Hi everybody,
I’m a newbie here, but have been working wood on and off for many years. I’ve finally decided to build a nice bench for myself, and have been inspired by Chris Schwartz’s Roubo design.
My design criteria are:
1) Heavy and solid, as I intend to do chiefly Neander-type things on it.
2) Moveable; the top should be removable, and the two leg structures will joined to the long stretchers knock-down fashion.
3) Good for a 6’4” left-hander (but convertible to right-handed so my son might use it someday).
This is what I’ve come up with so far:
MongrelWorkbench.jpgMongrelWorkbench_side_oblique.jpg
The top design reflects the fact that I jumped on a good deal for a laminated maple top from Woodcraft (a Bally Block top). Then I began to think that maybe its 1-7/8" thickness might not be enough. It's only a 24 X 60 top, so I'm not really worried about sagging, but I'm thinking more mass and thickness for dog and holdfast holes might be good. That's the reason for the 8/4 X 6" planks on the front and back. I'm not crazy about this compromise, and have a couple of questions about it:
1) Does it make any sense?
2) If I use 8/4 maple for the planks (skirts?), can I glue them directly to the underside of the laminated top? Are there any wood movement issues with that?
3) Can I get away with a cheaper (non-maple) species, and what then are the implications for wood movement?
My mind is full of other questions, but I'll stop here for now. Thanks so much for reading this far!
Phil