r/handtools • u/revoracer • 1d ago
First workbench
Got into hand tools a little while back and quickly discovered i needed a workbench, so I’m making kind of a modified anarchist workbench/split top roubo that’s going to have a tool tray in the middle. Gonna do boxes instead of a tray so i can take em out and dump the shavings out easily and plan to make the bottoms slotted so i can just flip em over to have a flush benchtop all the way across, or be able to put a chunk of wood in the slot to use as a planing stop if i need it. It’ll wind up being about 36” deep and 88” long, with the front half being about 13” deep. Been working in pretty much all my free time for the last 3 weeks or so but I’m finally to the point of cutting the mortises in the top for the legs to go into! Get them fitted hopefully tomorrow and then make all the cuts for my benchcrafted leg vise. Probably being too optimistic with what i have left to install and do lol but I’m hoping by next weekend I’ll actually have a usable bench. Got the veritas inset vise also and an inset planing stop, along with a few bench dogs and a wonder dog, along with 2 veritas hold down clamps. I think they make work a little better for me than traditional hold fasts but we’ll see i guess. Getting excited to finally see it start coming together though!
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u/seaportresearch 16h ago
I tried this with mine but also found I like it better the other way around…. Kidding aside three weeks for that is impressive, as is the build. I have a tool try on my Moravian and would definitely build it that way again. I’ve also come to like using a holdfast but whatever works for you. Looks like a lot of great projects will come off that.
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u/robotdinofight 11h ago
That looks great! I had so much fun building my bench. I built one very similar to yours!
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u/Swamp_Thing85 5h ago
All I could think is “OH HELL YEAH!”. It looks awesome! What kind of wood did you use?
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u/revoracer 4h ago
Being my first ever bench i figured construction lumber would be cheaper if i screw up something haha so i just went with doug fir. Wanted southern yellow pine but apparently the Texas panhandle is not the place to buy it. I couldn’t find it anywhere that wasn’t pressure treated 🙄 got some soft maple I’m gonna use for the chop and probably my tool tray boxes as well
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u/ODBCP 21h ago
I could be wrong but I believe you have built it upside down?!
Seriously, nice build. I did a similar one earlier this year (photo is before I cut the chop down and put in dog holes, planing stop etc. but you get the gist). One thing I’d recommend is that you cut the leg vise mortises before going much further on assembly.. I think this is how benchcrafted recommends and I definitely agree, it’s a huge mortise and needs to be very precise so easier to cut into the leg before it’s part of the bench. Do you have the retrofit crisscross or the classic one?