My Benchcrafted Roubo Workbench Build

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I just put the finishing touches on my roubo. Can't say enough about Jameel and his company, Benchcrafted. The vises are massive and glide effortlessly as billed and the plans were outstanding. It was a challenging project and I had great fun and derived much satisfaction. Anyhoo, I thought I'd post a few pictures here. I documented my build over on Talkfestool if you're interested in more detail.

[Frederick Gross]

Absolutely gorgeous & great craftsmanship!

[Matt Kestenbaum]

Jim,

Sweet bench. And a great build thread over on TF forum. I met the guys from Benchcrafted at Valley Forge last year and was really impressed by their designs. Enjoy the bench.

[Russell Hudson]

You can just tell that this working surface will help make hundreds of other beautiful things.
Will you be bolting it to the floor?

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

No need to bolt it, it weighs well over 300 lbs. I really have to put my weight on it to get it to budge, even with the UHMW plastic feet.
Thanks

[John Schreiber]

Looks great and stout like a workbench should be. Too bad about that little crack in the top. What's your thinking on that?

[Tom Godley]

Very Nice - I debated about the gap in the middle.


Also like the lower shelf -- are the boards attached?

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

John, The crack is a great feature! There is a gap stop that is in the below picture. It just slides in. On the bottom of the gap stop there are 2, 1/2" notches cut so it straddles the short upper leg stretchers, keeping it flush. It keeps tools from sliding off into the crack and also has slots cut so you store hand tools in it. Remove the gap stop, flip it over and reinstall and because there are no notches on the other side, it sits 1/2" proud of the bench making a great full length stop for cross planing. I don't know if I'm 'splaining this right. Check out the youtube video and it becomes clear (1:18 in):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Z2k...os=nF9_YvhbKTY

Also, when you remove the gap stop, any k-body clamp fits easily in between the tops for holding down narrower projects. I've been using the bench for only a short while now and like a swiss army knife, I'm finding new tricks everyday!



Tom, the shelf boards are ship-lapped and float freely on ledger strips on the stretchers.

[Jeff Monson]

Beutiful bench, just about too nice to work on . Your craftsmanship and attention to detail are top notch.

[Rick Markham]

Man, I am super Jealous Jim, That is the exact bench that I want to build! After playing around with his wagon and leg vice that Ron Hock has on his bench... I was sold! Absolutely stunning work man!

[Michael Peet]

Jim, it looks fantastic. I am building a similar bench: Schwarz roubo with Benchcrafted hardware, square dogs, no split top though. Yours came out great.

Mike

[Vinny Miseo]

Are there benefits to square dog holes vs round ones?

I'm about at that stage on my bench and haven't decided.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Hi Vinny, There are many distinct advantages to square dogs. As a matter of fact, Jameel Abraham wrote a great essay on this very subject over on his blog here.
Thanks for all your kind remarks guys, I gotta say, this project was by far the most satisfying project I've ever done. I recommend the design and the vises highly. I don't work from plans when I can. They are rarely accurate. Jameel's plans were highly detailed and completely accurate. 100 pages! It was a pleasure to work from.

[Andrew Gibson]

The bench looks great, and the vises are amazing. I talked to Ron Brese about them for about an hour when he was in Tampa for the Lie Nielsen event.

I seriously have to save my pennies for my ever waiting bench project.

[Thomas love]

Outstanding, I built mine with the split top as well ,no regrets here.
Tom