(10-11-2018, 05:55 PM)overland Wrote: I'm building a Roubo-style bench and am looking for a forged iron bench stop. But I can't find one. Any suggestions?
I have used wooden bench stops (two inches wide) for 45 years. I have planed stuff as thin as 3/32.
I have also used forged bench stops on more than a dozen benches belonging to others and at historic sites. An iron bench stop will mark the end grain, but with the teeth it is slightly more secure. With a wooden bench stop you have to move a wide board a little more often to make sure you are planing in line with the stop, but it is also a little easier to move on the fly, without interrupting planing.
Roubo's stop has a tang that comes to a pretty good point; Peter Ross tangs are kind of dull. Also the tang should have a straight taper; Black Bear tang is kind of fat in the middle which probably contributed to his splitting the block.
Unlike many made today, Roubo's stop is not a straight 90 degrees but has a slight curve upward from the tang. This way the points of the teeth are higher than the rest of the iron stop, so you can plane quite thin stuff without danger of hitting the rest of the stop.
I recommend getting a local blacksmith to make one for you. Then if something is not quite the way you want it they can make an adjustment. Figure on doing some filing yourself.
