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.