roubo bench disappointment

my introduction to roubo

For many years while I was a poor student, I would sit in Borders in the woodworking section and read Scott Landis' The Workbench Book: A Craftsman's Guide to Workbenches for Every Type of Woodworking (The Taunton Press, 1987). Over a few years and several continents (I originally came to love Borders in Singapore), I had read almost half of it sitting on the benches or floor of Borders book shops. I now wonder if I could have afforded to pay for that book if I'd used that time to work. However building the benches like the ones shown in this book were considered a dream. Certainly my preference at that time was to buy the occasional quality tool to allow me to build the occasional project and I've always had a mind for long-term investment and the future potential of the tools I bought. Yet I wish I had splurged to buy this book sooner than I did.

I remember one thing that I really liked about this book, when I started reading it over a decade ago, was Scott's historical interest in workbenches. From the first page you are learning and being drawn into Scott's passion. In the first years of my university life, my mind was opened to investigating historical documents and evidence, which was a strange change from my absolute hatred of high school history classes. So when I eventually found and read Scott's book, I was drawn into his methods, observations and assumptions about particular periods of wooden work benches and their transformed off-spring.

my first wooden work benches

Early on in Scott's book, he makes a very preceptive comment about the Dominys' workbenches (made by a family of woodworkers in East Hampton, Long Island, U.S.A.):

While the Dominys may have lingered somewhat behind the latest innovations in the European capitals, it would be a mistake to consider their benches primitive, or somewhat deficient. Like all traditional tools, they were designed to serve the particular needs of the craftsmen who built them." (The Workbench Book, p. 15)

I can certainly understand these comments. With over three generations of woodworkers in the family, you're going to know the needs of your benches and their suitability for your work.

After I had finished my second degree, I finally had the opportunity to build a few work benches. Since I was busy with travelling and visiting many different groups as part of my job, I only really had a few hours each week to build some benches. The needs were pretty simple: 1. a bench to work on; 2. easily movable; 3. not taking up space in a garage; 4. able to be knocked around; and 5. an easy project to do with Dad. I looked through my collection of woodworking notes and books and found a design for a collapsible worktop bench. I don't think I have the book any more because it probably came from one of those tool shop DIY pamphlets. It was a simple design and easily modified. I wanted to make two of them - one for my father and another for some friends who were letting us live in their basement apartment rent free.

The construction was very simple. The bench top was two MDF pieces glued together with some trim screwed onto the front. The legs were scrap pine 2x4s which a friend gave me (many thanks Mr McPherson!). We used mortise and tenon joints which I pretty much had to do by hand - I used my father's circular saw to get rid of some of the waste on the tenons, but otherwise it was using saws and chisels. The mortises were hand drilled then chiselled. It was certainly a satisfying result, although I must admit the work was a bit shoddy at times. We used the modern version of small wooden stakes through the joints to secure them further, that is countersunk screws. I have since learnt that Christopher Schwartz calls this 'the lost art of drawboring', but I suppose this depends on who you learn from and what books you read. For example, in David Charlesworth's third book, he shows you how to make a dowelling board to make nice, wooden stakes. So I assume it is a regular practise for him. It makes sense to me and it must have been mentioned in some book for me to have done something like this on my bench.

The legs and top were attached to another MDF board using brass piano hinges. This backing board could be held against the wall by a strip of wood or it could stand free wherever you cared to move it. Did it suit our needs? Certainly. It was very sturdy. The MDF top was very strong. You had lots of clamping options. It was mobile. They only stand about 10-15cm out from the wall when folded up so they practically take up no space at all.

As you can see, my father got to them with the paint. Certainly the legs needed painting because the 2x4 builders pine didn't complement the top at all. The MDF backing board was also pretty ghastly when it was placed against the painted garage wall. We had also somehow managed to damage the front of the MDF bench top before putting on the trim. So unfortunately, Dad painted the top of one and had starting on the second before I knew what he was up to him. The filler was noticeable so Dad just painted it. It hides the mistakes but if you were to do any fine woodworking on the bench, I suspect you'd get some paint marks on your project. However, at least he now had somewhere to work.

roubo in landis

Now I eventually purchased a copy of Scott’s book and read it again cover to cover. What I particularly enjoyed about Scott's book, was his objective review of particular historical workbenches, tracing some of the developments or how they were adapted throughout Europe and America. Obviously, the bench which caught my attention was the 18th Century Roubo bench. Admittedly, I have fallen in love with almost all the benches in the book at some time or other (even one of those funky shaving horses although I have no idea what I thought I could make on one of them). However the Roubo bench described and demonstrated is still my passion.

