07-10-2022, 10:28 AM
My 1st first decision was in choosing ash for the top.
The main reason is Ash will absorb a hammer or mallet blow, Maple and other woods
like red oak will bounce back, or have a recoil
The 2nd reason, is Ash is a hard wood and is dried under different standards than any commercial grade construction lumber. I believe that construction lumber is dried to between 15% and 20%. The general conscience for hardwood is 4%to 8%. I also believe that both numbers can be taken with a grain of salt.
And the 3rd. is, Ash trees are literally dying in groves at the present time and will soon go the way of the Chestnuts and Elms. It is cheap at the present and I wanted it to count for something.
The #2 decision is I chose 4/4ths material to make the parts from,
because it is easier to work with than 8/4ths or 6/4ths And especially for beginners or
intermate woodworkers.
Yes, there will be less glue ups with 8/4ths, but so what.?
If you screws up there will be less voids and cost per BF is higher for 8/4ths.
If you want to sound knowable and write about 8/4ths material being the only
expectable size then please feel free to start your own thread.
My #3 second decision was how thick to make the top. I chose 4 inches. Why?
Most people consider the thickness on a Roubo bench to be 4 inches thick. At the
present time the Roubo style bench is considered to be the only style of bench to build.
And actually it is the the easiest style of bench bench to build. The Moravian is not for
the faint hearted.
Personally I prefer the European style with a face vise and a tail vise.
And lastly, 4 inches is easier to deal with in the head than 3 5/16ths. The number is just
for example only
Can it be 3 inches thick? Yes. Actually it can and will be any thickness you make it.
And it can it be made out of any material you choose to make it from. All materials have
their own strengths and weaknesses.
Can tops be 3 inches in some parts and 4 in others? Yes, but construction problems can
arise down the road. And I have been there and did that and personally I will not do it
again.
And lastly Tail Vise and Shoulder Vise hardware likes a 4 inch top.
The #4 decision is what size to make the legs and frame assemblies. I chose 3 by 4. 4
because of that is the thickness of the top so if a piece for the top doesn't work out , it
can be used for the leg assembly without doing anything special.
I chose 3 inches thick because my table saw can saw it to length without turning over.
Any mismatches show up when flipping a board.
And 3/4 times 4 is 3 inches. And there is 1/8th to spare. So a leg glue up is 4 pieces.
Size and mass look good on a work bench and are proportional to the build.
And 5 is the length of the top.
For the size of my shop, 8 foot long is a little over the top. In a size ratio, a 7 ft. length is
ideal ( 84 inches) for ME, and a 6ft top is a little short (72 inches)
Like Smokey the Bear, only you can determine what the length of the top shout be and
for you and you alone. And actually the invirement that it is in should determine it. It
should not be any larger than the invirement will allow.
#6 is the width. The final width of each board and number of boards used will determine
the actual width and one can stop at any time when gluing up for the width.
And lastly is height, which is the most important dimension of the build. But along with the
width is the least important dimension at the present.
If you make the top 7 foot then you have some scrap to deal with, but it helps with
snipe. Latter on that. If it is 6 ft. then there is basically 2 ft. left over for spreaders on
the end assemblies. If the top is glued in 8 foot pieces then glue 4 pieces leave a 2
foot section unglued between 4 and 5 and then continue gluing. At the end when the
2 foot is cut off, then you will have 3 or 4 of the 3 X /4 X 24 inch pieces already glued
up .If the top is 24 inches and the legs are 3 inches then the stretcher in-between
needs to only needs to be 18 inches plus tenons not a full 24 inches
If the top is 4 inches thick and the leg is 3 x4 then one of the 8 ft. boards that was cut
in strips for the top can be cut into 33 inch lengths and glued up for a leg. 4 pieces of
1 x 4 x 8 will make 4 legs.
If the top is 4 inches and the legs are 4 inches and the parts between are 4 inches,
then all you have had to worry about in the build up until now is making your pieces for
glue up into 4 inch wide strips.
