness.

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Got the face of all the tenons cut

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Cut the edge of each tenon on the saw, and then proceeded to round the corners. Did this rather than squaring the mortises. Used the no 9 rasp and then cleaned up with 220 grit sanding block.

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This is the right side leg assembly coming together. Your an see the top right stretcher still needs to be rounded.

[Greg Parrish]

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Got it all dry fit. Went back afterwards and cleaned up the tenon shoulders for a slightly better fit.

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Decided to drill my dog holes in the right front leg before glue up. Attempted to use a 3/4” Fisch bit in my press.

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There was just enough run out at the tip of that bit to make my hole a little lose.

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Regrouped for the rest of the holes by drilling 1-3/4” down with a Forstner bit. It’s shorter and held a tighter tolerance. Finished the holes with the Fisch brad point bit.

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Measurement from the Forstner bit.

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The fit is nice. Just snug enough to prevent any wiggle or movement, but close enough to still allow the dogs to pull out by hand.

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Next up was edge rounding With a little 1/8” round over bit

[Greg Parrish]

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Results of the round over bit. I backed it off on the front side dog holes to just kiss the edge a little. Also did this on the right front corner of that leg since my Veritas sliding tail vise will clamp against this leg.

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And last night, I got the right side leg assembly into clamps with glue. Also, since I buggered up some of those mortises, I pinned each joint with a straight (not drawbore) oak dowel. The dowel is glued and the joint is glued. Probably not needed but just a little extra security.

This brings my build progress current. Happy Easter!

[George Yetka]

Excellent progress. 95% of my work is mistakes, the other 5 is caulk. Its the pursuit that makes this fun. Everything looks great

I got lucky/unlucky in inheriting a Diefenbach. It is a great bench but I never got the opportunity to make my own

[Greg Parrish]

I haven’t posted in a while but made some good progress over this weekend. Here is the latest on where I’m at.

Base is assembled and coated with homemade wipe on poly. Mortise and tenon joints pinned with 3/8 oak dowels.
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Then got the top milled out, glued up and planed flat. It’s two slabs that are 71x11x3.25.
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Top will hang off right side approx 17” to fit a Vertias Sliding Tail Vise. It will close against the right leg so I’ll have to cut the top back to make room for it when I get to the install. The leg vise needs to have the chop finished and it can be hung.
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Going to take a few days off but I’m getting close. Once the vises are hung, I’ll need to drill my dog holes in the top. Also need to finish the location pins on the bottom of the top, apply finish to the top and build my filler piece to go between the tops. Lastly, I’ll need to get the shelf put in. Anyway, it’s taking shape. Very happy with how its turning out so far.

Happy Memorial Day!

[Greg Parrish]

Today I got the leg vise installed for the most part. Just need to cut the chop down for height and then sand and apply finish.

I’m sure you’ve seen a million Benchcrafted leg vises, but here is mine after install today. LOL :)
https://youtu.be/dwve3ShgtOw

[Ron Citerone]

Very nice bench there Greg. Interestingly I built 2 similar benches for my kids house warming gifts some years ago. Nothing like a strong solid bench!

[Greg Parrish]

Very nice bench there Greg. Interestingly I built 2 similar benches for my kids house warming gifts some years ago. Nothing like a strong solid bench!

Thanks Ron. I appreciate the comments. Bet your kids loved getting a custom made bench! Would love it if mine took an interest in woodworking one day.

[Greg Parrish]

Little more progress tonight. Got started on the Veritas Sliding Tail Vise install.

Measured and marked out the section of the slab to remove.
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Probably the worse way to tackle this but used the tracksaw with cuts on both sides and finished with hand saw. Left a lot of clean up though.
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Used a combination of chisels, planes and floats to get it cleaned up and square.
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Next up was affixing the mount plate and vise
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Lastly, I got the slab back on top of the base to test the fit.
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Will need to build a chop for it next. Then I’ll need to get my top bolted down and cut my leg vise chop to fit. Realized that I shouldn’t have rounded the bottom of the slab while off the base because I rounded the area over the leg that sits inside my vise. Doh! Oh well.

[Tom Bender]

Very nice and fun to follow. One suggestion, put a generous chamfer on the feet. That will reduce the risk of splintering when moving the bench.

[Greg Parrish]

Very nice and fun to follow. One suggestion, put a generous chamfer on the feet. That will reduce the risk of splintering when moving the bench.

Thanks Tom. I did hit them with the round over bit when I did all the sides and edges on the frame. I just didn’t document it very well here. LOL. I’ve been doing better keeping it documented on the site where I got the plans: https://community.thewoodwhispererguild.com/t/my-hybrid-workbench-build-log/3285/33

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Since above updates, I got the leg vise mounted and the chop created. Pulled it off and made the Final Cut to height. It needs to go back on tonight as I put some finish on it last night. The weekend tasks include getting the rear slab mounted, building a tail vise chop and building my center plane stop/tray. Then drill some dog holes in top and put some danish oil on it and it will pretty much be done I think other than the lower shelf. :)

On a side note, on the base and chop, I used 50/50 mineral spirits and matte poly for the finish. I only applied one good coating which soaked in very well. I’m not sure if I am going to leave it at that, or apply a second coat. Right now the finish can be felt but it’s so thin that repairs would be easier. Will probably give it a final sanding with high grit paper and call it done.

[Greg Parrish]

Got the chop reinstalled. Think it will work well with only the one coat of thinned poly on it. Will look snazzier when I get finish put on the bench top and the colors start to pop in the walnut. Tomorrow I’ll work on the tail vise chop, mounting the rear slab and maybe the lower shelf.

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[Greg Parrish]

Rear slab mounted and then both slabs pulled off to apply danish oil to slab bottoms.
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then both slabs put back onto the base and secured with 6” Spax Powerlags (4 per slab). Next up is sliding tail vise chop, dog holes and then danish oil on top and sides of slabs
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[Greg Parrish]

Spent some time over the weekend working on the top. Using my straight edge, it was good end to end long ways, but front to back was off down the middle because my cross braces were about 1/64 to 1/32 lower than my leg tops. I tried some shimming, but this small difference combined with the slabs sitting for 2 weeks awaiting attachment to the base frame meant they were not quite level.

Again, end to end the slabs remained perfect, but checking front to back the gaps were 20 thousands and more. I wanted the top to within 10 thousands more or less to match up with the Saw Stop tolerance specifications so I used my no 7 plane to slowly bring down the high spots. Got the slabs to where I want them and moved on to the tail vise chop.

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Its certainly a FrankenBench with regards to color and texture. Need to get the tail vise chop planed level with the bench top, and then marked for dog holes across its top and face. Will remove it to drill them on the drill press, but will have to drill the bench in place using a bushing and hand drill. The tail vise chop will also get some smoothing and easing, as well as a coat of finish before going back on.

Once the dog holes are all drilled, the top will be ready for its coat of Danish oil and then its down to the lower shelf and center filler/plane stop to finish it. Will have to decide if I feel like building a lower tool cabinet for it or not but that was in my initial plan.

[Greg Parrish]

Got the top and tail vise chop finish applied.

Used Danish oil on the top slabs.
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And used homemade wipe on poly for the chops.
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After a few days of dry/cure time, I got the chop reinstalled and reamed out the dog holes to clean out any finish residue and/or swelling.
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Still need to make the center filler/plane stop, as well as my lower shelf, but for now the bench is functional. My next step will be to drill out holdfast holes in the rear slab once my holdfasts arrive.