My split Roubo workbench

[Mark J]

18 hours ago, Sergio Escudero said:

I have to drive it home with a rubber mallet.

That mortise and tenon is beautiful.  It looks like a picture in a magazine.

But if it takes a mallet to go together, it may be too tight.  Once you apply glue the wood fibers are going to swell a bit and the joint is going to get tighter.  It may not go together then at all.  

[Sergio Escudero]

On 9/18/2025 at 3:49 PM, Mark J said:

But if it takes a mallet to go together, it may be too tight.

Perhaps you're right. It's not completely tight (and after putting it in and taking it out several times, it has loosened a bit), but there's always time to remove material, but not to add it. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

 

Light to medium raps with a mallet are fine, but if you have to beat it into submission, you're too tight. Also, if you're seeing bruised fibers in either the M or the T, you know exactly where you're too tight. 

The best comparison I've heard for the ideal fit is like a cork in a bottle. 

Keep up the good work. You're doing great. 

[Sergio Escudero]

First test of the wagon vise. I made the groove on one side and the wagon fits perfectly. The rail is also made of beech, like the rest. It has zero play.

I also added a brass collar inserted flush with the end cap to prevent the metal (with paint) from rubbing against the wood.

[Sergio Escudero]

I had gone a few months without working on my workbench. Largely, I had been putting it off out of fear and lack of tools. My next pending task was to cut the dovetails on the boards at both ends of the end cap of the split top.

My initial idea was to cut them with my Veritas dovetail saw (the 20 tpi version), but its cutting depth was around 4 cm and I needed at least 6 cm, so I needed a new saw. After researching what type I needed (and thanks for the help), I ended up buying this one from DucoTools. Well, actually I bought a different one, but they made a mistake and sent me this one instead, and I ended up liking it anyway. It wasn’t in bad condition, barely any rust, but the handle needed refinishing and it definitely needed sharpening.



Again, I had never sharpened a saw before, so I researched what type of file I needed and how to do it. In his original condition some of the teeth were uneven in size. I sharpened it three times, gradually getting it reasonably sharp and correcting the size of some teeth, but it can definitely still be improved.

With my Marples and Sons saw ready and just about to start cutting the dovetails—having never made one before and with almost no experience using tenon saws (really, almost none)—I decided to make seven practice cuts in a pine board. That was enough. I went ahead and cut the dovetails and they came out almost perfect. Only my first or second cut (I started with the outermost cuts) drifted slightly, about 2°, so I corrected it with one of my new Richter chisels, which is why that surface is smooth and free of saw marks. Besides making houndstooth-style dovetails, I also wanted them with minimal spacing like in the London style; the spacing should be 1.5 mm, basically the saw kerf plus a tiny tolerance. I should mention that the beech board was 44 mm thick. I’m very satisfied—they turned out per-fect.

After that, using the same saw, I removed much of the waste thickness from the dovetail, roughly half of it, and with Paul Sellers’ router plane I removed the last 2–3 mm until it was smooth and at the desired thickness. Then I cleaned up the shoulder with a chisel to remove the small remaining waste.

I used my Makita router to cut the groove for the wagon vise, since it was the only way I could do it properly. My approach is almost entirely hand-tool based, but I still can’t completely do without power tools.

Right now I still need to mark the dovetail on the end cap and chop out the waste with a chisel, but first I need to solve a problem: the wagon vise moves VERY stiffly, as you can see in the video.
 

The main culprit is the board with the dovetail, because without it the vise moves better. Not loose, not overly tight—just a snug fit. The guides and the grooves on both sides were made with the same router bit and everything has the same thickness, with less than 0.1 mm tolerance, so I think the problem must be that the new groove is slightly out of alignment and not parallel, which causes extra frriction, even though I measured and marked everything extremely carefully to make sure it was more than perfect. Here I’d like to ask for help. How can I really identify what the problem is and how to fix it? I want to solve this before marking the dovetail position on the end cap. The wagon vise block guides are glued in place and I don’t have a rabbet plane (aside from my Record 778), so I’m not sure how to remove material from the guide accurately if that’s what’s needed. What do you suggest?