Part 2 of the build will come latter and will be more pictures than text.
The main reason is Ash will absorb a hammer or mallet blow, Maple and other woods
like red oak will bounce back, or have a recoil
The 2nd reason, is Ash is a hard wood and is dried under different standards than any commercial grade construction lumber. I believe that construction lumber is dried to between 15% and 20%. The general conscience for hardwood is 4%to 8%. I also believe that both numbers can be taken with a grain of salt.
And the 3rd. is, Ash trees are literally dying in groves at the present time and will soon go the way of the Chestnuts and Elms. It is cheap at the present and I wanted it to count for something.
The #2 decision is I chose 4/4ths material to make the parts from,
because it is easier to work with than 8/4ths or 6/4ths And especially for beginners or
intermate woodworkers.
Yes, there will be less glue ups with 8/4ths, but so what.?
If you screws up there will be less voids and cost per BF is higher for 8/4ths.
If you want to sound knowable and write about 8/4ths material being the only
expectable size then please feel free to start your own thread.
My #3 second decision was how thick to make the top. I chose 4 inches. Why?
Most people consider the thickness on a Roubo bench to be 4 inches thick. At the
present time the Roubo style bench is considered to be the only style of bench to build.
And actually it is the the easiest style of bench bench to build. The Moravian is not for
the faint hearted.
Personally I prefer the European style with a face vise and a tail vise.
And lastly, 4 inches is easier to deal with in the head than 3 5/16ths. The number is just
for example only
Can it be 3 inches thick? Yes. Actually it can and will be any thickness you make it.
And it can it be made out of any material you choose to make it from. All materials have
their own strengths and weaknesses.
Can tops be 3 inches in some parts and 4 in others? Yes, but construction problems can
arise down the road. And I have been there and did that and personally I will not do it
again.
And lastly Tail Vise and Shoulder Vise hardware likes a 4 inch top.
The #4 decision is what size to make the legs and frame assemblies. I chose 3 by 4. 4
because of that is the thickness of the top so if a piece for the top doesn't work out , it
can be used for the leg assembly without doing anything special.
I chose 3 inches thick because my table saw can saw it to length without turning over.
Any mismatches show up when flipping a board.
And 3/4 times 4 is 3 inches. And there is 1/8th to spare. So a leg glue up is 4 pieces.
Size and mass look good on a work bench and are proportional to the build.
And 5 is the length of the top.
For the size of my shop, 8 foot long is a little over the top. In a size ratio, a 7 ft. length is
ideal ( 84 inches) for ME, and a 6ft top is a little short (72 inches)
Like Smokey the Bear, only you can determine what the length of the top shout be and
for you and you alone. And actually the invirement that it is in should determine it. It
should not be any larger than the invirement will allow.
#6 is the width. The final width of each board and number of boards used will determine
the actual width and one can stop at any time when gluing up for the width.
And lastly is height, which is the most important dimension of the build. But along with the
width is the least important dimension at the present.
If you make the top 7 foot then you have some scrap to deal with, but it helps with
snipe. Latter on that. If it is 6 ft. then there is basically 2 ft. left over for spreaders on
the end assemblies. If the top is glued in 8 foot pieces then glue 4 pieces leave a 2
foot section unglued between 4 and 5 and then continue gluing. At the end when the
2 foot is cut off, then you will have 3 or 4 of the 3 X /4 X 24 inch pieces already glued
up .If the top is 24 inches and the legs are 3 inches then the stretcher in-between
needs to only needs to be 18 inches plus tenons not a full 24 inches
If the top is 4 inches thick and the leg is 3 x4 then one of the 8 ft. boards that was cut
in strips for the top can be cut into 33 inch lengths and glued up for a leg. 4 pieces of
1 x 4 x 8 will make 4 legs.
If the top is 4 inches and the legs are 4 inches and the parts between are 4 inches,
then all you have had to worry about in the build up until now is making your pieces for
glue up into 4 inch wide strips.
Part 2 of the build will come latter and will be more pictures than text.