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Question: I am a beginner woodworker, so I don’t have a workbench yet. I’ve been looking and wondering if I should make my own bench or buy a starter one. Then I read your article and found that doesn’t seem to be too hard to actually build one. I need a table saw, a jointer and a planer and hand tools.
But then again I noticed through your pictures that you are building a Roubo workbench on top of a previous workbench. That makes me wonder again if your first bench should be bought, what do you think about that?
Second, let’s say that I figured out to get a surface to work on, and I still want to make this bench, can you send me a more detailed picture or instructions about the leg vise’s parallel guide? Do you think that the Veritas Twin-screw Vise would work in the same way? (I mean placed vertically and without the parallel guide.)
When attaching the crochet, did you attach it using only bolts, or did you glue it, too? And when working towards the crochet it looks like you are using considerable pressure on your work piece towards the crochet. How do you prevent the crochet from marking your piece?
, Pedro Massabi�©, Oakville, Ontario
Answer: You don’t need a bench to build a bench. I built the Roubo workbench on sawhorses. The Shop Box system from the same issue of Woodworking Magazine would also be a good place to start. We use those boxes every day in the shop for something.
As to the vise and the parallel guide, there’s a photo showing it close up above, which might help explain its structure a bit more. I don’t think you would need to use the Veritas Twin-Screw Vise in the manner you suggest. If I were going to drop the coin on that vise, I’d want to use it like a tail vise on the end of the bench or as a face vise, but oriented horizontally shown by the manufacturer. I have this vise on my bench at home and it is quite nice.
As to the crochet, it is not glued to the bench (good question). It simply is bolted. This will allow me to remove it if I ever get tired of it (not bloody likely). And the crochet , when shaped the way we show it , does not mar the work. Not even softwoods. The design, which came from Adam Cherubini, is perfect.
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i like the leg vise you made dot you have a diagram of it some were i’am very intrested in the bottom of it,i just discovered your magazine i is by far a gem
thanks scott