Crafting a Roubo Style Workbench with Raúl – Roubo_J26

The most essential “tool” in a workshop is a sturdy workbench—one that is heavy and steady enough that it doesn’t budge while the craftsman is working, with a totally flat work surface and a variety of places and methods for clamping and bracing wood while working.

A good design, well built, will last more than a lifetime. One of the most rightfully revered bench designs is that popularized by 18th century French master carpenter André Roubo. For more than two centuries, woodworkers have been building and using benches inspired by Roubo’s treatise L’Art du Menuisier (The Art of the Carpenter). 

For this class, students will build a classic Roubo style bench with both a tail vise and a front vise, using heirloom quality hardware from Benchcrafted. The bench top will be made of beech wood, which is heavy and hard enough to last for many decades of use. Similar, commercially-made benches can cost over $5,000.

You will build the entire bench yourself, from reading the drawings and preparing the lumber, to cutting and fitting the mortise and tenon joinery, cutting bench dog holes, flattening the bench top, and installing the vise hardware.

Just like generations of woodworkers before you who have built their own Roubo benches, you will leave with a time-tested workbench design that will serve you for the rest of your life (and will likely outlast you).

In this class, you will:

• read drawings
• prepare lumber
• mark out joinery
• cut and fit mortise and tenon joinery
• assemble the workbench
• cut bench dog holes
• flatten the bench top
• install vise hardware

Schedule: This is a daytime class, 9:00 am–5:00 pm daily, Monday through Friday, for two weeks.

Class Size: min 6, max 8

Prerequisite: Fundamentals III or equivalent. This is a “Master” level class. Students should be competent with standard hand and power tools and with standard joinery and construction techniques.