As you look at the pictures from Roubo's original monograph, you have to wonder why he employed that particular artist - to my eyes, it seems the artist had the ability to capture the perspective of the professional woodworkers' shed as perfected later by M. C. Escher. I still laugh when I look at those roof beams (unfortunately not shown in the picture at right). Furthermore, I sometimes wondered if Roubo was a very 'height challenged' man - it looks like the bench top comes to the knee height of some of the workmen, plus the benches are so long they look very short. Either Roubo lived with a very sore back from being bent over double or maybe he made more money from writing about wood working rather than doing it himself? Nevertheless, when you look at Rob Tarule's bench, you obviously see you can 'correct' such a possible height discrepancy.

The other attractive features of this bench are the dovetailed leg tenons through the top of the bench. They just look right for this bench, especially when you consider Tarule just uses a slab of wood. In Australia, there are many tough wood varieties which you consider using in this 'slap a huge slab on some legs' designing. So using dovetail tenons would show a little bit of skill in making such a bench. However, I must admit I am more partial to the more 'traditional' (can you say this when considering all the different bench tops in Landis' book?) laminated top.

I find it interesting that Scott doesn't offer a plan of this workbench in the Appendix. Maybe he considers it a 'slab on some legs', so its not worthy of a dimensioned plan. However, this was appealing to me since building this bench would be a unique challenge. It would be relatively easy to take one of the plans in the back of Scott's book, cut some wood, and build the bench. However, without such a guide, fewer woodworkers would attempt such a build (certainly from the ranks of us amateurs at least), so whatever form of the Roubo bench I built, it would be unique. And certainly one day I hope to build it.

khalaf on roubo

I am unsure know how I stumbled upon Jameel (Khalaf) Abraham's blog, but he has certainly revitalised my interest in the Roubo bench. Jameel was building the 'German version' of the Roubo bench and was doing a fabulous job of it. His attention to clear and informative blogging matches his fine eye and hands for woodworking. I started following the progress of this build from about halfway when he was working on the rolling mechanism for the leg vise. Jameel has done an excellent job and a love the way he continues to develop and refine his bench although he has just completed it!

The German cabinetmaker's bench described by Roubo is not that different from the Roubo bench which Scott Landis mainly speaks about and which Rob Tarule built. Certainly, the only main difference is the use of a sliding leg vise, although some might argue that the tail vise is also a major difference. However it seems to be that the key similarity between the benches is how the legs are flush with the top. These other parts (leg vise, tail vise, bench dogs, holdfasts, etc.) are options which Roubo shows at the bottom of his drawings. I haven't read the original Roubo books, however I wonder if this is how he expected these optional extras to be used. He observed the many configurations of the bench, drew the standard bench, and added a collection of optional extras. I'd be happily corrected in this once the French translation is available for all to read.

What 'optional extras' do I admire about the bench? I suspect I would use both a crochet (hook on the side of the bench) with a full length leg vise. Jameel has made rollers for his leg vise which allows the vise to open and close extremely smoothly. Unfortunately it raises the parallel guide above the shelf and consequently it potentially interferes with items place on the shelf. Consequently, I would build a full length vise which puts the parallel guide below the shelf and out of the way. Another feature I admire about the bench is the bench stop. I enjoy planing and tuning planes, so these would be a helpful device for this task. I have always appreciated having the option to use bench dogs for clamping. The German version in Landis has an enclosed tail vise. I must admit I like the tail vise on Jameel's bench, but it looks a lot more complex to build. Hopefully this style, which Landis describes later as David Powell's Enclosed Tail Vise (often called a wagon vise by some American woodworkers), reduces the tendency of leg vises to distort. As for holdfasts, I am not particularly fussed with them. I have never used a metallic holdfast and I have a collection of good clamps I can use. However, I would see to this type of clamping method later on since the holes for these can be added at any time after the build.

