My workbench (yes, it's a Roubo)


SawDustB

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I eased the end grain corners a little with a file, then went to glue up. Rather than use Brad nails, I clamped everything in place then predrilled for countersunk screws. I only used 6 over the length of the bench. This gave me precise placement, but I can remove them later so I'll know there's no metal in the bench. It's unlikely to be an issue (except maybe in my vise install, or putting a round dog hole in the strip), but it was actually easier for me since I can't run the compressor with the kids in bed.

Here's everything prepped:

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For the glue up, I kept it away from the edges and had basically no squeeze out. Hopefully everything's good inside the joint. I used basically all the clamps to make sure it was closed.

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I left the 3/8 piece about 1/32 oversize, which I'll flush up with a plane after. I figure it gives me a little wiggle room. I also left all pieces a bit long, so I'll trim them with the miter saw after the glue dries.

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Good progress. I wouldn't spend any time easing the top. You're going to flatten it soon and erase that work.  After flattening I left the corners intact so dust and debris  wouldn't be so easily gathered.  When debris falls down the dog holes,  the dog doesn't seat properly any more and will sit proud of the top.

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13 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

Good progress. I wouldn't spend any time easing the top. You're going to flatten it soon and erase that work.  After flattening I left the corners intact so dust and debris  wouldn't be so easily gathered.  When debris falls down the dog holes,  the dog doesn't seat properly any more and will sit proud of the top.

Good point, thanks. I didn't think about the dogs getting fouled up. I eased them a bit on the bottom side, but on the top I added about 1/32" chamfer with the file - just enough to blunt them a little.

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That gap might go away when you flatten the entire top. My dog strip had a few that went away with flattening. 

I think it'll reduce a bit, but looking at it closely I don't think it would disappear unless I take off 1/8" or more. It's tapered, so you're right that it may be negligible after. I'm not too worried about it, but the rest of the dog strip went so well...

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I'm looking at cutting the condor tails for putting in the front laminate piece. I don't have a band saw, so my options are either to cut them by hand, or to use William Ng's method to cut them on the table saw. One advantage of a 6 foot bench is that I can cut the tails with the piece vertical on the table saw and it clears the ceiling (by about 3 inches).

Has anyone else tried his method? It looks like it would work well. It'll force me to throw together another little sled, but I was thinking of doing that anyway for dados. I don't want to ruin the kerf on my main sled.

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52 minutes ago, SawDustB said:

 

 

 

I'm looking at cutting the condor tails for putting in the front laminate piece. I don't have a band saw, so my options are either to cut them by hand, or to use William Ng's method to cut them on the table saw. One advantage of a 6 foot bench is that I can cut the tails with the piece vertical on the table saw and it clears the ceiling (by about 3 inches).

 

 

Has anyone else tried his method? It looks like it would work well. It'll force me to throw together another little sled, but I was thinking of doing that anyway for dados. I don't want to ruin the kerf on my main sled.

 

How tall of a piece are you talking about running through the table saw like that? that is my only concern, otherwise, his video is quite detailed, I'm sure it works. 

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How tall of a piece are you talking about running through the table saw like that? that is my only concern, otherwise, his video is quite detailed, I'm sure it works. 

It's almost 6 feet long... I think it'll be fine, if I build a sled with supports attached to it. I can have everything well clamped, and there's only 4 cuts total to make.

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5 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

I have not tried it but the gut instinct to me is, why on earth take the time to build a sled and a jig when you can easily make those cuts in under ten minutes with layout time with a hand saw.

I think that not everyone has a handsaw or the skill built to use one. I also think the return on investment ratio is helped if you are doing several rather than one. A how-to does not always answer when-to. 

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9 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

I have not tried it but the gut instinct to me is, why on earth take the time to build a sled and a jig when you can easily make those cuts in under ten minutes with layout time with a hand saw.

Yeah, you're probably right. I just really don't want to mess this up, but maybe that means I should cut a little further from the line and plan on spending a while paring with a chisel. The sled I was planning on building anyway at some point, because I'd like to have one that I don't care about cutting into for angles and dados.

3 hours ago, C Shaffer said:

I think that not everyone has a handsaw or the skill built to use one. I also think the return on investment ratio is helped if you are doing several rather than one. A how-to does not always answer when-to. 

I have the handsaws, since I got the 3 piece Veritas set at Christmas, but I haven't used them enough to build up my skills. Probably the better answer is that I should try a practice run on scrap instead and see how it goes. I was attracted to the method as well because it seemed simpler to make the pins compared to how it is in the guild video. I don't plan on gluing the dovetails, so I can't use most of the options for concealing gaps. I really want to make this part look good. 

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