An Introduction and a Bench Build

[Tapper]

#1 I can barely read your post. I think you just invited me to your wedding? And you are marrying a workbench?  Good luck . I’m sure you will be very happy together, but I’m RSVPing; I can’t make it.

#2 design sounds ok. You don’t need a tailvise. The key to a successful Roubo bench is the fit quality of the M&T. Also don’t need dog hole row.

#3 personally, I would skip the planing and ripping. Tite bond doesn’t need a better surface than construction lumber. Just clamp the heck out of it. I did a bench like this and only glued 1 lamination per day.

Ripping the edges (top surface) is ok, but don’t expect the glued up top to be flat and smooth. You will have to plane it.  So I’d skip the table saw and tune up a S#7 instead.

I’ve tried inserting steel rods into laminated bench tops. Waste of time in my opinion.

Not sure where to begin on this one, but here goes. It's pretty presumptive to say someone who's going to take the time to build a custom workbench doesn't "need" a tail vise. And BTW, a tail vise requires dog holes, the last time I checked. There's a reason(s) that 99% of workbench designs include a  tail vise. One of the primary reasons is for hand planing (after all, this is the Hand Tools section). But there are many, many other uses for a tail vise. I've recently used mine to hold pieces for sanding and also used it many, many times to hold material for routing - just a few examples. It's one of the reasons Benchcrafted and Hovarter are in business.

When I built my bench, it was a budget job and I began with some pretty sketchy material I had collected. Jointing and planing the faces of the boards before glue-up was essential. I made sure that three sides were machined and square; the bottom I didn't worry about. 

Again, good luck with whatever you decide, however after you build the bench with no tail vise, it will be difficult if not impossible to add one, at least on the front of the bench. Now is the time.

The caveat to my comments about the tail vise is that if you plan to do NO hand work. If you're going to use this bench as primarily an assembly table, then "yes" leave out the tail vise.

Doug

[hbmcc]

I think confusion has set in. I will add my pesos to the mess ... just to make the blather interesting to myself.

#1. Many have built benches without vises; or, vices. A few strategic wormholes for holdfasts on top and legs are quite handy. But, I think I am with the majority on this matter. My vice is vises, only because I have spent so many years without a proper one, and have suffered.

#2. There is something about the sound and response that a thick--some may call it overbuilt--beating surface projects. Solid. Roubo.

#3. We tend to think workbenches need to wear a mountain of various usage hats. Someone with space can have a gluing table, and another for clobbering dovetails. Yet, someone else needs to cram everything into and onto one entity. Then some of us love the concept of multi-purpose tools. Grab that Swiss Army knife, and make sure it has a leather punch ... and toothpick. 

#4. Fonts are unique. However, as much as I loved my own drafting penmanship a standardised font, such as what we use here, makes communication so much easier. The odd one could have initiated the confusion we have in this thread. Or, hopefully, it's me.

[Tapper]

Sorry, no confusion AFAIK when it comes to vises. Standing pat.

Doug

[wmickley]

Tapper pid='7842240' dateline='1585842438']
Not sure where to begin on this one, but here goes. It's pretty presumptive to say someone who's going to take the time to build a custom workbench doesn't "need" a tail vise. And BTW, a tail vise requires dog holes, the last time I checked. There's a reason(s) that 99% of workbench designs include a  tail vise. One of the primary reasons is for hand planing (after all, this is the Hand Tools section). But there are many, many other uses for a tail vise. I've recently used mine to hold pieces for sanding and also used it many, many times to hold material for routing - just a few examples. It's one of the reasons Benchcrafted and Hovarter are in business.

When I built my bench, it was a budget job and I began with some pretty sketchy material I had collected. Jointing and planing the faces of the boards before glue-up was essential. I made sure that three sides were machined and square; the bottom I didn't worry about. 

Again, good luck with whatever you decide, however after you build the bench with no tail vise, it will be difficult if not impossible to add one, at least on the front of the bench. Now is the time.