[wtnhighlander]

One way to check for tight areas would be to cover the vice block 'tenons' with pencil marks, and see where it rubs if when you operate the vice. That gives you and indication of where material needs to be removed. If the sides or bottom of the groove need adjustment, I'd use the Makita router, with a guide fence to ensure the cut is not too deep.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

Something is binding in there, it seems. Which is most likely being caused by the threaded rod in your vice not being parallel to the slab. 

This is just my best deduction after watching the video. I don't know that particular vise. But if that IS the case, you may need to use some shims to straighten it out, along with @wtnhighlander's suggestion of using pencil to zero in on where it's binding. 

You can also try adding wax, both on the vise hardware, and on your traveler block. This might help relieve some of that stress, but is treating the symptom and not the core issue. 

[Mark J]

17 hours ago, Sergio Escudero said:

with less than 0.1 mm tolerance,

so I think the problem must be that the new groove is slightly out of alignment and not parallel

The two grooves may not be parallel, or maybe one or both are not deep enough.  

But I'm wondering if the tolerance may be too small.  0.1 mm is about .004 inches.  That may be too tight for something made of wood, rather than steel.  Just a thought.

You mentioned that the vice block guides are glued up, so I gather it's not possible to disassemble and test the components separately. 

[Sergio Escudero]

I think I now know what had happened. Since I made the wagon months ago, it had swollen and deformed slightly—just enough to cause excessive friction. The guides on the block that acts as the wagon were now slightly out of square, so I used my Record 778 rebate plane to remove material from both faces of both guides until they were square again, because my small square showed they were out of square.

Now, testing the wagon separately in each guide/board, it moves well—it doesn’t wobble or feel loose, but it’s not overly tight either. I also tested it with the whole assembly more or less in place (the dovetails still aren’t inserted into the endcap; I just set it flush on the face), and it moves much better, although I think I still need to run a few more tests that I won’t be able to do until the dovetails are fitted into the end block, since when I push it, it slips out slightly.

Good thing I noticed this, because any other cause or solution would have been much more complicated, and I don’t have any boards left to make a new piece.

With this sorted, I made sure to accurately mark the position of the dovetails on the endcap. Previously there had been a 1–2 mm offset, which would have caused problems later. I’m still looking for a small square like the dovetail one from Lee Valley or Woodpeckers, but in Europe I can’t find anything that doesn’t require paying import fees from the UK.

[wtnhighlander]

Glad you found the problem! Excessive precision is sometimes counter-productive for wooden mechanisms, because of such wood movemement. A little play in the mechanism may seem like a bad thing,but usually isn't. You might also consider waxing the slide surfaces, for lubrication.

[Sergio Escudero]

Yes, I would like to apply wax, but after finishing the wood. I don't want to stain where I shouldn't yet.

[Sergio Escudero]

After measuring and praying that I had positioned the board with the dovetails correctly on the endcap, I marked its position, hoping that after measuring everything four times, it would be right; otherwise, the wagon won’t fit into the groove.

Since I didn’t have a square short enough to measure the squareness of the hollow I need to make in the encap, I made a sort of adjustable/combination square. One day I’ll buy the Lee Valley one, but for now, this makeshift solution works perfectly.





First, with my new dovetail saw, I made the four cuts on the longer sides. I chiseled out that section, and after that, I made the short cuts, corresponding to the small pins. Alternating between two chisels, I gradually removed the bulk of the material, making sure to leave at least 2 mm to the line. The Narex Richter chisels held up really well, and I only had to sharpen once during the process. It wasn’t strictly necessary, but I wanted to cut the bottom without effort, as it’s tricky on the end grain.

Once I had removed all the material, I refined the bottom and the vertical walls with the new square. Essential. Right now, everything is smooth and square, but I’m still 1–2 mm from the line. This part, I will do very carefully, checking against the board often to make sure I’m on track, making sure I haven’t removed too much material, leaving no gaps, and that I haven’t introduced any deviation.