Consequently this is the bench of my dreams.

Or at least it was...

schwarz on roubo

At this point I have to make a confession. Up until this point I had described my intentions to build a Roubo bench and my enthusiasm has been high. But now I have pretty much fully edited this post after reading Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Construction and Use by Christopher Schwarz. Now I am just disappointed with Roubo and I can't really explain it. Consequently this post will only be posted over 3 months after it was started.

I suppose on the one hand, Chris (I hope he doesn't mind this short hand form of his name) has done me and other Roubo dreamers a service. In this book, Chris describes in great detail the construction of his Roubo bench. It is a extremely helpful book when you consider what features you need in a bench to fulfil its function. Chris' basic thesis is that a bench must allow you to work on any surface of a piece of wood. Its a simple and helpful idea, with a great deal of truth to it. I can see how my first benches described above fail pretty badly in this area. You could only work on lumber with very limited sizes.

However, I do not agree that Chris' thesis is completely true. For example, for my next bench, I certainly want a space where I can construct a boat on. Planing and working on three sides of lumber will certainly not be the primary function of a bench while I am boatbuilding. Rather a strong, solid gluing surface is key. However, this does not mean I won't need to work on three sides of a piece of wood at other times. To simplify the function of the bench to such a simple idea is a little simplistic to me. The variation of workbench types in Scott's book testifies to this fact.

Another helpful section in Chris' book is his recommendations of wood varieties based on wood characteristics. I have been searching the internet to find the official statistics of wood varieties grown around here and I've typed all the info up into a spreadsheet. This will allow me to build a bench with wood which is both cheaper yet suitable for my bench's function. And then Chris describes the dozens of different functions of a bench and the common methods or features to fulfil them. I have sat down with a pencil and paper and selected the ones which appeal to me and my woodworking plans, then considered the numerous options Chris suggests. This alone is worth buying the book for (or reading it in a Borders bookshop near you).

But then, at the end of the day, Chris has put a detailed design and explained plan into the hands of every bench builder. I suppose any bench I build now will no longer be so unique. To add injury to insult, I found out that Chris has a blog which he regularly posts on. I signed up to get these in my email inbox, and surprisingly enough, one of the first ones I received was news about Lie-Nielsen selling these bench. Argh!! And now you do a quick google search and you can find others who have started building the bench based on Schwarz's work (an example).

I don't and can't blame Christopher Schwarz for these disappointments. Yea, he seems more like a journalist than an experienced woodworker/cabinet-maker to me. He has great advice, but it never seems to me that he has learnt it from an apprenticeship or from costly mistakes a cabinet-maker would regret when trying to sell his work. And I must admit I feel that certain American-ness whenever I read something he writes. It isn't that over-powerful arrogance you meet while, say, trying to have a quiet lunch with your family in Venice but you get disturbed by your neighbours who have so many stories to tell you, that you don't get a minute to think. I think as a journalist and editor, Chris is trying to sell his magazine and consequently I 'hear' this whenever I read his stuff.

Do I say all this, critiquing his work, while disappointed? Most likely. I am thankful for what he has done in writing his book, yet disappointed he has made it too easy for all of us. Call it 'fuming admiration' if you like. At the end of the day, he's got a lot of good advise which I should be wise to listen to.

my roubo

So where does this leave me? Well in the back of my mind, I am planning to buy some locally grown ash soon to start drying in preparation for a Schwarz version on Roubo workbench. I will put in a sliding deadman (should I mention here I can't understand Chris' call to originality while he also adapts this bench to his needs with things like a deadman?), front vise, and a wagon vise. I have a list of particular features I'd like to use, but I will only finalise these once I get the wood.

I am still passionate for Roubo. I am also thankful to those who have gone before and will help me realise this dream.. that is if I can get my act together and build it.

PDRacer Build Part 1 - Rudder and Centreboard

It seems that this will be a rather unique build in that we're starting with the final stages rather than the boat. Therefore our plan is to make the rudders, centreboards, rudder casings, masts, boom and yard, and sails. I'd love to go into the reasons for approaching the build like this, but I think my wife wouldn't appreciate that. I suppose the most logical thing to say, is that it will be easier to store and move these smaller items while we look for a new apartment.

