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Workbench build - roubo

12K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  buck_cpa 
#1 ·
Legs first

Legs first… I know this seems backwards (especially given the various blogs and books on the subject) but I'm going to give it a shot.

My neighbor gave me a 12' 6Ă—6 pressure treated beam. I read somewhere that you should not use this stuff in the shop, but I've been around the stuff my whole life and it hasn't affected me. Nevertheless, that's what I'm using for the legs. I cut the legs to 35" on the chopsaw and planed them square (they were far from square) to about 5.25" x 5.25".

Wood Flooring Hardwood Trunk Wood stain


Then I used the tablesaw to cut the tenons. I will post some pictures of my setup later, but it was pretty simple. My benchtop is going to be built out of 2Ă—4s (1.5" wide construction grade), so I used a 2Ă—4 as my guide and drew some horizontal lines across the top of the leg where the bench will be. Then I setup a vertical tenon cutting jig on the tablesaw and cut those lines (cutting to the waste side of the line). My ridgid tablesaw can cut up to 3.5" deep, which is perfect my 2Ă—4 top. After making my primary vertical cuts (3 of them), I laid the leg flat and cut the rear shoulder off. Then I stood it back up and made several vertical cuts to remove the waste (much like a dado blade would). I cleaned up the middle with a wide chisel.

I thought the front angled cuts would be difficult, but they were actually pretty easy. I don't trust my handsaw skills yet, so I did the following to get a good kerf: put the tablesaw blade at a 45, align the fence to take off the corner (take time getting this aligned) and make a 1" deep cut. If your leg is square, you can turn it over and make your other cut. Square leg, 45 degree angles, couldn't be simpler. Finish the vertical cut with a handsaw. Then I cut the shoulder off.

When I was done, I tested the fit with a 2×4… fit pretty snug.

Wood Publication Floor Flooring Wood stain


Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Flooring Road surface
 

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#2 ·
Legs first

Legs first… I know this seems backwards (especially given the various blogs and books on the subject) but I'm going to give it a shot.

My neighbor gave me a 12' 6Ă—6 pressure treated beam. I read somewhere that you should not use this stuff in the shop, but I've been around the stuff my whole life and it hasn't affected me. Nevertheless, that's what I'm using for the legs. I cut the legs to 35" on the chopsaw and planed them square (they were far from square) to about 5.25" x 5.25".

Wood Flooring Hardwood Trunk Wood stain


Then I used the tablesaw to cut the tenons. I will post some pictures of my setup later, but it was pretty simple. My benchtop is going to be built out of 2Ă—4s (1.5" wide construction grade), so I used a 2Ă—4 as my guide and drew some horizontal lines across the top of the leg where the bench will be. Then I setup a vertical tenon cutting jig on the tablesaw and cut those lines (cutting to the waste side of the line). My ridgid tablesaw can cut up to 3.5" deep, which is perfect my 2Ă—4 top. After making my primary vertical cuts (3 of them), I laid the leg flat and cut the rear shoulder off. Then I stood it back up and made several vertical cuts to remove the waste (much like a dado blade would). I cleaned up the middle with a wide chisel.

I thought the front angled cuts would be difficult, but they were actually pretty easy. I don't trust my handsaw skills yet, so I did the following to get a good kerf: put the tablesaw blade at a 45, align the fence to take off the corner (take time getting this aligned) and make a 1" deep cut. If your leg is square, you can turn it over and make your other cut. Square leg, 45 degree angles, couldn't be simpler. Finish the vertical cut with a handsaw. Then I cut the shoulder off.

When I was done, I tested the fit with a 2×4… fit pretty snug.

Wood Publication Floor Flooring Wood stain


Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Flooring Road surface
Those legs look good, Buck!
 

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#3 ·
Legs first

Legs first… I know this seems backwards (especially given the various blogs and books on the subject) but I'm going to give it a shot.

My neighbor gave me a 12' 6Ă—6 pressure treated beam. I read somewhere that you should not use this stuff in the shop, but I've been around the stuff my whole life and it hasn't affected me. Nevertheless, that's what I'm using for the legs. I cut the legs to 35" on the chopsaw and planed them square (they were far from square) to about 5.25" x 5.25".

