I'm Getting Rid of my Roubo | New Workbench Tour

workbench, when they already have a perfectly good

workbench, they either have a really good reason

or they're a content creator.

So here it is. My new hybrid workbench.

Well it's been 10 years

since I built the original split top roubo

workbench and it served me well over

that time. But I've also had a lot

of feedback since then about the original design.

It's too big for my shop.

The wood alone cost a fortune.

It's too complicated to build. The hardware is

too darn expensive. It's not knock-down.

I can't move it. So I decided to

build a new version of the work bench

that has its roots in the original split

top roubo design but satisfy some of the

needs that I've heard from you guys as

well as adding some features

that I think you're really going to enjoy.

Now. You might be wondering why I decided

to call this thing a hybrid workbench.

Well, it's actually the same reason why I

called my first book "Hybrid Woodworking".

Because I needed a title.

But more importantly it's because I wanted the

workbench to satisfy the needs of the type

of woodworking that I do,

which is a healthy mix of hand tools

and power tools and while any good workbench

will satisfy the needs of both

power tool and hand tool woodworkers,

there are definitely some features

that are really geared more toward one or

the other. For example on the old roubo

workbench. I had a sliding dead man.

I could honestly tell you

that in 10 years of owning it,

I think I used it twice

and it wasn't even totally necessary when I

did so on this workbench,

I went with a couple of dog holes

in the front face as well as down

this leg and that allows me to clamp

anything that engages with this vice

that happens to be really large.

I can also secure it over here

and I really don't need

that sliding dead man. Another example in the

old workbench is square dogs.

Now it's a lot more work to make

them, but it's the classic method.

So I included it in

that work bench. But in the end I

realized that three quarter inch dog holes are

so much more functional. Square dog holes don't

really provide you with much of a benefit,

but with round dog holes.

Now I have a ton of accessories

that I could purchase or build

that work with these three quarter inch holes.

They're just much more versatile

and easier to make. Even though a lot

of power tools these days are battery powered.

Sometimes you still need to plug something in.

So on the old bench,

I edit this giant power strip

and it worked pretty well.

But I started to realize

that I really don't need this many receptacles

totally overkill. It was a little bit clunky

because it hung off the back of the

bench and I was concerned

that over time we would get dust or

even a liquid into these receptacles. Well I

solved that with this bench by doing an

in leg installed single outlet.

So I did a little digging

and I found a marine supply place

that actually had a receptacle that's totally sealed,

keeps the dust and any liquids out

and it's 20 amps, which is great

because I do have a 20 amp circuit

over here. I have it installed in the

front leg so it's easily accessible.

And I know some of you are wondering,

doesn't this now interfere with clamping on the

front face, which is a great feature of

a roubo. Oh well it doesn't

because I never actually clamped to the left

side of my vice any time I clamp

something large or really tall like this,

it's always on the right side of my

vice so that I can engage the rest

of the workbench. I never clamp on this

side. So your mileage may vary.

But for me this works. Now just like

the old bench, this one features a split

top. The split makes the bench easier to

build but also adds functionality.

You can use the split for easy clamping

in the middle of the bench

and the gap stop can be propped up

to use as a planing stop.

Now the old gap stop had a gap

in the middle that actually became a bit

of a pain because I dropped pencils or bits

down there all the time.

So my new gap stop is totally solid

and the more I thought about it,

the gap presented a cool opportunity for accessories.

So I added two slots

that allow me to build small blocks

that can slide from one end of the

bench to the other. If you're creative,

the sky's the limit here.

But I thought it would be great for

something like a task light or a chisel

and saw rack. Maybe you guys have some

cool ideas, let me know. As far as

construction goes, the sides are actually glued together

and the long rails are held in with

bolts and cross dowels. And

that means that if you ever need to

move this thing, you could break it down

into a reasonable set of parts

and you can move it from one location

to another. Now for mobility, I certainly could have

cobbled together some solution using casters

and wood, but Rockler makes these fantastic casters

that attach very easily and if you're concerned

about a trip hazard, which sometimes this can

be, they make these brackets

that allow you to slide the casters in

and out. So you only attach them when

you need them. So now let's talk about

the hardware. Now, my old bench featured top

of the line, Benchcrafted hardware

that runs about $1000 for the entire set.

