Hybrid Ruobo/Shaker bench thoughts

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I rearranged the shop and butted my two really expensive (lie- they are cheap, but they make do) benches together to see how an idea I have would work. So far I love it.

I love the Ruobo with sliding leg vise (yes I want an extra sliding vise and not just a deadman) but I also like the idea of encased storage on the shaker, and like a wide bench. The problem, of course, is the sliding vise interferes with the drawers or doors on the shaker.

My idea is to make a split top "Rubaker"- a Ruobo/Shaker hybrid. The vise side would be open and the back would have drawers and a small cabinet. The cabinet stores a small shop vac, and the drawers just add storage to my small shop. The top would be a split top with one section wider than the other. The open side would have one middle and a bottom shelf but open otherwise.

My my workbench has to be a do-all, and currently is too narrow for large assembly projects. My plan is 66" x 38", which as big as I can make it without taking up too much room in the shop.

I am am open to thoughts good or bad on this. Below is my shop with benches put together. By the way, I hate tool recesses (clutter catchers) on the bench top. It would not have those. When standing at this side I would do inlays, drawings, and other work where I need a wide, flat surface. I would stand at the other end for woodworking. The tool bin behind has a wood top and I lay out my tools on it within easy reach when working.

[Tony Zaffuto]

The answer is whatever works for you is the correct bench!

In another thread, I posted a comment that my most useful bench is one very loosely based on a bench I saw in a Pat Warner router DVD. The bench long (7') and somewhat narrow (14"). The height is also a bit higher than what talking heads recommend (thinking somewhere around 38 to 40 inches). I have a row of dog holes and an end vise. For the front, I have an apron and a crochet. I also have a bench I built and re-built over the past dozen years. It is 6' X 30" X 34" high, and has a tool well. It has a front and end vise, with a front apron and seems clumsy at times.

I am planning on building a 4' X 4' assembly bench (haven't decided on the height) and will probably gravitate towards using the long and narrow along with the assembly bench.

So, again, whatever seems to work for you, is probably the right bench for you!

[Jim Koepke]

The answer is whatever works for you is the correct bench!

Tony beat me to the best answer.

Who can argue with that which works?

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Smitty on lumberjocks did a storage chest for his Roubo bench, I thought the result was very good. He built it so that it just sat in the low shelf of his already constructed roubo. I like the idea of building it that way because you can remove it and put it on a cabinet if you decide you want the room under your bench for something else later on.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I was considering a removable chest. I still have some time to plan. Just thought I would test the idea here. Sometimes people come up with things I haven't thought of, and this is a one-shot deal that needs to last me a lifetime.

By the way, I am a mide-of-the shop guy when it comes to benches as opposed to an against-the-wall guy. It will have access to all sides. As you see, my floor is a challenge, as it is handmade terra cotta tile that is not flat. Leather shims will have to take up any slack. I find they prevent sliding.

[Andrae Covington]

I like my sliding leg vise, but it does interfere with storage under the bench. Only items which are low enough to sit under the parallel guide get to stay around. Don't forget to consider the length of the vise screw and parallel guide when you're deciding how deep to make the storage cabinet on the other side, so they don't interfere. You may want to consider cutting down the vise screw and making a short parallel guide for the sliding vise, to allow for more depth in the storage cabinet. It would reduce how wide you can open the vise but I don't think that would be a problem if you also have a fixed vise with a full-length screw or some other alternative.

[Brian Holcombe]

I share that sentiment in regard to the shop layout.

My bench is six foot if I remember correctly, and about 32" deep plus the vice. If I were to make any changes to it, I would make it narrower, making it easier to flatten and easier to reach across. And the dimension I would end up at is probably 24". I love the length of the bench, it makes flattening table tops much easier than if I were trying to work with a shorter bench.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Andre, good point on the leg vise depth. I didn't consider that. THAT is why I posted this thread.

Brian, I am wanting to, and may go 6 feet, but may have to take off 6". Going to cut some plywood to size, clamp it down, and see how cramped the shop is with a 6' top.

[Jim Matthews]

I have a sliding deadman, with Veritas bench dogs fitted.

It rarely gets used.
It does get moved aside, all the time.

I'm finding that a simple F clamp works as well, or better to hold long boards to the front for edge planing.

Since I have already made my dining table, there are few boards I work with longer than 40".

[ken hatch]

I have a sliding deadman, with Veritas bench dogs fitted.

It rarely gets used.
It does get moved aside, all the time.

I'm finding that a simple F clamp works as well, or better to hold long boards to the front for edge planing.

Since I have already made my dining table, there are few boards I work with longer than 40".

The exact reason my new bench does not have a sliding deadman.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I quite frequently joint long boards for building kayaks, surfboards, and other things. The sliding leg vise for me would get used a lot- admittedly mostly at widest setting, but it is good to have it sliding so I can clamp boards for dovetailing and other end work. Just this week I had to put a bead on 15 drip ledges for my windows using an old Ohio Tool moulding plane. Each one is 46" wide. A sliding leg vise would have been a blessing for that.

By the way, yes- those are diapers on my ladder as pads! I put them on when painting my hallway and I worked well enough that I saw no need to buy commercial ones.

[Prashun Patel]

How about designing the drawers of your under storage to serve as support? If you build the drawer fronts flush with the front of the bench, this might be as simple as just dog-holing the fronts. Then you can skip the slider altogether.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I want to be able to clamp a panel between the two leg clamps and adjust clamp spacing to fit any panel up to the limit of space between the two. To me it is a very practical solution for my multiple clamping needs, as I go from boatbuilding to furniture to detail pieces. Also for jointing I want to clamp both ends of the piece.

[Jim Koepke]

I want to be able to clamp a panel between the two leg clamps and adjust clamp spacing to fit any panel up to the limit of space between the two. To me it is a very practical solution for my multiple clamping needs, as I go from boatbuilding to furniture to detail pieces. Also for jointing I want to clamp both ends of the piece.

The above explanation is a good example of why my bench, or anyone else's bench, may have different design criteria than any other bench.

All the variations in the work and even the styles of work we do call for different types of vise systems and clamping systems. Something that seems to have no rhyme or reason to me may be someone else's insightful discovery.

jtk