wilburpan Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 To those that have built a Roubo bench by hand; split top, traditional roubo, plate 11, or Benchcrafted, how many man hours did you put into the project? I built my Roubo out of clear Douglas fir 4x4’s, plus some 2x stock that I glued up for the legs. I used a power planer for some of the milling. Other parts of the milling I did by hand. Don’t think of this project in terms of man-hours. Build the top first, flatten what will be the underside, and put it on sawhorses with the flattened underside facing up. That way, you have a flat surface to work on all the parts for the legs and base, and my bet is that you’ll find that a surprisingly good work surface. So much so, that you could get other projects done with your “workbench" in that condition. If you have a lot of time to waste, I documented my Roubo workbench build here: http://giantcypress.net/tagged/roubo/chrono 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdesocio Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I built my Roubo out of clear Douglas fir 4x4’s, plus some 2x stock that I glued up for the legs. I used a power planer for some of the milling. Other parts of the milling I did by hand. Don’t think of this project in terms of man-hours. Build the top first, flatten what will be the underside, and put it on sawhorses with the flattened underside facing up. That way, you have a flat surface to work on all the parts for the legs and base, and my bet is that you’ll find that a surprisingly good work surface. So much so, that you could get other projects done with your “workbench" in that condition. If you have a lot of time to waste, I documented my Roubo workbench build here: http://giantcypress.net/tagged/roubo/chrono Wilbur, did you find that the diy screw held up? Maybe I did something wrong, but mine started to slip within a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 The screw on my leg vise has been holding up great. What sort of slipping are you seeing? Are you talking about the vise losing its grip, or slack in the screw/chop alignment? If your leg vise is losing its grip, make sure that the parallel guide is set so that it is wider than the thickness of the board you’re clamping. The top of the leg vise should be tilted towards the bench a little. Or apply some leather to the leg vise chop. That helps with gripping as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I spent 2 years building my Roubo. Having said that, I should mention it was a project that was always going on in the background of other projects. So, My Roubo was like a mistress I kept going back to when ever I could sneak away from the work I was married to. I still haven't finished mine. I want to add the sliding dead-man and some drawers underneath. However, If I had to guess, I'd say I have somewhere around 120 hours in it. I should also mention that the wood I built if from I got for no cost, and it was not in a very usable state, without some serious jointing and planning. For that I used power tools. I don't think I could have done it by hand. Not with the material I started with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 ==> I kept going back to when ever I could sneak away from the work I was married to. A French mistress at that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I just love that analogy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdesocio Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 Wilbur I meant that the wood screw slipped when I was tightening the vise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 I did try a quick experiment. I glued up a 2x6 SYP to make a mock leg. I then planed the 'leg' tonight to take out the rounded edges.... I can say our forefathers did not die due to lack of exercise. My shop is 60 degrees, I was in a t-shirt and broke out in a sweat and was short of breath. Pushing a #7 around for 20-30 minutes is a great exercise. If I may play devil's advocate, it sounds then as if you went to the #7 too soon. If I'm reading your description right, you had glued together two or more studs and then went at the rounded edges. (Do correct me if I'm wrong, though.) That, my friend, is time to traverse with the jack/scrub/fore/whatever you choose to call it plane. Your work should be fast, brutal and ugly at that point. Heck, if you've got a broad axe you might even do some hewing before the rough planes make their appearance. Let's see some pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Wilbur I meant that the wood screw slipped when I was tightening the vise. Never had that issue. Before I added a piece of leather to the inside of the leg vise chop, the vise would sometimes work itself loose after I had tightened it down, but the leather eliminated that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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