Not quite a Roubo work bench

[RobNichols]

No, I meant the red one.

Ah!. That's a Rapier 500. A bargain for £4, though I did end up replacing the frog which cost an additional £10. The main thing of note is the plastic handles. In use that doesn't bother me, though I do plan to make some wooden handles at some point. I've set it up as my main material removal plane, and it works well in that role.
Here are some pictures with a Stanley No. 5 for comparison
.

 

[Jameshow]

Ah!. That's a Rapier 500. A bargain for £4, though I did end up replacing the frog which cost an additional £10. The main thing of note is the plastic handles. In use that doesn't bother me, though I do plan to make some wooden handles at some point. I've set it up as my main material removal plane, and it works well in that role.
Here are some pictures with a Stanley No. 5 for comparison
.View attachment 145908
View attachment 145909View attachment 145907

I have a similar Wickes plane which I use for scrubbing rough timber!

 

[RobNichols]

Over the last week or so I have finished my workbench.

I fitted a end stop into the bench stop at the end of a line of dog holes that I'd cut with a brace (and chamferred with a palm router).

I was able to use the stop and dog holes to hold a couple of oak offcuts that I shaped to form jaws for a metal vice that I fitted to the end of the bench to form an end vice

I then flattened an oak board that was to become the leg vice jaw

I cut a hole and slot in the board so that it would take some vice hardware that I'd salvaged from an old blacksmith's leg vice. I was then able to attach the vice. Hopefully you can now see why I made the vice leg wider than the other legs - so that I could offset the vice hardware.

Using a scrapper to protect the worktop and raise the saw blade a little (so that I could plane the top of saw to final height), I cut the top of the jaw so that I could plane it flush with the worktop.

And with a little planing the jaw was cut to final size.

I should also mention that during the process described above I painted the base of the bench in some paint I'd bought from the remainder shelf in B&Q. I thought it was red ..... it turned out to be pink. The problem is .... I quite like it. I thought I'd apply it as a base coat, but I think I'm going to leave it as it is. I'm getting in touch with my feminine side.

The best bit is that I now have a solid platform to build my next woodwork projects. I'm really pleased with the result, and so happy to have completed this: my largest woodworking project to date.

 

[Orraloon]

A nice practical looking bench. You should rightly be pleased with with it and the colour is fine too. No holding back on what you can build now.
Regards
John

 

[clogs]

Rob
Hope those planes have retracted blades....
even on a wooden beanch dont leave the planes like that....
Ok if the bench is clear but if u get in the habbit of doing it one day u'll lay it on a nail....!!!!
best to park em on their sides....or have a scap of wood just to raise the front a bit...

I like the idea of ur vice but that old smithy's vice are worth a lot of money now days....
U can buy that kinda shaft easily off eBay....it's called Achme......nuts etc are from the same source
I bought some to repair a metal bandsaw vice, 1m x 3/4dia inc 2 nuts was less than £20......
just sayin.....
I have a med size leg vice found in my old barn in France....cant wait for it to see daylight again....

 

[Adam W.]

Nice looking bench, where did you get that stop from ?

Rob
Hope those planes have retracted blades....
even on a wooden beanch dont leave the planes like that....
Ok if the bench is clear but if u get in the habbit of doing it one day u'll lay it on a nail....!!!!
best to park em on their sides....or have a scap of wood just to raise the front a bit...

I like the idea of ur vice but that old smithy's vice are worth a lot of money now days....
U can buy that kinda shaft easily off eBay....it's called Achme......nuts etc are from the same source
I bought some to repair a metal bandsaw vice, 1m x 3/4dia inc 2 nuts was less than £20......
just sayin.....
I have a med size leg vice found in my old barn in France....cant wait for it to see daylight again....

Ah, the great "Which way should I put my plane down on a bench - iron up, down or sideways" debate.

 

[Fitzroy]

Over the last week or so I have finished my workbench.
View attachment 147750

I fitted a end stop into the bench stop at the end of a line of dog holes that I'd cut with a brace (and chamferred with a palm router).
View attachment 147755

View attachment 147756

I was able to use the stop and dog holes to hold a couple of oak offcuts that I shaped to form jaws for a metal vice that I fitted to the end of the bench to form an end vice

View attachment 147754

I then flattened an oak board that was to become the leg vice jaw

View attachment 147757

I cut a hole and slot in the board so that it would take some vice hardware that I'd salvaged from an old blacksmith's leg vice. I was then able to attach the vice. Hopefully you can now see why I made the vice leg wider than the other legs - so that I could offset the vice hardware.

