Making a roubo... Recommendations?

[Jim Koepke]

Bram, Using what you have on hand is a good choice.

If your lumber has edges rough enough to cause problems riding the saw's fence you could attach a piece on top to act as a guide edge. Keep this away from were the blade will be cutting. This will produce a straighter edge for the fence and the piece with the guide will also have a good edge and can be cut along the rough edge to clean it up.

In the day of Roubo, there was a much better availability of large slabs of wood to build a singe piece bench top. There are not many trees left to produce such slabs of that size today. Many of them are either protected by law or the wood is going to be pricey.

Likely the worst that will come of your plan is you will find things you want to try, motivating your desire to build another bench.

One thing to be thankful for is you don't have to do it by hand:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167535

Do to so many other things getting in between me and time in the shop, this project is still on hold and may be abandoned for another method.

jtk

[Dan Goodman]

I am pretty sure Mr. Schwarz is up to speed on Mr. Roubo's choice of lumber. He seems to have studied up on it a little. I am gonna guess he also is aware of the positives and negatives of a giant slab of oak. I feel like he has advocated both methods and presents them in a manner in which we all pick the best way for us.

[Bram de Jong]

Well gents, the cutting is done! The table saw was actually very, very impressive, and had a sliding table for putting the wood on. The new ripping blade went through the wood like butter :-)
IMG_20191205_144846.jpg

Here's all the cut pieces. I was rather lucky to have JUST bought enough boards. Almost nothing was left after my cut-list was done. I have some offcuts, but it was tight:
IMG-20191205-WA0007.jpg

Bram

[David Eisenhauer]

First step done Bram and now you are out of the starting gate. Starting a bench build is the hardest part. Congratulations.

[Scott Winners]

I have never BBQd with European Beech. A few lumps of American Beech in the charcoal is pretty tasty on beef, nice change of pace from hickory. I think the malt for Rauchbeer is smoked on Euro beech, don't let it those offcuts go to waste.