Wood Flooring Hardwood Trunk Wood stain


Then I used the tablesaw to cut the tenons. I will post some pictures of my setup later, but it was pretty simple. My benchtop is going to be built out of 2Ă—4s (1.5" wide construction grade), so I used a 2Ă—4 as my guide and drew some horizontal lines across the top of the leg where the bench will be. Then I setup a vertical tenon cutting jig on the tablesaw and cut those lines (cutting to the waste side of the line). My ridgid tablesaw can cut up to 3.5" deep, which is perfect my 2Ă—4 top. After making my primary vertical cuts (3 of them), I laid the leg flat and cut the rear shoulder off. Then I stood it back up and made several vertical cuts to remove the waste (much like a dado blade would). I cleaned up the middle with a wide chisel.

I thought the front angled cuts would be difficult, but they were actually pretty easy. I don't trust my handsaw skills yet, so I did the following to get a good kerf: put the tablesaw blade at a 45, align the fence to take off the corner (take time getting this aligned) and make a 1" deep cut. If your leg is square, you can turn it over and make your other cut. Square leg, 45 degree angles, couldn't be simpler. Finish the vertical cut with a handsaw. Then I cut the shoulder off.

When I was done, I tested the fit with a 2×4… fit pretty snug.

Wood Publication Floor Flooring Wood stain


Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Flooring Road surface
The large sized materials look far robust than mine on a similar bench I used multiple 2Ă—6's.
The think the treated lumber legs in your application works well. Nice job, I'll continue to watch your progress.
 

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#4 ·
Legs first

Legs first… I know this seems backwards (especially given the various blogs and books on the subject) but I'm going to give it a shot.

My neighbor gave me a 12' 6Ă—6 pressure treated beam. I read somewhere that you should not use this stuff in the shop, but I've been around the stuff my whole life and it hasn't affected me. Nevertheless, that's what I'm using for the legs. I cut the legs to 35" on the chopsaw and planed them square (they were far from square) to about 5.25" x 5.25".

Wood Flooring Hardwood Trunk Wood stain


Then I used the tablesaw to cut the tenons. I will post some pictures of my setup later, but it was pretty simple. My benchtop is going to be built out of 2Ă—4s (1.5" wide construction grade), so I used a 2Ă—4 as my guide and drew some horizontal lines across the top of the leg where the bench will be. Then I setup a vertical tenon cutting jig on the tablesaw and cut those lines (cutting to the waste side of the line). My ridgid tablesaw can cut up to 3.5" deep, which is perfect my 2Ă—4 top. After making my primary vertical cuts (3 of them), I laid the leg flat and cut the rear shoulder off. Then I stood it back up and made several vertical cuts to remove the waste (much like a dado blade would). I cleaned up the middle with a wide chisel.

I thought the front angled cuts would be difficult, but they were actually pretty easy. I don't trust my handsaw skills yet, so I did the following to get a good kerf: put the tablesaw blade at a 45, align the fence to take off the corner (take time getting this aligned) and make a 1" deep cut. If your leg is square, you can turn it over and make your other cut. Square leg, 45 degree angles, couldn't be simpler. Finish the vertical cut with a handsaw. Then I cut the shoulder off.

When I was done, I tested the fit with a 2×4… fit pretty snug.

Wood Publication Floor Flooring Wood stain


Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Flooring Road surface
Buck, welcome to the club. I did my legs first as well! Working on the top now. Looking forward to more details.
 

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#5 ·
The top

For the top, I decided to use construction grade 2Ă—4s. However, I did not realize that I was short by a few when I started. My father in law gave me some redwood 2Ă—6s from a deck he took down a few years ago. He told me all the rich people in Belle Meade, TN used to have their decks built from the stuff, but now you can't find the stuff anywhere. The 2Ă—6s he gave me were rotten for first inch. I ripped it off the top inch at the tbsw and planed them down to 1.5". Then I ripped a 0.25" off each 2Ă—4 at the tbsw, to take off the rounded edges.

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This is what them all squared (no round edges).

Table Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor


I took the redwood pieces to the mitersaw and cut the 45s necessary to receive the front dovetail of the leg. I pretty much cut all the pieces that would fill the spaces around the legs. This is a dry fit of what it looks like dry fit.