View attachment 147758

Using a scrapper to protect the worktop and raise the saw blade a little (so that I could plane the top of saw to final height), I cut the top of the jaw so that I could plane it flush with the worktop.

View attachment 147759

And with a little planing the jaw was cut to final size.

I should also mention that during the process described above I painted the base of the bench in some paint I'd bought from the remainder shelf in B&Q. I thought it was red ..... it turned out to be pink. The problem is .... I quite like it. I thought I'd apply it as a base coat, but I think I'm going to leave it as it is. I'm getting in touch with my feminine side.

The best bit is that I now have a solid platform to build my next woodwork projects. I'm really pleased with the result, and so happy to have completed this: my largest woodworking project to date.

Looks great, pink being feminine is a modern norm go back to the 18th/19th century and it was a popular man's colour. These women have stolen all the fun from our clothing and colour pallet, you're a man make do with muted tones of blue. brown, green and black!

 

[rogxwhit]

Just a point about the structure - I would have had cross rails joining the legs under the top to support it across the grain. Yes, I know it's quite thick, but one can do heavy thumping on a bench sometimes, and oak can be quite fissile along the medullary rays. It could well be fine - time will tell.

 

[RobNichols]

Rob
Hope those planes have retracted blades....
even on a wooden beanch dont leave the planes like that....
Ok if the bench is clear but if u get in the habbit of doing it one day u'll lay it on a nail....!!!!
best to park em on their sides....or have a scap of wood just to raise the front a bit...

My understanding is that it is better to place your planes on the sole. For example see this. I believe the thinking is that the blade won't be damaged placing it on wood, and placing it on the side tends to have the same effect as tapping it laterally - that is, it messes up the blade alignment.

 

[Adam W.]

Sounds sensible, you can't skin your knuckles or jag other tools with it that way either.

 

[RobNichols]

Nice looking bench, where did you get that stop from ?

I got it on ebay. It was labelled: William Marples Shamrock Rising Pillar Bench Stop

Ah, the great "Which way should I put my plane down on a bench - iron up, down or sideways" debate.

Yes - I did wonder if that would lead to a repeated debate.

 

[RobNichols]

Just a point about the structure - I would have had cross rails joining the legs under the top to support it across the grain. Yes, I know it's quite thick, but one can do heavy thumping on a bench sometimes, and oak can be quite fissile along the medullary rays. It could well be fine - time will tell.

My understanding of the Roubo design which I think I read in Chris Schwarz's book, is that the lack of support across the grain immediately below the top allows the top to expand laterally over time/seasons. Of course that is based on using a single slab of wood for the top and a slab that is probably twice as thick as that on my bench, but that's what I've gone for. I think the main idea is to have a structure that accommodates expansion in the top rather than trying to control/limit it.

 

[RobNichols]

I like the idea of ur vice but that old smithy's vice are worth a lot of money now days....
U can buy that kinda shaft easily off eBay....it's called Achme......nuts etc are from the same source
I bought some to repair a metal bandsaw vice, 1m x 3/4dia inc 2 nuts was less than £20......
just sayin.....
I have a med size leg vice found in my old barn in France....cant wait for it to see daylight again....

The vice was another ebay purchase. £45 and I was the only one who bid on it.
To be honest, I'm not sure it was a good buy. The thread is well worn and after purchasing it I realised I could buy a new screw for a similar price. What I most like about it is the additional parts that came with it. Specifically the alignment bar.
This is the image from the original ebay posting of the vice

The wood was in a pretty poor state with a lot of wood worm. I discarded it the next day after striping all the ironmongery from it.

 

[thetyreman]

nice bench! should be handy, once you've made one it's impossible to go back.

 

[RobNichols]

I got it on ebay. It was labelled: William Marples Shamrock Rising Pillar Bench Stop

Yes - I did wonder if that would lead to a repeated debate.

@Adam W. If you fancy one of those bench stops, there is another one on ebay: RARE Vintage Carpenters Bench Stop, Possibly Morrills Of USA.??? | eBay