The Wood Whisperer is sponsored by Powermatic and Titebond.
When someone builds a new
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.