I'm working on the top of my guild Roubo build, and agonizing over that particular purchase decision.  I'm doing this very much on a budget, for instance, using big-box SYP lumber instead of the maple I'd like to have.

DIY is a sickness that runs deep in my veins, and so the more I looked at the benchcrafted vise hardware, the more I started to think that I could build my own for a fraction of the price.

I've mostly reverse engineered it from the photos on their website and the dimensions in the sketchup drawing, and tonight I started cutting metal.

The handwheel pictured above is a rough cast-iron unfinished wheel from McMaster, but they also carry machined polished wheels with handles.  However, they're closer to $65, and the unfinished wheel was $13, so I figure the cheaper one would work as a proof of concept  If this all works out, I'll replace it with a nicer wheel.

The toughest part is going to be the acme nut.  It'll need to be single pointed on the lathe.  They sell acme taps, but they're $250 in this size, and a tap of this size is going to require a LOT of force to run.

I decided to downsize the acme screw to 1"-5tpi rather than benchcrafted's 1-1/4"-4tpi screw.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  One is price: The 1" screw is 25% cheaper than the 1-1/4".  The other is the capacity of my tools; I can hold a 1" screw in a 5C collet and spin the bearing journal down on my surface grinder, but 1.25" is too big for 5C collets.   I don't think the screw size change is going to radically affect the holding power of the vise.

I'll keep everyone apprised of my progress

-Ian

I was considering dunking the ends in west systems epoxy (I have it on hand already).  

Do you guys have any opinions on whether this will do an adequate job of penetrating and sealing the endgrain?

My name is Raymond and I am new to the forum.  I have been watching with anticipation for over a year now, and am finally about to start my Roubo build.  I picked up enough 8/4 white oak yesterday for everything but the leg vise, and I plan on starting to mill to size this afternoon.  This is going to be a big/stretch project for me, and I have several design decisions that are still unanswered.  I was hoping the board can provide some direction.

Here we go:

1. Like many Im sure, I watch the folks that completed the French Oak Roubo project in awe, and the results are gorgeous.  I really like the through tenon version joint to the top, compared to the stub tenon.  What are the general thoughts of pros vs cons on this choice?  It seems like the major change would be that it would cause you to lean toward dog holes, as opposed to the square dogs. Any other tradeoffs??
2. Any obvious issues in installing a criss-cross leg vise on a through tenon leg?  Seems like this will be straightforward, but I don't know what I don't know....
3. I know the plans call for a 4" top, but I think I my wood can mill square at 5".  I hate to waste an inch of each board....any reason not to build the top 5"  I realize this will affect the endcab joinery, and the installation of the tail vise, but given that the measurements are from the top of the bench in the plans I suspect is manageable.  Any additional concerns?

Thats all I have for now, but I look forward to continued discussion as I go through this build.

Cheers,

Raymond

The front and rear slabs of my bench are laminated and have been run thru the planer.  I am ready to trim the ends of the slabs square. I thought I was going to use my 10 inch sliding miter saw to saw half way thru then flip the slab to saw the rest of the way. But much to my dismay only about 3.75 inch of wood will fit under sliding head of my Makita saw.  So my remaining options include an old circular saw, router, hand saw or buy something like a fancy track saw.

Any suggestions?  I have not had great luck accuracy wise with the circular saw.  How did you trim your slabs to length?

Thanks for the advice.

Paul

It was a perfect display of "never say never." I found the next bit of the exchange even funnier.

Ummm....

Personally, I'm very glad Marc changed his mind! The entire thread is here: http://www.woodtalkonline.com/topic/2030-anyone-have-a-plan-for-the-wood-whisperer-bench/

Every local saw mill says to use poplar . Can't say I would like a green bench top. Has anyone used Doug fir?

I have finally started my split top Roubo build. I have a question concerning the gap stop overall width.  I was thinking it would be nice if the head of my Bessey Revo clamps would fit thru the gap (with the gap stop removed) in case I ever wanted to clamp something to the bench top.  The Bessey Revo clamps are just under 2 inches thick.  The bench crafted design shows a 1 5/8" wide gap and Marc's plans call for a 1 7/8" gap. 

Does any body see a disaster if I make the gap 2"? 

I would keep the front and rear slabs the same width as Marc's plan, but the overall width of the bench would increase by 1/8" so the short rails and shelf board would increase in length by 1/8" and the gap stop would also get 1/8" thicker.

Thanks for the advice,

Paul

With work and been a father of 2 little kids don't give you a lot of time and I'm sure some people can relate to this.

I think, I feel ready to do the Split-Top Roubo Bench and I was wondering if for members of the guild is the same price of $100 to buy the videos.

Also, has anyone around the Montreal - South Shore area have done it? If so maybe we can exchange contact info.

Good woodworking to everyone.

