# Selling a Roubo Workbench



## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

I haven't asked a dumb question in hours,so I guess I'm due 

I'm building a Roubo workbench out of solid ash. I'm building it from ash, because I have several thousand bdft kiln dried hardwood lumber I need to do something with. Building a Roubo seemed like a good way to use up some of the lower grade wood. Even the worst of it is 10" wide, 8/4 10-11 ft long. My dad and I milled the lumber on his land in Maine and had it kiln dried locally so it the cost to me for lumber was much less than even the cheapest dimensional pine lumber.

What I've learned so far is that building benches is enormous fun. Since I have an essentially bottomless supply of hard maple, ash, and birch, I'd like to build another one when I'm done. It seems like a good way to use up a lot of lumber. I don't need two benches though, so it seems like it would make sense to sell the first one before I start another one.

The Roubo is just plain vanilla, with a 3.5" thick top that is 24" x 8' long. I wont include hardware if i sell it of course. It will basically be a blank canvas. It takes about 30-40hrs to build one so it seems silly just to give it away. I imagine that just the wood alone has some value. What do you suppose is a reasonable asking price for such a thing? Obviously, it would only be worth what someone will pay for it, and it's sheer size and weight limit the geography of potential buyers, but just the same, I'd like to have a sense of what a reasonable asking price would befor a plain vanilla Roubo.

Like I said, it's a bit of a dumb question because there are so many variables that influence price. Just the same, what do you suppose a fair asking price is?


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

$800.00-1.000.00. If it's really nicely done and 350-450 lbs. And, buyer pays shipping. Just my estimate cuz I don't currently need, nor have room for an 8 footer.


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## MAKZ06 (Jun 17, 2013)

I would think the level of detail and quality of the work would have the most to do with value and what would be a reasonable asking price. How about some pics of the progress so far?


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## Wally331 (Nov 8, 2012)

You could sell bench kits too, basically the amount of lumber you need for a roubo, in the correct lengths and thickness's. I bet you could make a ton of money that way, and get rid of some wood.


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## JayG46 (Apr 24, 2013)

You might want to put some effort into finding potential buyers before building. I've built quite a few things on spec or just for fun only to have someone request something slightly different, leaving me stuck with the original. Benches are a personal thing and a build-to-order situation could make sense. You're almost always going to get more for something customized than something pre-made or "vanilla", if you're concerned about that kind of thing.

Also, I grew up near Albany and come back every summer and would probably buy some of that lumber from you if you want to sell it.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Darn I'm near Albany wish I could afford one. Good luck.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

$10 and you have to transport it to Binghamton.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

Someone in Tucson built a custom bench that looked a lot like mine (big, two vices, drawers underneath) but with purpleheart and other exotic woods, dovetailed trim and all sorts of goodies. He was asking over a grand for it on craigslist and it was listed for many months before disappearing. I don't know if he gave up or if he found a buyer. I'll go +1 to the suggestion to find buyers first. I'd also take a hard look at all the workbenches that can be ordered online (from Harbor Freight on up to custom builds) and look at the prices there.


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

Jay & JustJoe

You're right of course that it's almost always best to find a buyer first when it comes to woodworking rather than building on spec. In this case however, if it doesn't sell, I'll just keep and use it myself. If it does sell, I'll just build another. Regardless of the outcome I want a Roubo as an upgrade over my current bench.

I guess I'll just finish the build and post on craigslist and see what happens. I imagine the wood alone is worth $500, so if I can't get at least that for it, there isn't much point selling it


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

I think you'd make more money if you just sold the lumber.


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

Probably true. It's hard to imagine anyone local would pay $1,000 for a workbench.

I don't see myself going into the retail lumber business though. I don't want to waste my weekends waiting for craigslist people who never show up. I guess I'll have to figure out a better way to whittle down my lumber pile.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

I think expecting 400-600 is somewhat reasonable (depending on market of course) for a "vanilla" bench with no hardware, add $200+ if hardware installed/included (depending on hardware of course)

I don't think it's a paying off business plan unless you are mass producing them or just doing it for run.


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

You might be better off building 2 smaller non-roubo benches for someone getting started that can't/won't build their own.


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## Jasonjenkins (Jan 4, 2014)

Not the most fun answer, but you could consider selling the wood directly. If you could find a decent way to ship, out west we pay a crazy amount for hardwoods… (unless there is some discount hardwood retailer i haven't been told about yet??) That or do some butcher block type bench tops and list them for sale. Need a good way to join to a base, but someone just starting out like me would do well with a dimensional lumber base that is well made, with a solid hardwood top that has been prepped for hardware install. Solid wood tops are expensive from woodcraft type retailers, and you could charge more for drilling bench dogs, shipping with vise, etc.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I think it could work, but there are a couple of things to consider. One is that it would be a lot easier to transport if the legs and base were left un-assembled so people could haul them in their mini van, suv, or whatever and not have to have a truck. Another thing is that some may want leg vises and or wagon vises these are difficult to add later, especially the wagon vise. It helps on the leg vise to be able to mount the leg on a drill press and be able to use a router on it, both operations would be tough after assembly. So that is another argument to offer the base un-assembled. I also think that 8' is pretty long. When I built mine I went w/ 6 1/2' because that is the max size that would work in my shop. I suspect that maybe there is more of a market for people that have small shops as I think most guys that have large shops would build their own.


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

The bench kit idea is an interesting one. I don't think that I would ever be able to do anything other than a local pick-up or a delivery radius of 100 miles or so though. The shipping costs would exceed the value of the lumber for a small operater shipping just a few benches per year. It's an interesting thought just the same. It would allow me to sell 200bdft at a time, preselected so I don't have people wasting my time picking out one board after an hour of picking through the lumber rack in my basement.

A smaller bench is probably a good idea too. For that matter, as other people mentioned, offering custom benches is probably the smartest way to go of all. The challenge of a custom bench is that I just play in my shop in my spare time, so filling a custom order on a deadline could be tough. Still, it's an intereating idea.

There probably isn't any money in it, but it might generate enough money to buy a new tool every now and then


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

Two things come to mind, if you could post a photo of the bench in a new forum here along the lines of 'would you buy this bench and how much do you think it's worth' you might get a better idea of what people think, the other thing you might consider is just making bench tops, there are always posts on LJ's about how to make/flatten/material to use etc for bench tops.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

The issue is one of market size. You have to appeal to local woodworkers who are a) serious enough to want to drop $1000 or so on a bench (to make it profitable for you) and b) who don't want to make it themselves. My instinct is that there aren't many people in that Venn diagram overlap.

An alternative to making workbenches to sell (commission or as a production run) would be to offer the service of building the bench with the woodworker. Now, you're appealing to novice or intermediate woodworkers who need the guidance and expertise of a mentor to make a great bench, and that would make it worth their while. They'd be getting something they worked on, with your help, rather than an off-the-self thing. Offer it as a package: you provide the design, wood, hardware, expertise, shop space. Offer upgrades and customizations. You've simplified the process of getting them a high quality custom bench, and that's worth money to someone who wouldn't just commission one.


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## Handtooler (Jul 24, 2012)

Shampeon, You have a great idea there! That's what marketing is all about.


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

I like the idea Shampeon. I would have done something like that myself when I was just starting out if it had been possible. Thomas Moser does something like this called "customer in residence". Basically you pay $2k extra to help build your $5k chair 

That said, my guess is that the insurance costs to cover having a customer in my shop using tools, would be triple the cost of the bench, and that assumes I could even get a policy to cover it. My wife would be pissed if a client got a splinter and we lost the house in a lawsuit…


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