I’m happy, but the constant fear of messing up forces me to go slow and keep a cool head. This is the first time I’ve done something like this—both a workbench and dovetails. Any advice on how to proceed to finish this part? I feel the need to get it right the first time because I don’t have any material to repeat a piece, and I’ve set the self-imposed demand to do it perfectly. So far, surprisingly, everything is going well.

 

 

[wtnhighlander]

You are doing well so far. My advice would be to continue slowly, and perhaps clamp a square block along the pencil line to guide your chisel straight and plumb as you plunge it down the sidewalls of the pins.

I saw a quote recently: "Patience is a valid substitute for skill." I find this to be true, and it also allows skill to develop with less frustration.

[Sergio Escudero]

Success.

Consider this the mandatory post of my first dovetails.
- First dovetails ever made.
- First houndstooth dovetails.
- First time making blind dovetails.
- First time using a tenon saw.
- Everything handmade.
Dry fit. There's still work to be done on this workbench.

[Sergio Escudero]

Damn, I posted this on Reddit and half of them are calling me a liar. Understandable, but not true.

[pkinneb]

I have cut a fair amount of DT's and these are simply awesome! Great Job! 

Let that trolls have their fun they simply don't matter  

[Von]

Nice job. Thank you for reminding me why I don't spend time on Reddit.

[wtnhighlander]

Excellent work, Sergio!

[Sergio Escudero]

On 2/10/2026 at 9:01 PM, Von said:

Nice job. Thank you for reminding me why I don't spend time on Reddit.

Well, things have evened out a bit in the end, but I admit it hurts to be called a liar like that about something I'm proud of. For me, this dovetail, considering I made it as difficult as possible and that I'd never practiced or done one before, and it turned out quite well, is an achievement I wanted to show.

[Von]

A key to happiness in my experience is to be discerning about whose opinion you care about. The Internet is full of opinions that aren't worth worrying about.

[Coop]

On 2/10/2026 at 6:56 PM, Von said:

A key to happiness in my experience is to be discerning about whose opinion you care about.

Wish I had said that but will and give you credit for it! 

[Mark J]

20 hours ago, Sergio Escudero said:

Success.

Consider this the mandatory post of my first dovetails.
- First dovetails ever made.
- First houndstooth dovetails.
- First time making blind dovetails.
- First time using a tenon saw.
- Everything handmade.
Dry fit. There's still work to be done on this workbench.

Excellent work.  You are justifiably proud.

[Sergio Escudero]

I should add that the challenge was even greater because the plank alignment depended on correctly marking the dovetail so that it wouldn't be offset from the top and would be flush, which fortunately worked, and the wagon vise guide was also aligned. I only had to touch it up a bit with a couple of light passes using the rabbet plane. Everything works fine. WHAT A RELIEF. 

But now for the problem. I have to separate both pieces to insert the screw into the wagon. The joint is very tight. I'm going to have a hard time separating it without breaking it, and I don't know how I'm going to do it.

BTW, thanks to everyone who helped me out on my other post about dovetails and saws issue. I was about to go with regular ones, but at the last second I thought 'why not' and went for houndstooth dovetails. You’ve got to go big or go home.

[Von]

On 2/11/2026 at 11:57 AM, Sergio Escudero said:

But now for the problem. I have to separate both pieces to insert the screw into the wagon. The joint is very tight. I'm going to have a hard time separating it without breaking it, and I don't know how I'm going to do it.

Yikes. Very gently? I'd try tapping it with a hammer and see if it can be persuaded. I would also keep the joint as dry as possible to reduce any swelling. Easier said that done I know.

[Beechwood Chip]

I'm just guessing, but maybe use a heat gun to dry out the wood as much as possible?  Also, heat softens pitch and stuff.

Maybe instead of a hammer, use a spreader (bar clamp reversed) to apply very gentle persistent pressure.

Again, just guessing.