Wood Table Cabinetry Floor Flooring


Wood Table Flooring Floor Wood stain


At this point, I measured all my pieces carefully and cut duplicates for the other side. This ensured the legs would be square front to back. I tried to do a glue up of the above and it was a nightmare. No matter how many clamps, surfaces, hands that I used, I could not get it to work. I decided to use some oak pegs (3/8"). Since I was using them for the stretchers, I thought it might look kinda cool also. So I clamped some cauls and ensured it was flat (within reason) and drilled some long holes with an auger bit.

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Then I glued it up, pounded some pegs, and clamped it. I was really surprised how well the pegs lined everything up. I might use this method in the future for more rustic projects.

Wood Wood stain Plank Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Plank


Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Rectangle


Wood Flooring Hardwood Gas Composite material


Wood Flooring Hardwood Composite material Plank


Then I glued up the center section. Individually, the sections were less than 12" (6" for the sides and 11" for the middle), so they all fit through my desktop planer. I was able to get them all to same relative thickness. Then I glued them all up… all clamps and cauls on deck! This is before I took the No. 7 to it.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Plank


Next entry will have the end caps and finished top.
 

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#6 ·
The top

For the top, I decided to use construction grade 2Ă—4s. However, I did not realize that I was short by a few when I started. My father in law gave me some redwood 2Ă—6s from a deck he took down a few years ago. He told me all the rich people in Belle Meade, TN used to have their decks built from the stuff, but now you can't find the stuff anywhere. The 2Ă—6s he gave me were rotten for first inch. I ripped it off the top inch at the tbsw and planed them down to 1.5". Then I ripped a 0.25" off each 2Ă—4 at the tbsw, to take off the rounded edges.

Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Hardwood


This is what them all squared (no round edges).

Table Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor


I took the redwood pieces to the mitersaw and cut the 45s necessary to receive the front dovetail of the leg. I pretty much cut all the pieces that would fill the spaces around the legs. This is a dry fit of what it looks like dry fit.

Wood Table Cabinetry Floor Flooring


Wood Table Flooring Floor Wood stain


At this point, I measured all my pieces carefully and cut duplicates for the other side. This ensured the legs would be square front to back. I tried to do a glue up of the above and it was a nightmare. No matter how many clamps, surfaces, hands that I used, I could not get it to work. I decided to use some oak pegs (3/8"). Since I was using them for the stretchers, I thought it might look kinda cool also. So I clamped some cauls and ensured it was flat (within reason) and drilled some long holes with an auger bit.

Handheld power drill Wood Vacuum cleaner Flooring Tool


Then I glued it up, pounded some pegs, and clamped it. I was really surprised how well the pegs lined everything up. I might use this method in the future for more rustic projects.

Wood Wood stain Plank Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Plank


Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor Rectangle


Wood Flooring Hardwood Gas Composite material


Wood Flooring Hardwood Composite material Plank


Then I glued up the center section. Individually, the sections were less than 12" (6" for the sides and 11" for the middle), so they all fit through my desktop planer. I was able to get them all to same relative thickness. Then I glued them all up… all clamps and cauls on deck! This is before I took the No. 7 to it.

Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain Plank


Next entry will have the end caps and finished top.
Nice work.
 

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#7 ·
End caps

For the end caps I decided to use some walnut I bought a while ago. I went with a standard C-channel end cap. I really wanted to do a sliding dovetail, but it seemed a little too difficult at this point in my woodworking.

Wheel Bicycle Tire Table Vehicle


First I cut a straight edge with my circular saw across the end. I flipped it over and offset my cut 1/16" and finished the cut. Then I used a pattern bit and cleaned up the 1/16" excess. I read somewhere this method was much easier that attempting to match up the circular saw cuts, and I think that is true. This is prior to cutting the shoulders for the end cap.

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To cut the shoulders (not really sure what to call them), I considered using a router. It seemed like that would take forever and I always seem to wobble the router and take out a chunk and screw up the project. So I used my circular saw. I set the depth @ 15/16" and setup a cutting guide. I made several straight cuts, then I slightly turned the saw and pushed it through. The saw guide prevented me from unnecessarily cutting into the benchtop (beyond the edge of the end caps). I learned this method watching my father in law cut dadoes in 6Ă—6's when constructing decks.