Now to the build...

The first parts Peter and I are building are the rudders and centreboards for our PDRacers. We are using straight, knot free pine strips (20x30mm) for the core sections. We have added thin strips of mahogany on the rudders for some nice contrast. The top section of the rudder is exposed while sailing so this added feature will hopefully stand out. I used one mahogany section in the middle of my centreboard more to distinguish it from Peter's one than to maintain this design. We have used a strip of oak along the front of the rudders and centreboards to protect them against hitting rocks or other debris in the water. Hopefully this hard wood will be sufficient to take the bumps.

So far we have basically glued our strips together. We use normal waterproof PVC glue for this because the epoxy and fibreglass which is used after shaping is sufficient to maintain the PVC bonding (we hope). After arranging the pine, mahogany and oak strips, we check the end grain to ensure the different grain directions will complement each other (rather than all facing the same way and creating twist). Then it is just a matter of spreading a sufficient amount of PVC glue on the strips and tightening everything in our collection of pipe clamps. Sometime I will have to sing the praises of the pipe clamp - I am really surprised it is not a more commonly available and used tool in Europe.

The glue supposedly sets in 7 minutes, however we leave the rudders and centreboards clamped for a day. The next step requires the use of a jointer and thicknesser. Hopefully we will be able to use a friend's, but I suspect we might have lost that opportunity. The required thickness of the boards is 22mm. At the moment the mahogany strips are about 25mm and the pine is 30mm. I have no desire to learn how to use a plane over 30x30x1000mm boards, well not just at the moment.


Speaking of planing, I have been having some interesting email discussions with a mate who has become a bit fanatical about Stanley planes. In particular he likes the Stanley Bedrock planes. Now I would usually be happy to encourage anyone to buy a tool which would help you enjoy woodworking. However, it seems that Stanley stopped manufacturing these particular planes in the early 1930s. It seems these planes are regularly available on ebay, however usually for a few hundred dollars.

Now if you are a serious hobbyist, then I can understand you might like to buy and tune a nice plane. I was asking on the Australian Woodworking forums about these planes and it seems that, along with the other Stanley planes in this period, they are actually the best old planes to get. I can't say I would be particularly interested in paying hundreds to get such a plane, however it is interesting to learn a little bit more about them. Obviously, most professionals would buy the new planes from Lee Valley or Lie-Nielsen. However, many of them also recognise the quality of these older Stanleys. It seems they were the Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen of the 1890s to 1950s. So tuning them up and even swapping in a more modern blade is a very justifiable option (and I am lead to believe the older ones were also of good quality). So if you have an old plane lying around the garage, have a look at Hans Brunner's Stanley By Numbers or Patrick Leach's (somewhat obscurely named) Blood and Gore. Both these sites will help you identify and date your Stanley plane.

In the meantime, we'll be looking to find solutions to shape our centreboards and rudders.

the puddle duck racer build is in motion

Since getting involved in a boat build (see Peter Novak's Eureka Blog and my 18 April post), I have been researching and planning to build my own wooden boat. I have been a irregular reader of the Boating section on the Australian Woodworking forums. I have read numerous books on boat construction and general sailing. I have been to boat shows and skimmed the internet for ideas and advice. Through this process I have narrowed down a list of boats I would one day like to build.

At the top of the list of 'truly possible and practical boats I could build with the time, space and funds available to me at my present skill level' is the Oz Mk II Puddle Duck Racer, otherwise known as the PDRacer. This Oz Mk II version of the PDRacer is designed by Australian boat designer Michael Storer. This boat has been designed to be:

"cheap, creative, and [...] fun on the water".

If you're interested in finding out about this boat and its history, there are two main sites you can read. The first is the official PDRacer site and the other is an Australian PDRacer site.

The current plan is for Peter Novak and I to each build ourselves a PDR. My hope is that we will be able to help each other at various stages of the build. Peter has already completely built and added modifications to his Eureka canoe. Therefore he has a little more experience than myself. He also has the garage space to build things in! I probably have more experience in sailing than Peter, having sailed a comet as a kid. I suspect we will both learn how to sail these boats pretty quickly.

