Finished my first workbench, sharing build process doc

[Nathan Zeldes]

Happy to report the completion of my short (50”, to fit my modest workshop) but sturdy (260 lbs) split-top Roubo in European Beech and natural Tung oil finish. It was a challenging but exhilarating journey. Thanks to everyone on this forum for the deep knowledge you so generously share; it’s been invaluable for me. For my part, I share the full build process, with photos and drawings, at https://bit.ly/NZ-Bench .

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[Edward Weber]

Well now you should be off to the races with projects, looks good

[Jimmy Harris]

Nice!

It may be kind of small, but doing so avoids the one major drawback I find with many standard Roubo style benches. It puts the leg vise near the corner. Maybe it's just my style of work, but I find a corner vise, immensely useful. It makes things like shaping table legs with a spokeshave or cross cutting big boards so much easier, in my opinion. It's just nice to have something secure, and yet still be able to access four sides at once.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks great.

jtk

[Jason Meinholz]

That looks great Nathan! Very sturdy and useful.

[Jimmy Harris]

Excellent job on the write up too! That'll come in handy for a lot of people in the future.

[Eric Brown]

Now put it to work. What are some of the projects on your to-do list?

[Nathan Zeldes]

Whoa, I'm still catching my breath after this effort! :)
Seriously, I think I'll start by building some shop storage solutions for the many tools I had to buy for this build... then we'll see. The pine coffee table I built from a kit 50 years ago begs to be replaced...

[steven c newman]

Hmmm..lookee what I found at a yard sale, yesterday, then.
518634
Spent a dollar bill on it..
518635
From American Woodworker magazine...

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Very nice bench, Nathan. Thanks for the detailed write-up!