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Automotive tire Wood Road surface Bumper Flooring


I cleaned it up with a chisel.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Hardwood Tints and shades


Wood Floor Waste container Gas Flooring


Then I took my end caps to the tbsw and setup my dado stack and cut the female portion of the joint. I used several test pieces of scrap lumber to get the fit right.

Wood Flooring Rectangle Tints and shades Composite material


After I got the fit right, I counterbored three holes in each end cap. Then I fastened the end cap to the top with three 2" lag bolts.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Slope


The finished benchtop.

Outdoor bench Wood Street furniture Outdoor furniture Bench
 

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#8 ·
End caps

For the end caps I decided to use some walnut I bought a while ago. I went with a standard C-channel end cap. I really wanted to do a sliding dovetail, but it seemed a little too difficult at this point in my woodworking.

Wheel Bicycle Tire Table Vehicle


First I cut a straight edge with my circular saw across the end. I flipped it over and offset my cut 1/16" and finished the cut. Then I used a pattern bit and cleaned up the 1/16" excess. I read somewhere this method was much easier that attempting to match up the circular saw cuts, and I think that is true. This is prior to cutting the shoulders for the end cap.

Table Furniture Wood Desk Floor


To cut the shoulders (not really sure what to call them), I considered using a router. It seemed like that would take forever and I always seem to wobble the router and take out a chunk and screw up the project. So I used my circular saw. I set the depth @ 15/16" and setup a cutting guide. I made several straight cuts, then I slightly turned the saw and pushed it through. The saw guide prevented me from unnecessarily cutting into the benchtop (beyond the edge of the end caps). I learned this method watching my father in law cut dadoes in 6Ă—6's when constructing decks.

Automotive tire Wood Rim Automotive wheel system Gas


Automotive tire Wood Road surface Bumper Flooring


I cleaned it up with a chisel.

Wood Rectangle Flooring Hardwood Tints and shades


Wood Floor Waste container Gas Flooring


Then I took my end caps to the tbsw and setup my dado stack and cut the female portion of the joint. I used several test pieces of scrap lumber to get the fit right.

Wood Flooring Rectangle Tints and shades Composite material


After I got the fit right, I counterbored three holes in each end cap. Then I fastened the end cap to the top with three 2" lag bolts.

Wood Rectangle Wood stain Hardwood Flooring


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Plank Slope


The finished benchtop.

Outdoor bench Wood Street furniture Outdoor furniture Bench
Looking good!
 

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#10 ·
Stretchers

The stretchers are made from construction 2Ă—6s. I cut a 1/4" off each side to make square (no round edges) and let them sit in the shop for a month or so. One of them twisted, so I was glad I had extras. I followed Schwarz's plans pretty closely as far as the dimensions and making the stretchers coplaner with the legs. First I put the legs through the benchtop (upside down) and marked all of my mortises using a few smaller pieces of the 2Ă—6s that would be the actual stretchers. Then I used a chisel and cut a 1/8" deep mortise. I found this helps me a great deal when drilling out the bulk with a forstner bit.



Then I hogged out the waste at the drill press.



Drilled mortises. You can see that I could have mitered my stretchers for some full contact through the legs. I tried this method, but getting the lay out right, with drilling the pegs, plus having it secured through the benchtop… all by myself… was a nightmare. So I just cut the stretchers long and relied on wood glue, pegs, lots of weight, 1.5" shoulders, etc.





I also cut the necessary mortises for the leg vise.



Then I cut my stretchers and started getting everything square. I was surprised at how close everything was with the method I used for top. It didn't take too long to get everything square.





Then I drove some 3/8" oak pegs all the way through the legs. No drawboring, I didn't cut shoulders on my stretchers. I don't have a picture of the clamping, but I had all clamps on deck to get these stretchers secured before I drilled the holes for the pegs.





Then I cut the coplaner piece of the stretchers and glued all the way around. That's about it for the stretchers. I used my smoothing plane to get the stetchers relatively flat and looking like one solid piece.









 

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