Beech posts

[jamesd]

You need to get this brilliant book and make the Roubo bench (one on the cover)

 

Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use (Popular Woodworking): Christopher Schwarz: 9781558708402: Amazon.com: Books

 

Instead of solid legs, I made mine by laminating 3no. 2" x 6" together with the middle laminate left long to produce the tennon. That way you only need to dry 2" sections and your tennon shoulders are cut with the bench saw and are nice and flat. Mine's 10' long and is a weighty beasty.

 

It's a lovely bench and I made mine from Southern Yellow Pine and a second one out of Douglas.

 

A Beech one would be excellent, but you need dry timber for the top, otherwise the laminates will split apart if you use his design for the leg frames.

 

All the fittings from Veritas, like the vice screw, dogs and hold fasts are available from Axminster Power Tools.

 

Cheers for the info have you got chris schwarz's other book?:

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbench-Design-Christopher-Schwarz/dp/1440310408]Workbench Design: Amazon.co.uk: Christopher Schwarz: 0035313651564: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51asqIxk1QL.@@AMEPARAM@@51asqIxk1QL[/ame]

I've been thinking about getting that one as it has a few more design ideas in it.

 

I've been thinking about buying a moisture meter for the wood to see how dry it is can anyone recommend one?

[Aunt Maud]

No, I've only got the blue one. I found the instructions really easy to follow and the bench is excellent. I put the "crochet" (the hook at the end of the bench by the vice, in the cover photo) on the opposite corner to the leg vice.

 

The leg vice is very powerful too, although a bit funky to get used to. I wouldn't swap it out now though.

 

The top is 2" x 4" laminate and I think it's 2'6" wide. It felt narrow at first but I think it's really well thought out. The extra weight is appreciated, especially when scrub planing doors, as it doesn't move at all.

 

I'm sure the other book will be just as good a read and you won't be wasting any money buying both. The photos are very nice too.

[jamesd]

I like the look of those benches by chris schwarz, its pretty similar to what i've been thinking of making.

 

As the wood is still Green would it be worth making up the frame from the posts (which hopefully won't move too much) and then dry the wood out for the top?

Or should i just construct it all together and hope for the best?

 

I would like to know the moisture content of the wood as it was felled last year, its only now that i've have got the chance to start milling it!

[se7enthdevil]

i wouldn't bother with a moisture meter as you can tell if it's dry when it stops losing weight.

 

 

i turn my skittle blanks and let their weight tell me if they are dry or not. also you can measure the block and get its volume to see how many cubic foot it is and work out what it should weigh for dry material.

 

i do this to get a goal weight for my blanks and when they are near it i turn them into skittles, i realise this may be a bit loose for joinery terms but as it's only a workbench it could still be applied.

[Aunt Maud]

Trouble is, it's a finely crafted workbench that's supposed to last a long time and you don't want it "literally" coming apart at the seams after all your hard graft.

 

If you follow the instructions in the book and use that design, the glue up for the top is a major event and it's a two man lift, especially with Beech. Make sure you've got plenty of heavy duty sash cramps, I used 10 on the top for the glue up.

 

If it was mine, and I've been wanting to make a Beech one myself, I'd convert it all to 2" x "as big as you can get" slabs and dry it outside in the wind with a cover on it until I'm sure it's dry.

 

If you've only just sawn the timber, it needs seasoning. While it's seasoning you can make all the other fancy stuff to pass the time.

[jamesd]

Trouble is, it's a finely crafted workbench that's supposed to last a long time and you don't want it "literally" coming apart at the seams after all your hard graft.

 

If you follow the instructions in the book and use that design, the glue up for the top is a major event and it's a two man lift, especially with Beech. Make sure you've got plenty of heavy duty sash cramps, I used 10 on the top for the glue up.

 

If it was mine, and I've been wanting to make a Beech one myself, I'd convert it all to 2" x "as big as you can get" slabs and dry it outside in the wind with a cover on it until I'm sure it's dry.

 

If you've only just sawn the timber, it needs seasoning. While it's seasoning you can make all the other fancy stuff to pass the time.

 

Cheers for the help, just one other question what size rails did you use to join the legs together? 4x2's?

[spiral]

As I recall, the original Roubo type benches were constructed originaly from semi green timber.

 

The top shrinkage pulls it into a more A frame shape & any twisting in frame adds to its strength.

 

It was originally designed to be built from large timbers not laminations.

 

spiral

[Aunt Maud]

In the plans it goes:

 

Legs 5" x 5"

Long Stretchers 2.5" x 3.75"

End Stretchers 2.5" x 3"

Top 4" x 24"

 

 

I didn't peg the top down on mine, as we were moving house shortly after I made it and moving it down stairs to the road would have been a major epic, so I made the tennons a joinery fit instead.

 

The timber I used was kiln dried and there's no gaps in any of the joints. Having done a lot of milling and framing with Oak and Scots Pine and seeing how it shrinks and cups, I wouldn't make it out of green timber using those plans, I'd use tusk tennons to hold it all together instead.

 

If you make the tusk tenons blind on the legs short rails, you could still mount a wooden leg vice.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Aunt Maud

[jamesd]

In the plans it goes:

 

Legs 5" x 5"

Long Stretchers 2.5" x 3.75"

End Stretchers 2.5" x 3"

Top 4" x 24"

 

 

I didn't peg the top down on mine, as we were moving house shortly after I made it and moving it down stairs to the road would have been a major epic, so I made the tennons a joinery fit instead.

 

The timber I used was kiln dried and there's no gaps in any of the joints. Having done a lot of milling and framing with Oak and Scots Pine and seeing how it shrinks and cups, I wouldn't make it out of green timber using those plans, I'd use tusk tennons to hold it all together instead.

 

If you make the tusk tenons blind on the legs short rails, you could still mount a wooden leg vice.

 

I was thinking of using drawboard mortice and tenons as the wood is still green.

I suppose the advantage of using the tusk mortice and tenons would be you can just tap the peg down some more if the joint moves?

I'm not sure how a blind tusk mortice and tenon works though? Never seen one before.

 

I'm a complete novice at this btw!

[jamesd]

As Alec says brilliant for bench legs inside. Rubbish for bench legs outside.

Definitely worth protecting from insect attack though.

 

Is this the sort of stuff i need to protect the Beech from wood worm etc?:

https://www.twistfix.co.uk/wood-treatment-wykabor-10