A_Vitale Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Well guys I have started my Roubo bench but have still been thinking of a way to attach the legs to the base. I would love to dovetail the legs into the top, but I must allow for the bench to be seperated from the top for ease of getting into and eventually out of my basement! I was thinking about a mortise and tenon stretcher along the upper part of the legs and then bolt it to the top. The top will be laminted 8/4 maple, 6' long x 4'' thick x 20'' deep so it will be rather heavy. Any other thoughts or ideas on how to attach the two?? also do you see a problem with movement between the legs and top??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I like the stretcher and bolt idea, but however you attach the top you should consider adding some "bullets" also. These are large dowel pegs that are in the top of the legs and bottom of the benchtop, and they prevent the top from moving around in relation to the legs. I know that Megan Fitzpatrick has some issues with her "Gluebo" bench where using the leg vise continually pushes the top back away from the leg. I don't know if she ever added the bullets, but this was the main solution being discussed. I think I saw somewhere that the bullets may even be all you need if your slab is heavy enough, and it sounds like you are a candidate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyNoName Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 With the size of that top, I doubt that it would move around much in relation to the legs. I have a Roubo bench based off of Chris Schwarz's and I am glad that I don't have any stretchers underneath the top. They would have gotten in the way more then once. Could you peg the tenons in the top, and then drill them out when you need to take it apart? You could use counter-sunk lag screws. Jonathan ======================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyNoName Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 ... however you attach the top you should consider adding some "bullets" also. These are large dowel pegs that are in the top of the legs and bottom of the benchtop, and they prevent the top from moving around in relation to the legs. Aaron - I'm not following the "bullets" idea. Do you have a picture or drawing of what you are talking about? Jonathan ========================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I'm not following the "bullets" idea. Do you have a picture or drawing of what you are talking about? Yep. This is my bench. My shop is so small that I have to take the bench apart at the end of every day. The top slabs just sit on top of the base, and I have "bullets" made from 3/4" dowels that keep the top from sliding around. I got the idea from Pop Woodworking and Chris Schwarz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Here is a great resource for bench builders. Chris Schwarz published a free appendix chapter to his first workbench book over at his Lost Art Press blog. http://blog.lostartpress.com/2007/12/19/Download+A+New+Chapter+To+The+Workbenches+Book+Free.aspx The whole chapter is about making knockdown benches that can be taken apart. There are details about special hardware, and a section about how to attach a top to a base. He even mentions the "bullets and gravity" method. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 For my Roubo, I made double mortise and tenon joints to attach the top to the base, with the tenons coming from the top of the legs. You don't have to do double mortise and tenons -- you could do one big M/T joint. I was going to drawbore these joints, but once I got the top onto the base, I found that the top was heavy enough so that drawboring wasn't necessary. My workbench is made of Douglas fir, so if you have a maple top, yours will be even heavier than mine. So I wouldn't worry about it at all. I have a long thread about building my workbench over on the WoodNet forum, including the way that I attached the top to the base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Wilbur thanks for the great link! Your roubo looks amazing...I am almost positive that will be the route I will take, however I am now questioning pegging the stretchers and legs??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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