I'm late to the party, but very much looking forward to building this workbench with my son. I'm a woodworking newbie, but rather handy so I expect I'll be able to make this work (surely with some hiccups along the way, though). Anyway, I've gone on a shopping spree of late and have a bunch of specific questions I feel ill-equipped to solve on my own:

1. Straight router bits (to be used in Festool OF2200)
   1. Diameter - It appears that I need 3/8" and 3/4" straight bits. Is this correct? It's not explicitly clear from the project summary page.
      1. Assuming that's correct, are both really required? Could the 3/8" handle the tasks for the 3/4", just less efficiently?
   2. Shank - Given that I'll be using the 2200, is it correct to assume I should stick with 1/2" for the shank?
   3. Cutting length - Is there a minimum required or maximum usable cutting length? If not, I'd prefer to go with whatever is most versatile even if it's more expensive.
   4. Overall length - Is there a minimum required or maximum usable overall length? If not, I'd prefer to go with whatever is most versatile even if it's more expensive.
2. Pattern router bits (to be used in Festool OF2200)
   1. ​Diameter - Is there an ideal diameter?
   2. Shank - 1/2"?
   3. Cutting length - Based on Marc's commentary, it seems as if 1 1/4" cutting length would be ideal. Agreed?
   4. Overall length - Is there a minimum required or maximum usable overall length?
   5. Bearing - Seems this would be looking for the bearing to be at the top. Any other necessary considerations?
3. Domino joiner - I plan to purchase this at some point, but would really prefer to hold-off if you think I could make dowels work nearly as well for the glue-ups. Thoughts?
4. Auger bit - Is Irwin's SpeedBor Max sufficient?
5. Drills and Taps - Is there any need for these parts now that Benchcrafted only offers the Glide Crisscross?
6. Hand planes - I have a low-angle jack plane. Should I pick-up a No. 7 jointer plane to make flattening the top slabs more accurate or will the No. 62 suffice?

I prefer to buy once so, assuming I'm likely to use these parts/items in future projects, please don't hesitate to recommend high-quality pieces.

Identifying which pieces I need has proven to be very time consuming and frustrating so I'd be most appreciative if you folks could help me out. Hopefully the clarifications will make it back to the project summary page and save the next newbie the same confusion.

Thanks!

I finally managed to start my Roubo ! I bought last year half a ton of beech already dry . In this bunch of slabs, there are two or three that are 3¹⁄₂in thick and 10⁵⁄₈in large (9cm x 27cm). These slabs are pretty flat, no twist.

Here a picture of one of them already milled :

My question here is: can I build the (split) top from two of these slabs as they are or do I have to laminate it in order to prevent wood movement or whatsoever ?

Thanks in advance !

I'm just back in from the shop and I have to tell you.

I hand cut a few tennons on a curved piece that will one day be part of my son's headboard.

Anyway, I'm sure I would have figured something out in the past, but I wanted to say "I love my Roubo!"

This comment may or may not be unique to Roubo's but I can tell you that I used both the leg vise and the hold fasts. I switched between them quickly to hold the work pieces as I cut the depth cuts and the cheeks. I switched them again to plane the tennons to size at the end's of the curved pieces and I can't imagine how it could have been easier.

Thanks again, for that project.
I can honestly say both the building of the Roubo as well as the use of the Roubo have made me a better woodworker.

Much praise, Woodwhisperer.

Now if Chris, being ‘The Schwarz’, decides he doesn't like a toothed top, he’ll just resurface the bench in under ten minutes or build an entirely new bench in a weekend…  The rest of us, being mere mortals, approach such mods circumspectly --- Personally, I don’t plan on building a new bench for another twenty years….

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

After doing these things then applying the finish to my table the deadman slides extremely smoothly.

So down to the nitty gritty. I made my bench out of hard maple; because, you know, it's durable. Right? Yep, durable and hard as a rock. I also used the BenchCrafted hardware along with the crisscross, so I did have to modify the plans accordingly. The modifications were mostly around the chop and the front rail. I don't have a jointer, so after ripping my material on my little 1970s Craftsman contractor saw, I jointed all material with a LN #5 and #7. Everything was thicknessed with my little Delta lunchbox planer. Thankfully my wife and son helped me move the larger pieces around when necessary. I made my gap stop from scrap cherry that I had laying around and I treated my hand wheels with baked on flax oil. I really like the way the hand wheels turned out. I used 2 parts Satin Minwax Poly, 2 Parts BLO and 3 parts Mineral Spirits for finish. Two coats on all surfaces. Everything was sanded to 220 (320 for endgrain) and sanded with 320 between coats. Final coat was buffed with white 3m pads. The top of the bench was just sanded to 120.

So is my bench perfect? Nope, but the fundtional parts are correct, the top is dead-nuts flat, and most of the goofs are in spots that only I know about. (and I am trying to break the woodworkers syndrome that compels me to point out every mistake on a project... so I'm keeping quiet.) If you see a goof, feel free to point it out, I won't mind.

I have learned a lot building this project. Drawboring is incredibly cool; I have to do that again on another project. I've learned that I will question my sanity on any future projects involving hard maple. On the up side, I can touch up chisels and plane irons faster than ever at this point.

Here are a few pictures before she gets dinged up on any projects.

A few parting comments. Marc, I have to say that the content that you assembled for this project was just simply amazing. Could I have done it without the guild project? Maybe, but I can say without reservation that it would have been much, much harder. I had all of the videos nearly memorized and I cannot stress enough how much this helped with preparation and planning. Breaking this build into manageable chunks was simply the best way for a hobbyist, like myself, to have success. It gave me that boost of confidence knowing that all needed information was at my fingertips in the plans and on my iPad instantly. Thank you.

Gary