Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Bench

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

The Tops

Started with a large stack of 8/4 maple - hard for the base, soft for the top (though, this was accidental and not intentional) 

 

Lots of milling, of course. New jointer performed admirably. 

Pretty standard slabrication at this point.

 

Used a track saw for cross cutting these large, 4-1/2" thick slabs

 

And lots of hand planing too

 

 

Track saw to cut the large tenon on the end of the front slab 

 

And router for the large rabbett that will house the tail vice

Next up is the end cap in 12/4 Walnut

 

After that came the dog hole strip. I went with square dogs. Round would've been easier but I like the look of the square and it's something i haven't done or had before. 

BC provides a template in their plans. 

Next up is the houndstooth dovetail on the end cap. This was my first time trying this joint and i thought it was going to be beyond my skill level.  It came out pretty good though far from perfect. Nothing i do is ever perfect though. 

I cut the tails on the band saw

 

And the pin sockets by hand.

 

 

I forgot to take pictures of the tail vise install, but there was nothing too tricky about it. 

 

I still have to cut the front slab to length

And there's some fine tuning needed still but the tops are basically done. 

 

Next weekend i will start on the base. 

 

 

 

I can't seem to delete the pic below?

 

C

[Ronn W]

Looking good,  Nice work.  h OUnds tooth loooks great.

[wtnhighlander]

That's working up to be a bench to be proud of, for sure!

[Mark J]

Looking good!  How much time has this taken to get to this point?

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:12 AM, Mark J said:

Looking good!  How much time has this taken to get to this point?

Thanks Mark, and Ronn and Wtnhighlander!

How much time? 

I don't know! A fair amount, i guess. I'm pretty much limited to weekends in the shop. I think i started in mid February or early March, but there's been  weekends in that span where i didn't get into the shop at all. 

And i tend to work at a very slow speed too. 

Getting stock milled and the slabs fabricated was 2-3 weekends. 

The dog hole strip was one weekend. 

The end cap was 1-2

And the dovetails were a few weekends. So that's a rough estimate. 

I'm hoping the base goes a little faster but we will see. 

 

 

[Von]

Sorry if I missed this, but are you building to a particular plan?

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

Hey @Von, yes I am. 

I got the bench maker's package f Benchcrafted and that includes a plan. I also got the project from the Wood Whisperer Guild. The plans are pretty much identical with a few small differences.

 

[Von]

Oh, like the title of the thread says :-) Thanks!

[pkinneb]

Beautiful job on the houndstooth dovetails!! I built mine years ago and love having it in my shop. I can't believe I went so long without a proper bench and i'm betting you will have a similar experience

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:20 PM, pkinneb said:

Beautiful job on the houndstooth dovetails!! I built mine years ago and love having it in my shop. I can't believe I went so long without a proper bench and i'm betting you will have a similar experience

My current bench is the first i built. It was loosely based on a Roubo but i really didn't know what i was doing when i built it. (Today, i still didn't know what I'm doing but now I get there faster!)

 

Anyways, it's not great to say the least. I've wanted this exact bench for over 10 years and I'm really excited that it's coming along. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:02 PM, Von said:

Oh, like the title of the thread says :-) Thanks!

All good, my friend!

[Coop]

Fantastic job so far. Beautiful dt’s! 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:20 PM, pkinneb said:

I built mine years ago and love having it in my shop. 

@pkinneb With that in mind, after a few years of use, is there anything you would've done differently, if you were to do it over again? Any mods you think i should think about as I'm moving through the build?

 

Thanks!

[Tom King]

It's far nicer than any bench I've ever used!

[gee-dub]

Looking good!

[pkinneb]

On 6/13/2024 at 6:03 PM, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

@pkinneb With that in mind, after a few years of use, is there anything you would've done differently, if you were to do it over again? Any mods you think i should think about as I'm moving through the build?

 

Thanks!

Two things come to mind. First if you make the removable center section size it to the weather you will see mine was a bit tight in the summer and I had to plane it down a bit for smooth operation. Second I did not drill my hold fast holes until I needed them and I think this was a good idea as I only have a couple holes but they are where my work requires them.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/14/2024 at 11:22 AM, pkinneb said:

Two things come to mind.

Thanks! Will keep both in mind!

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

THE BASE 

4 legs and 6 stretchers ready for 12 drawbore mortise/tenon joints next weekend. And 1 large tenon on the top of each leg. Not quite the home stretch, but rounding the corner towards it. 

[pkinneb]

Looking good Ron!! Made me think of one more tip I used on mine. I chamfered the bottom of each leg about 1/4" and then applied epoxy to seal the ends just in case the floor ever got wet.

This should keep any moisture from wicking up the legs probably overkill but hey we put a lot of time and money into these benches

 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:25 PM, pkinneb said:

Looking good Ron!! Made me think of one more tip I used on mine. I chamfered the bottom of each leg about 1/4" and then applied epoxy to seal the ends just in case the floor ever got wet.

This should keep any moisture from wicking up the legs probably overkill but hey we put a lot of time and money into these benches

 

Thank you! I have been thinking about that exact issue, and tossing around solutions. My shop is my detached garage and heavy rainfall, sometimes I'll see a little water come in. That's a great idea!

 

PS

Overkill??

No such thing. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

And then the roof caved in...

Pretty significant setback today. I put a dado stack on my Sawstop and was making a test cut when BAM. Brake activation. 

I neglected to adjust the aluminum fence on my miter gauge and the blade caught the edge of it. 

There goes about $300. 

 

God dangit. 

 

The only good news is the fence on my miter gauge has only a slight scratch. 

It's really remarkable how well that safety system works. 

[pkinneb]

I've been there not with a dado stack but definitely feel your pain.

$300 did the cost of the brakes go up substantially? Or does that include the blade? If it does have a reputable sharpener check the blade. I have triggered mine twice and neither blade was a complete loss just had to have a teeth or two replaced.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/25/2024 at 11:25 AM, pkinneb said:

I've been there not with a dado stack but definitely feel your pain.

$300 did the cost of the brakes go up substantially? Or does that include the blade? If it does have a reputable sharpener check the blade. I have triggered mine twice and neither blade was a complete loss just had to have a teeth or two replaced.

$300 was including a new blade.

The dado cartridge is $120.

The blade(s) took very light damage. From what i can tell it looks like 1 tooth on the inside blade, 1 tooth on 2 of the chippers. The outside blade and other chippers look ok. 

That's a great suggestion, I'll see if they can just weld some new teeth. Though, that stack is pretty old and I'd been thinking of replacing it anyhow. 

Still kicking myself though. Should've known better.

Oh well. Not much sense crying over spilled milk. I can guarantee that's one i won't make again. 

 

 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 6/25/2024 at 11:34 AM, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

$300 was including a new blade.

The dado cartridge is $120.

The blade(s) took very light damage. From what i can tell it looks like 1 tooth on the inside blade, 1 tooth on 2 of the chippers. The outside blade and other chippers look ok. 

That's a great suggestion, I'll see if they can just weld some new teeth. Though, that stack is pretty old and I'd been thinking of replacing it anyhow. 

Still kicking myself though. Should've known better.

Oh well. Not much sense crying over spilled milk. I can guarantee that's one i won't make again. 

 

 

After closer examination, my dado stack is hosed. Multiple broken teeth and other damage. It was old and worn anyway. C'est la vie. 

[drzaius]

Get a dado set without the full body chippers, which is what SawStop recommends.