The caveat to my comments about the tail vise is that if you plan to do NO hand work. If you're going to use this bench as primarily an assembly table, then "yes" leave out the tail vise.

Doug

It was a happy day 45 years ago when realized that I did not need a tail vise. Since I do hand work exclusively I plane wood quite a lot and I study historic techniques. We plane against a single stop. Do some research.

[Master-of-None]

Thank you for all the comments gentlemen. I may not respond to all the comments but rest assured that I have read them all and considered what was said. I hope not to start any fights, but I've been on this forum long enough to know how things go sometimes. To me, an exchange of opinions is always welcome.

On a personal level, not having posted something like this before, I did not realize how much work it is. The taking of pictures during the build is not that big a deal, but then resizing them, composing the text so hopefully it makes some sense, etc, takes a lot of time. At least for me. So kudos to all those who post their builds, and you know who your are!

I hope to post the second part of this build either later today or tomorrow.

And lastly, I have no idea why the font that I used is displaying, it was not my intention!

[Admiral]

Thank you for all the comments gentlemen. I may not respond to all the comments but rest assured that I have read them all and considered what was said. I hope not to start any fights, but I've been on this forum long enough to know how things go sometimes. To me, an exchange of opinions is always welcome.

On a personal level, not having posted something like this before, I did not realize how much work it is. The taking of pictures during the build is not that big a deal, but then resizing them, composing the text so hopefully it makes some sense, etc, takes a lot of time. At least for me. So kudos to all those who post their builds, and you know who your are!

I hope to post the second part of this build either later today or tomorrow.

And lastly, I have no idea why the font that I used is displaying, it was not my intention!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.  On pictures, perhaps only post one or two as a teaser, then create an album in flickr, and link to that.  I do that when selling in the S&S, it works out pretty well and is easy.

[Tapper]

It was a happy day 45 years ago when realized that I did not need a tail vise. Since I do hand work exclusively I plane wood quite a lot and I study historic techniques. We plane against a single stop. Do some research.

Don't quite know why you were so "happy" to discover it was possible to plane boards without a tail vise, but to each his own I suppose. As to the research, you might want to take a closer look at why most woodworking bench designs these days include a tail vise - guess you missed the examples I listed earlier. 

Doug

[GeeDub]

For me narrow benches focus On the bench as a material holding tool. Some folks also do project assembly on the bench. For medium to large pieces a wider bench provides more surface. Consider the types of things you’re going to make and how you will use your bench to make them and size it accordingly..

[wmickley]

Don't quite know why you were so "happy" to discover it was possible to plane boards without a tail vise, but to each his own I suppose. As to the research, you might want to take a closer look at why most woodworking bench designs these days include a tail vise - guess you missed the examples I listed earlier. 

Doug

Most people today don't have much experience planing wood. I was also very happy to discover that my planing was good enough that sanding would degrade the surface. That was 1978. Experience matters.

[adamcherubini]

Most people today don't have much experience planing wood. I was also very happy to discover that my planing was good enough that sanding would degrade the surface. That was 1978. Experience matters.

Ok, we’re already half way there. Let’s just have the discussion. Warren, when did tail vises first emerge? Did Anglo americans have them and what do you think they were for?

I’m going to throw in a guess and we’ll see how I do. I’m guessing they are continental contraptions, always associated with shops that did veneer work and were designed for toothing planing, not surface planing. Warren?

One more from me
From the beginnings of FWW, magazine authors have always written about beautiful or technically complicated workbenches as if they are superior tools. Don’t get me wrong, I love a beautiful workbench, have built several. And not to troll anybody, but I know some of those authors and those benches might have well been coffee tables. They weren’t hand tool guys. Their benches were show pieces in their machine shops where they literally drank their coffee because it was the only clean place in the shop.

Also, advocating for a bench with no hardware, made from construction lumber, isn’t as easy as advocating for a bench with manufactured components. Easier to get on the cover when your bench has parts an advertiser makes. Just sayin...doesn’t make it a bad bench. Just easier to sell to the public.