I’ve only had about 2 hours of shop time since my last Roubo post, but thought I’d go ahead and put up a few more pictures of what I’ve accomplished. I actually have to go and pick up some more SYP at Home Depot to finish the top. There is a Lowe’s close to my area, but none of their SYP is kiln dried. The closest Home Depot is an hour away, so I don’t know when I’ll make it to pick some up.
I need about 3 boards to finish the top. If you look at the first picture below, the single 3 board piece on the left is the front of the bench. The four 3 board sections to the right are all glued up and will be the rear of the top. I have to glue up one more board and add it to the front piece and then a 2 board section will be milled with square dog holes and glued in between the front and rear sections to complete the top. I’m planning to put in a removable end cap on the right side and install a “wagon vise” made from just a block sliding in grooves with a screw driving it through the cap.
While I’m picking up the wood for the rest of the top, I’ll go ahead and pick up enough for the legs and stretchers and get that going next. Finally, the last two pictures included here show the solid rear of the top (the part behind the bench dog strip) glued up and in the clamps. I was really happy with how everything lined up. I’ll still have to flatten it with planes, but it shouldn’t be that difficult. Boy…I really need to make an investment in some parallel clamps!
I’ll post some more as progress continues. –JD
