Tom Cancelleri Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 So I am in my shop and I'm looking at this ungodly big stack of lumber and I'm thinking, if only the Roubo was done and all this lumber wasn't in the way. So I said ok lets start milling some lumber, how bad could it be. I hear in medieval times instead of throwing people in the stockades, they just subjected them to milling 8/4 lumber for Roubo work benches. I setup some rollers for infeed and outfeed to support the wood as I held it over the cutter head. First couple of things I noticed... jointing 9-10 foot boards is brutal, I was sweating before I finished jointing the face and edge of the first board. So I increased the depth of cut to about 3/32" to speed up the process (nothing was sped up) it just made it harder to push the boards across the jointer. My table top is smooth and slick, however my jointer is only 2HP, so clearly I need a 60 HP jointer. Also there's a lot of downward pressure needed to keep those boards on the table. I got through 3 boards and I was uncontrollably sweating, so I had to call a friend. Friend's name is Guiness, and it's smooth and delicious. If I can mill 3 boards a day, I'll still finish before Benchcrafted ships my hardware. I would like to get the top laminations glued up, I can't see the rest of the build being this brutal as the legs are smaller pieces to mill. It's Miller time, and/or Guiness time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Never get tired of watching a good bench build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Never get tired of watching a good bench build! "Watching" being the key word! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Ok fine, I'll let you complain about building a sweet ass bench that isn't on my list for at least another year. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Got another board done. Tomorrow is officially mill day. Gonna get all the boards milled. Bandsaw will be setup tomorrow for ripping to roughly 4 1/2" inches. Then off to the planer for much mess. I've filled 1 bag so far with chips from the jointer. This is my biggest project to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 jointing a 4.5" board is easier than jointing an 8" board. just sayin'. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 jointing a 4.5" board is easier than jointing an 8" board. just sayin'. . No doubt, these boards are roughly 5 - 6" wide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Tom. Great start, looking forward to following along with the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Those are some big ass timbers. What kind? You think you're sweating now, wait until July when you spread that bark mulch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Sweet another! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Those are some big ass timbers. What kind? You think you're sweating now, wait until July when you spread that bark mulch! The wood is 9/4 soft maple, though sold as 8/4. The wood is oversized so you can actually get 8/4 once milled. Though some of the pieces require more jointing then others. That mulch has been getting used slowly but surely. I hate yard work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Well one good thing about ANOTHER roubo build is that when i build mine i will be able to do it by memory and wont need to pay for the guild build.... Im a sucker for these builds! Im in!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Yep, the first stages of building the Roubo are absolute milling hades. Glad you got started, keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 No doubt, these boards are roughly 5 - 6" wide my bad..,, in my house I call that 8". don't tell my wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FtrPilot Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 There will always be room for another Roubo thread. Congratulations!! Looks like you are off to a great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Mike. Yep, lots of milling. But it's all fun stuff after that. BTW...this is the biggest project ANY of us have done, unless someone has built a house by himself. It's a very gratifying build. You'll start feeling all warm and fuzzy as soon as that front slab is assembled and you can fondle those condor tails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I'm sure as soon as the slabs are glued up, the rest of the project is gonna be pretty easy. Then I can fondle some condor tails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Have you got your vise hardware yet? What do you have planned there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Have you got your vise hardware yet? What do you have planned there? Vise hardware is still hanging out with Benchcrafted. I ordered it almost 2 weeks ago. Says ships in 2-3 weeks. Hopefully they get going and ship it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 They are a little slow to ship! I've ordered a couple from them and I think they get a bit slower each time. The cool thing is that you can download the instructions free so, it really shouldn't hold you up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 The rest of my boards are 10ish inches wide. Those are heavy and need much ripping. But for now it's break time, and drink time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 In other news, I've already filled 2 bags with chips from the jointer, and I still have the bandsaw and planer to go before the milling is done. I usually fill my dust collector once a month or so. My milling is usually one or two 4/4 boards for a project like a box or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Ripping 8/4 10 foot boards on the bandsaw is tough. Blade cuts fine, but keeping those unwieldy boards with the fence is hard work. Starting to look like a bench top. Sweat evaporation break 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Sweet man. Did you find any tricks for ripping those long thin boards down on the band saw? It feels like a 10' board would be super easy to tweak just enough to bring it away from the fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 It's a bird, it's a plane! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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