Now while it is regularly said that the boat looks like a matchbox, I think the great thing about this design is its simplicity. We estimate that one boat only cost us about €400 in materials to build - 3 sheets of plywood, some epoxy, a trailer tarp for a sail and a few other bits and pieces. The A$20 plans provided by Michael Storer are extremely detailed, so the complexity in construction is drastically reduced. The materials used in the construction are reasonably easy to acquire, although we have had to think about locally available timber varieties for the boat.

Today the build officially started for me as we started sourcing the various materials required for construction. First on our list was some fibreglass. Since we will be sailing around Slovenia, we had to purchase some extra fibreglass to cover the bottom of the hulls - most lakes and seas around here have some serious rocks around the shores. Therefore we need to provide some added protection to the bottom.

The planned setup for my PDR will also include a lug rig sail (see picture on left). I am particularly interested to try this design as the Goat Island Skiff (another boat on my dream list) uses such a sail. Since I am aiming for a cheap boat, I plan to build a hallow mast too.

Overall I am pretty excited about this build. Due to my current space restrictions (i.e. my wife will not allow me to build the boat in our living room), we will start constructing parts of the boat which can be stored away easily, that is, the centreboards, rudders, masts, yard and booms, as well as the sails. Hopefully by the end of summer we will have moved into another apartment which has its own lockable garage. This is when I will start building the hull.

I hope I will be able to take enough pictures so you can enjoy the build with me. I'll even show you pictures of me being a sawing hack!

boat spotting

Last month I went to the Classic and Wooden Boat Show held at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. There were a heap of different wooden boats of all sizes and designs. It was a great opportunity to observe the various different styles of yachts, power boats and craft which have been built or restored.

I particularly enjoyed a few designs and yachts that were shown. The Halvorsens are a particularly beautiful craft, although I doubt a novice like myself could build one. It would be great to spend a week travelling up and down rivers in one of these boats.

Another magnificant craft on display was Whisper, a 10' clinker dinghy designed by Paul Gartside and built by Denman Marine. This beautiful dinghy is made out of Huon, King Billy, and celery top pine. The craftsmanship on this craft is exceptional.

Denman Marine had also brought their Iain Oughtred designed Caledonian Yawl. I must have spent a couple of hours just gazing over the various parts of this boat. Again the celery top and huon pine construction looks amazing.


Since the show, I have been looking at the various Oughtred designs and my dream is to build a Tirrik. This is a shorter version of the Caledonian Yawl, although I am sure numerous fans of these boats would outraged by such a summary. Grapeview Point Boat Works is the only website I am aware of which details the construction of the Tirrik (no comment on the quality of their photos). Hopefully in the future I will have the skills (and finances) to undertake the construction of one of these beautiful designs.

Overall I was very impressed with the Classic and Wooden Boat Show. Since I am more interested in the construction side of wooden boats, I probably spent more time talking to folks about the designs rather than checking out the yachts. However I hope one day to get to the stage in life when I can turn up to such a show and display some of the craft I have made. Until then, I'll continue to be happy to observe.

Trim - another beautiful design and build

the eureka build

My close friend and work colleague Peter Novak is also a keen woodworker. He particularly enjoys making boat models. At the end of 2007 Peter started to talk about building real boats. Although I was a little sceptical about our ability to build anything that could float, Peter researched our options and decided to build a Eureka canoe.

The Eureka is designed by Michael Storer from Adelaide in South Australia. It is built using the 'Stitch and Glue' method - according to the great detailed plans provided by Michael (Peter bought the plans from the Duck Flat Wooden Boats website for A$90), you cut out five sections of the boat from marine plywood. Four parts are glued together with epoxy into two long sections using butt strap joints. The three long sections are then "stitched" together using wire. Once the basic frame of the boat is together, the joints are secured with fibreglass tape. The panels are coated in epoxy to seal the wood from the water.

I was able to help Peter in these initial stages of the build (however I had to return to Sydney for 6 months so I missed the second half of the project). It was a great introduction to modern boat building and very easy to do. For further information on building a Eureka canoe, you can visit Peter's blog (written in Slovene) or a very informative site by Peter Hyndman.

