[cps]

I know, the internet is replete with workbench builds. But what the heck, I thought I would share yet another. When deciding on what type of workbench to build, I researched quite a bit. I read Schwarz's book, looked at builds on this site, etc. I also wanted to use this build to practice mortise and tenon joinery and practice using my new jointer and planer. Based upon my research, I decided to build a variation of Benchcrafted 's split top Roubo: http://www.benchcrafted.com/str.html. The bench I built is essentially the same design, but I opted for simple front and end vises. I varied the sizes of the components as well since I used S4S southern yellow pine.

Below are some pictures of the finished product. I will add some build details in subsequent posts.

 

[Chris Curl]

that is a beautiful bench.

 

[cps]

Here are a few more pictures of the completed project

This is the Gap Stop in the Plane Stop position:

This is the Gap Stop in the Flush position:

Close up of the End Vise:

Close up of the Front Vise:

Close up of the Deadman:

 

[Paarker]

Well done!

 

[MasterSplinter]

Wow serious bench. Great job!

 

[mdntrdr]

Great bench! :thumbsup:

 

[knotscott]

That's a work of art! :thumbsup:

 

[woodnthings]

that's a sweet bench!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Nice choice of material, vises, and a great design. And it didn't break the bank. :no:

 

[Gilgaron]

That looks great! I've been thinking about putting some tool holding slots in my gap stops but haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Ostie]

That looks awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing some build pictures. I really need a new bench, but feel a little intimidated by it.

 

[kms399]

I want one!

 

[Chris Curl]

how thick is that top? it looks very heavy

 

[cps]

4 9/16". It pretty heavy, but yellow pine is not quite as heavy as maple and other woods usually used in this type of bench. This is one reason I went a little thicker than the design called for.

 

[jelwell82]

I can't be the only one who thinks SYP looks amazing as a bench top! I am less than a month from starting mine and every time I start thinking "I should just use maple" I see a bench like this. Thanks for saving me $400 or so! Great job!

 

[cps]

Building the bench tops

I first built the bench tops which are constructed form halved 2 x 12s. I used the 2x12 as they are generally better quality wood than smaller boards (I ran across this recommendation more than once). I was going to used 16 footers, but since I no longer have a truck, and Lowes' saw was down, I went with 8 footers from Home Depot. I ripped the 2 x12 s in half, let them acclimate for a week. Next I face jointed and thickness planed. I then straight line ripped using a straight edge. I learned about this technique from Woodnthings here: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/door-build-2-xs-1-4-ply-55717/. I needed to straight line as when the boards were initially ripped, there was quite a bit of movement in the boards. Too much to effectively straighten out with the jointer.
After straight lining, I edge jointed and ripped to about 4.75 inches. During this process, I had a few boards that were just too warped/bowed/twisted to use for the top. I ended up using a few 2 x 8s for the others. If you notice the center boards (in the previously posted pictures) where the grain is not as tight, these came from the 2 x 8s.

I then laid out the boards such that most of knots where on the bottom and a way form where dog holes would be. Next I glued up 3 boards at a time. After all the 3 board sections where glued up, I did another round of jointing and planing. This was necessary as the 8 foot boards were difficult to face joint without using too much pressure which ultimately left a little bow in some of the boards. I think another problem I had is I had not waxed the jointer tables. Later after waxing, the jointing became quite a bit easier because I didn't have to use so much pressure to move the boards.

Now that the three board sections were nice and true, I glued up the two bench tops. I then used the bench tops across a couple of saw horses for a temporary bench to build the rest of the bench. Note, after the other components were build, I ran the two tops through the planer. The final thickness of the bench is 4 9/16". One top is 12 inches wide, the other is 12 1/8 inches wide. I saw no reason to make the exact same width.

Below it the final glue, which you can see I also used cauls. When doing the glue up of long boards, it was necessary to make sure the boards are on a the same plane. It is probably hard to see, but the blocks under the cauls have wedges that were used to get the plane correct. I don't have a lot of detailed pictures of the build process. The ones I do have I took with my phone, so the quality is too good.

 

[cps]

I can't be the only one who thinks SYP looks amazing as a bench top! I am less than a month from starting mine and every time I start thinking "I should just use maple" I see a bench like this. Thanks for saving me $400 or so! Great job!

Maple is very expensive here....I think it would have cost around thousand more to use maple.

 

[JMartel]

Maple is very expensive here....I think it would have cost around thousand more to use maple.

Nice bench.

I used Oak for mine, but only because I found enough on craigslist for about $1.50/bdft. Otherwise it would have been 2x12's for me.

 

[DitchDoc]

Very nice. I built my regular bench out of yellow pine. I now need to build a wood working bench. This would work well and then my benches would match.

 

[cps]

Building the legs, stretchers and short rails

The legs , stretchers, and short rails were cut from 2x8s and leftovers from the top. I cut the pieces to 8 inches longer then the finished length to account for planer snipe. I also minimized exposed knots and kept knots away from mortise and tenon locations. I went through a similar process of planing, jointing and gluing. After cutting the components to length, I moved on to the tenons. For the tenons, I first cut the shoulders on the table same using the miter gauge. I built a jig for the router to cut out the remaining material, but after one tenon, I decided it was just too slow. I then cut the remaining tenons on the table saw using a support block. This worked out pretty well.

After completing the tenons, it was time for the mortises. For the mortises, I used the router with an edge guide. I squared the holes up with chisels, which I now think were a little too dull. I also used a support block for the chisel so I could maintain square walls.

Here are the legs (no mortises yet):

Here are the stretchers and short rails. They are sitting on the tops:

The final legs are 6x4 inches. The stretchers are 5 1/4 x 2 3/4 , bottom short rails are 5 1/4 x 2 3/4, and top short rails are 4 5/8 x 2 3/4.

 

[cps]

Assembling the end components

I first dry fit the entire bottom section and checked for square.

After I was satisfied with the dry fit, I drilled drawbore holes in the legs. Since the legs are 6 inches wide, the drawbore holes are not through holes. Next I used a brad point drill to mark the center locations on the tenons for the drawbore holes. I then drilled the holes in the tenons approximately 1/16 of an inch closer to the shoulder of the tenon.

I did another dry fit to evaluate the tenon holes. I then unassembled and routed the ledger dados in the stretchers and bottom short rails. I also drilled 1/2 holes through the legs that are used for the stretcher bolts. Next I glued up the two end component and drove pegs into drawbore holes. The pegs are made from 3/8 oak dowels that have one end beveled. I was a little nervous when driving in the pegs as I did not want to slip the legs. All worked out ok, and the drawbores did their job resulting in a pretty tight fit.
I also applied Watco Danish Oil to the end components except for the location were the ledger boards would be glued.