A trip to the local lumber store, who had some wide reclaimed Douglas Fir beams on offer, and I’m ready to begin the workbench build. This stuff is old and dry.
Workbench dimensions: Using my little finger knuckle to determine the height of the bench will be 31″ (I am only 5’6″), which isn’t far off the height of the Workmate. This is good because I already know it works and I can use the workmate as an extension of the bench top. The depth will be 20″ and I think I can make it 6′ long.
For $150, I bought a 7.5″ x 3.5″ x 20′, and a 5″ x 3.5″ x 14′ beam. The store was kind enough to make some rough cuts so I could fit it into a vehicle. This will convert into a 20″ x 3.5″ x 6′ top, two 7.5″ x 3.5″ front legs and two 5″ x 3.5″ rear legs. I like the idea of wide front legs as it gives more clamping surface. I’ll head back for leg stretcher, leg vise and deadman stock later.
I went for large beams to minimise the number of glue lines in the top – I have no power planers or jointers and I know how time consuming preparing surfaces by hand can be. I don’t think I could cope with 20 glue surfaces. 2 glue lines sounds a lot more manageable.
I cleaned up the leg sections with a number 8 plane on the Workmate. As the bench walked across the garage with every swipe of the plane, the motivation for building the Roubo grew.
T r i a l & E r r o r 
Just found your blog yesterday and really enjoying it. Would like to know the name of the lumberyard where you found such primo wood. Up here in Austin anything out of the ordinary is sky high even at the Restore.
Hi James – glad to hear you have enjoyed the site! I’ve been going to Clark’s Hardwood in the Heights in Houston. Not too sure how the prices would compare, but you can always give them a call before making the drive.