The newly finished Roubo workbench, made of ash

Our attempt at building a split-top Roubo workbench is, more or less, complete. We put the finishing touches on it over the weekend, and suffice to say, things are feeling pretty good right now. This workbench is going to enable us to do some serious woodworking not just immediately, but likely for a long, long time…

The Split Top Roubo Workbench

By the way, if you’re seeing this for the first time, here’s a link that explains just what the heck a “Roubo workbench” is. Basically, it’s a very heavy workbench for any variety of woodworking projects. The distinguishing features are: the overall heavy mass, useful because the bench will never shift around as you work on it. The legs are flush with the top, which means you can use the legs as a clamping surface. The top is very thick, so it’s strong and heavy and you can use holdfasts to pinch your work. Also, the top is in two pieces, so the bench is easy to disassemble if/when it needs to be moved, plus they’re narrow enough to send through a planer to refinish at some future date.

The workbench top is two separate pieces, a surprisingly handy feature

Here are the specs on our workbench.

• 8/4 ash for the top and legs
• Top is 8′ long, 3 1/2″ thick
• Overall height of workbench is 34″
• Has two leg vises, on opposite corners so two people can use the bench simultaneously
• Features a sliding deadman, which is very useful for clamping long pieces in conjunction with the leg vise
• Hardware for the leg vises came from Lee Valley (these tail vise screws), very inexpensive and completely adequate
• Storage shelf underneath made of cherry

The ash was a dream to work with. We had to get creative around some borer damage in some of the pieces, but overall we made out pretty well. Somehow, we had just enough material for the job.

The ash workbench top is 8′ long, and 3 1/2 in. thick

The only thing remaining is drilling a few more holes for holdfasts. We’re waiting until we have a totally clear idea of how we want to position the holes. (The holdfasts we’ve got are from Gramercy Tools, inexpensive and very good quality.)

Thankfully, the top is dead flat. We literally used a couple plane shavings folded in half to zero in on a totally flat work surface.

The Lee Valley tail vise screw can be used to make an effective leg vise (also, bonus: can you spot the plane shaving we used as a shim to level the bench top?)

This sliding deadman is great for clamping long pieces in conjunction with the leg vise

This shelf made of cherry is ship-lapped and not actually fastened to the stretchers

This workbench is by far the most important woodworking tool we now own. Words cannot convey how excited I am to have a proper work surface instead of struggling over a pair of sawhorses. This bench will enable Jacob to make more banjos in our own space, and I’m going to start making more Windsor chairs now that I’ve got a solid work surface. (Also now that I have most of the tools from a successful GoFundMe campaign too, by the way!)

This is just the beginning.

The most important woodworking tool we now own…