This workbench significantly cheaper. Depending on the brand

you go with and the vendor

that you use, you could probably get two

vices like this for about 100 bucks,

110 bucks in the video.

The way I presented it,

I have a quick release version on the

tail vice position And the front has a

standard simple 9" front vice

and that ran me about $225.

So significantly cheaper. Now, am I saying

that these are as good as the Bench-

crafted hardware? No, obviously they're not.

The Benchcrafted stuff is amazing,

but that doesn't mean that these don't work.

And let me show you. The key to

getting the most out of these inexpensive vices

comes down to a couple of details.

One is you have to put a little

taper in the front here so

that actually sits a little proud at the

top. And this way when it inevitably flexes,

when you apply pressure at the bottom

and you have this tall jaw here,

you're making contact at the top first

and then by the time the jaw straightens

out, you're just adding more

and more pressure along the work piece here

so that taper helps quite a bit.

Another thing you want to do is balance

the vice. So a vice like this,

if you just put a piece on one

side, it tends to rack,

which means it's moving closer on this side

and opening up on this side.

So an easy way to combat

that is to use one of these simple

little shop made spacers here are rack stop

And this way you get

that to the same thickness as your work

piece, put that on one side,

put your work piece on the other side

and now it's nice and balanced

and you have a really good grip.

And speaking of grip, the other thing you

want to do is line your jaws with

suede, some kind of leather or this rubberized

cork material, which I think is the best

solution. It's got a great grip

and it's nice and soft

because when you grip your work piece,

you don't want to dent it.

But having a nice sticky material in there

means you don't need as much pressure to

secure your work pieces. And overall the construction

was greatly simplified and because I recently built

a nice tool cabinet for my other workbench,

I made sure that the leg span is

the same. So it accommodates the same cabinet.

Coming up in a couple of weeks,

we will have a video showing how the

build was done and of course we also

will have a full course on this

and the Wood Whisperer guild

and that's where you're going to get all

of the nitty gritty and the details.

But you know, to keep my promise of

trying to make this bench as accessible as

possible to as many people as possible.

I've priced this thing during the pre order

phase, which is right now until December 3rd,

I priced it has the lowest project we

have ever had in the guild at $30.

Now, the price will go up once the

project releases on the third.

But if you want to get in on

it for 30 bucks, you get the plans

and the entire course, all the videos,

all the detail and that's at

thewoodwhispererguild.com. So you're probably wondering what's gonna

happen with the old bench?

This bad boy is going to be auctioned

off for charity. This bench has a lot

of history. I changed my son's diaper on

this bench was actually the first thing I

did with it and it means a lot

to me. So I want to make sure

that we do something great with it.

What I'm gonna do is an auction,

a charity auction specifically for Rob Cosman's

Purple Heart project. It's a great program where

Rob has, you know, seminars,

courses where he brings combat wounded veterans in

and helps them use woodworking as a form

of therapy. It's an awesome program And 100%

of the proceeds from this auction will go

toward that. What do you think George?

Pretty good. So that's the full story.

I didn't build a new workbench

because there was something wrong with the old

one. I built a new one to satisfy

the needs of an entire different set of

woodworkers who still want a lifetime bench but

don't necessarily want to blow a ton of

cash on it. And also you want something

that's mobile and a little bit smaller profile.

So if you're trying to decide between the

two, well, that's really what it comes down

to budget and the amount of space

that they take up. Because you can certainly

apply a lot of the features of this

bench to the other one.

And both of them are absolutely lifetime work

benches. Unless you've got a Youtube channel,

then maybe not. So of course,

as always. Thanks for watching.

I hope you're looking forward to this build

as much as I am looking forward to

presenting it to you and I can't wait

to put this thing to use.

Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time

freaking thing.... "they're so easy to install!"

You've gotta be kidding me.

They're actually not that bad.

I'm just being really dumb right now.

What am I doing? So easy.

Even a Spagnuolo can do it.