Hand tool Woodworking - Ruobo Style Bench

Project: French-style Ruobo Work Bench

Materials (sourced from the home center)

Top: 16 White Pine boards (2"x4"x8')
Legs: 2 Douglas Fir columns (4"4"x8')
Stretchers: 2 White Pine boards (2"x4"x8')

Tools

Stanley #5 Jack Plane
Japanese Ryoba Saw
1/2" and 1/4" Chisels
Wheel cutting marking gauge
Mallet (scrappy, made from Douglas Fir leg column)
Sharpening stones + strop
Square
Measuring tape
Titebond III Wood Glue

A Story on Getting Started in Hand-Tool Woodworking

I've wanted to build things with wood for at least 25 years. I am drawn to natural materials and the outdoors, and I love designing and creating things. Unfortunately, most of those 25 years was wanting to build rather than actually building anything. I imagine many people can relate to that.

I bought some wood carving tools at one point but didn't really know what to do with them to get going. I finally took a woodworking class in 2018 at the amazing Crucible in Oakland, CA. But, although I loved the class, we used thousands of dollars of machinery to make a small table. I just didn't have the space, money, or desire to purchase similar equipment to put those new skills to use.

I wanted to use hand tools only. Practically speaking, they are cheaper and more relaxing than power tools, but they require more skill and often more time to build things. But I like learning new skills and have the time since I'm just making things for myself. So it's a good fit.

Philosophically speaking, however, I enjoy the idea of owning the means of production of my labor, even if it's just for a hobby. A set of woodworking hand tools with the accompanying skills can last a lifetime as is. I'm unlikely to find myself unable to practice the craft even if my electric company dramatically raises rates or the cost of a proprietary power tool replacement part increases 150% with inflation. Unfortunately, corporate greed and subscription mindsets have created a world where we don't really own the things we buy. A dependence on corporations is created purposefully, whether it's through subsidized digital subscriptions like Netflix or planned obsolescence of a cell phone. I like the idea of how doing things in traditional ways pushes against this trend (and related issues such as Marx's theory of alienation of labor) and keeps a rich cultural heritage alive.

[End Rant]

So when we relocated to Bentonville from the SF Bay Area during Covid lockdown, I finally took action. The internet and YouTube told me a work bench is a good first project. So after a million hours of research, I purchased the wood for a simple French-style work bench.

And then the wood sat in the garage. For 2.5 years.

After about the 43rd time kicking myself for not starting the bench, I finally got out in the garage. The timing of my long-overdue motivation was perfect: mid-August and around 100F highs temps. I got down on the concrete floor with some knee pads and my Stanley #5 hand plane - surely dull since I could barely sharpen it adequately - and flattened 2x4s four at a time for the top. I used the wall of the garage as a planing stop and an MDF board atop a couple pieces of wood as a makeshift "bench". There is a lot of sweat, some blood, but no tears, fortunately, in that top.

With the top finished, I cut the joinery for the legs and stretchers, referencing my copy of The Essential Woodworker a million times as I went. Then I glued the stretchers, and added a leg vise. It was definitely a great learning experience. And now more than a year later, I can say this bench has been an amazing tool for building other things. And the bonus is I get a ton of satisfaction every time I see it knowing I built it myself.