I finished the Roubo/Holtzapffel-hybrid bench inspired by Chris Schwarz’s book this past weekend. The bench is made from southern yellow pine and a collection of other wood types from off-cuts, etc. The front vise jaws, 2″ plane stop, and deadman are mahogany, the shelf dowels are walnut, the end vise jaws are maple, the left-end plane stop is oak, etc…whatever I could scrounge up for each step. This bench is designed to be USED, so I was not worried about matching.
It is basically the French Roubo-style bench that I modified by adding the sliding deadman, a Veritas twin-screw vise
(24″ between centers, 42″ overall) and a 1/2 length tool tray. The end-vise is a Groz metal vise. I cut the slot into the bottom of the front, left leg in case I ever want to switch to a leg vise. I drilled dog-holes into the bottom shelf for storage of dog devices under the bench (see below the front vise).
Notice the Chris Schwarz designed plane stop on this end of the bench. Loosen the screws and raise the plane-stop board to the desired height. The screws ride is a T-track mounted in to the end of the bench top.
Above is the metal end-vise. Notice the tool tray slots to the right. The bottom of the tool tray slides out this side for cleaning.
Better view of the tool tray. Both vises are through-bolted for strength. Those are the bolts in the bottom left. Note the only knot that I did not manage to bury in the bench top somewhere, visible next to the bolts.
This is how the tool tray bottoms (two pieces) slide out for cleaning. They can be completely removed.
The bench is finished with two coats of Danish Oil that will be renewed as needed.
All joints are doweled together for extra strength (some are draw-bored and some are not).
I really like the 2″-square plane stop block insert into the bench top above. It can be moved up and down as needed. It is held in place by friction alone.
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About mattsanf
Matthew Sanfilippo is currently Executive Director of PSII (Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator) and the CenSCIR (Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure), Associate Director of ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
Prior to CMU, Matthew was Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, a large engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed a technology consulting division for Baker including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality (VR), visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services.
Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on Information Security, Supply Chain, Network and Mobility Solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies after investment.
Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, a Boston-based engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up division that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics.
Matt is current board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania, a board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), and a former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also a former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.
Congratulations. A big project done and done well. Have you had a chance to put it through its paces in the last two weeks?
Thanks Karl,
I love the bench so far. I haven’t found anything to change yet. It is rock solid and I like the twin screw vise and other work holding items.
I’ll let you know if I find anything that I want to change as I work more with the bench.
Matt
Great workbench. Also, nice tool tray slash waste area. Friction-only 2″ stop.. good idea!