Roubo-Moxon Bench Build #6: Legs Are Made to Stand

Simply amazing, if I say so myself. I’m still waiting for you to finish so I can copy it. Sort of .

-- My hear doesn't beat, it wobbles.......

Hey thanks dude! If you get started now you’ll probably catch up to me! :P

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

I will be happy to, but I’m working on my Hot rod saw at the current time. With my bench, I’m planning to use all wooden vise screws. I’m really stoked at trying (even if it fails miserably) to make a wooden wagon vise….. We’ll see how it goes, and I’m sure I’ll be posting how I make the screw (and the failed attempts).

I didn’t catch what you’ve made yours out of, but mine is probably going to be all or mostly red oak, since I have a ton of it. Most all of the pieces I have range from 1×3 x 6’ to 3/4×1 x 6’, so I plan on doing a lot of laminating and gluing…..

-- My hear doesn't beat, it wobbles.......

Nice! Are you making or buying all your screws? I bought a 1 1/2” threading kit for a double-screw vise that will mount on the bench top. Buying wooden screws is pricey!

As for my wood, I may have mentioned it way long ago, but it’s all made of reject timber (mostly seraya, which is a local hardwood here on Borneo). Thus the mismatched colors in the wood. Lots of laminating is time-consuming but so far I’ve not had to really do any preparation of the stock prior to glueup which is pretty sweet!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

I’m making my screws, probably using a very small router and 60 degree v bit. I’m planning on making a router lathe of sorts. If that doesn’t work, then I’m on to plan B which is to cut the whole thing by hand. I did by a 1-1/2 and 3/4 screw box and tap. I plan to use the 1-1/2 for the wagon vise, but I don’t know if the threads will be deep enough to hold well. We’ll see.

The stock I’ve got will need a little attention to get it back to uniformity, it came from a good friend so I can’t complain.

-- My hear doesn't beat, it wobbles.......

Cool. I wouldn’t worry too much about the potentially weak threads on the 1 1/2” kit. Wagon vises aren’t typically used for major clamping or pulling right? Just to hold something in place for planing or what have you. I seriously considered a wagon vise for my bench but all the dogholes just looked wrong on my drawing. I guess I’m a minimalist!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

Eric – cutting 6×6 witha ryoba like this takes some serious skills! nicely done! looking forward to seeing those bases come together.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I don’t know about skills – each leg rocked pretty bad when I first stood it up! My block plane had a bit of work to do to get it flat. I did keep the saw’s blade waxed, which helped near the end.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

From the first photo it looks like you were cutting from the far corner, pulling the saw up. In this video, Allan Little shows to pull it in a downward movement instead. Not sure what difference it makes since your legs are at least 4 times bigger than his piece, but maybe you got some more experience on the matter since you’ve cut these legs ?

Hey Damien, thanks for your comment! To answer your question, YES that definitely was not the most ergonomic way to to cut those things. I actually have some Japanese sawing trestles, and can’t remember why I didn’t use those to cut the legs. I could saw them just slightly bent over, and pulling up which is better overall with the Japanese saws. I suppose if the work was as high as in the picture above, yeah, it would be more comfortable to pull down.

EDIT: Now that I watched the video, I see that one disadvantage to cutting the way Allan does is that you have less control over the direction of your saw. It’s much harder to alter your course once it’s set. But for rough cuts, yeah, I’m sure I have done it that way plenty! Thanks though for the link – there are several videos on there that I am going to watch when I have time – good stuff!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com