When I return to Slovenia (mid-June 2008), I hope to get into a few boating projects with Peter. I am unsure what we will start with - maybe my own Eureka to travel with Peter, or another Storer design. I will share my boating and woodworking dreams another time.

Peter's Eureka Canoe

The Admission

get a hobby, son

Everyone needs a hobby. We work to live (and I also think, in order to serve, but that's another blog). So many years ago I became interested in wood working. I am not sure if it started by looking in those country arts shops and thinking to myself, "I could make a better wine holder than these". Then there were the beer coasters, bowls, turned pens, knife handles, cheese boards, and even kids toys from trains to cars to noisy rattles. Certainly I have a head full of ideas concerning different wooden bits and pieces which you could fill a shop with and sell for a tidy sum.

However, who has the time for that? You need to have the time and place to start churning out such items to sell. So instead of dedicating myself to such a profession, I just decided to dabble in all things woodworking. I found a hobby in it. Hence I bought and read a few books, dreamt of a few necessary work shed items to make, started collecting various basic tools, went to wood working shows, bought some wood, subscribed to a good woodworking magazine, and basically made plans.

"What did you make?", you may ask. At the start, not a great deal. Its slightly hard to throw yourself into building stuff if you live in an apartment. So when I returned to the home of my youth, I would dabble in this and that. Obviously, it is necessary to make something you can use to work on. So I firstly made a table.

This is a really beautiful European style woodworking table. You can find the plans for such a table on the net. I am unsure where I found the plans for this table. And sadly this isn't a table I have made.

Rather I made this smaller table. No lovely vices on the sides. No deep well at the back of the table for shavings and tools. No strong wood used to make a solid bench. The only benefit it had was its ability to fold up nicely and fit against a wall. The idea came from a $2 book I found at a liquidation sale. Although the plan was basic, I could adapt it enough to make it workable.

Sadly, my father got at it and basically painted it entirely white. I am not sure if this was to hide a few mistakes we'd made. It didn't really change the usefulness of the table. However any lovely joints or wood grain we might have accomplished were hidden under the colour. Nevertheless, it was a great and necessary project to start a woodworking hobby with.

the admission

But I have an admission to make...

I suppose I have known the truth for some time. However this first major woodworking project forced me to make an honest assessment of my woodworking skills. Wood is a very unforgiving material to work with. The adage 'Measure twice, cut once' is very sound wisdom. If you make a mistake with wood, you'll mess up your work and unless you have an abundance of wood in store to replace mistakes, you'll see the mistakes forever.

So I am sad to admit, that I am a sawing hack. As much as I practise and try, I can not saw a piece of wood straight. If the wood is marked with a straight edge, I will still wobble left and right, creating a dreadful cut. I have tried different saws, using the correct types for different cuts. I have tried standard styles and Japanese styles of saws - cutting on the push or cutting on the pull. However none of these help. I am a sawing hack.

Thankfully, woodworking is more than just sawing. In answer to my failings, I have developed a range of skills to overcome my poor sawing abilities. I can leave excess wood, then use different tools like planes, sandpaper, or rasps, to bring the edges down straight. Overcoming such shortcoming and finding solutions are a few of the reasons I enjoy working with wood.

the bookshelves

Obviously, there is also great joy in finish a job. For example, over two years I made three bookshelves. I have been subscribing to Australian Woodsmith magazine for many years. This is a great magazine, originally out of America, but adapted for Australia. They offer tips for all sorts of woodworking - from cutting wood to finishing it. They have detailed plans for several different type of projects - furniture, jigs, tools and so on. I was looking for a good bookcase project I could use and this magazine had a plan for a bookcase which you could adapt depending on the style you wanted (see Australian Woodsmith 9:20-25). Instead of solid oak I used oak veneer plywood. I had to dress the front of the shelves, but it gave me the opportunity to use some solid wood.


After sanding the cases, I gave them a good drenching in linseed oil, then I used Briwax as a protective coating (see Australian Woodsmith 42:60-62). These bookcases were very satisfying to adapt and build. They took time to build as I was working out of someone else's backyard shed, which was impossible to work in during the European winter months. However once all the shelves and sides were ready, I could assemble them together in our flat. (I'm also thankful to the in-laws who helped with the oiling and waxing).

So what else have I dabbled in? I'll let you know in future blogs.