We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations. But on Saturday, I walked into an antiques store in Ottawa, Canada, and there was a worn but functional Roubo-style workbench perched patiently under a window.
My reply was something along the lines of what bears do when in they have natural urges in the woods. So after we wrapped up the judging for the day, we headed out to the antiques store. We opened the front door, and it was sitting right there , underneath some metalware, stoneware and an old sled. There is no planing stop evident in the top, but there is lots of evidence of holdfast holes that were plugged. The top is made of two pieces. A very wide front piece and a narrow piece at the back that is joined with a square-shaped spline.
The joint is at the exact point where the rear legs pierce the top of the workbench. The front legs are joined to the top using this same joint. The stile is pierced by numerous small holes for pegs that will support boards on edge.
The far right leg is also pierced by a couple holes, though these holes were larger in diameter than those on the stile , perhaps they were for holdfasts. The single drawer in the bench pulled right out. Inside was one small till and sliding tracks for at least two more which were not in the drawer. The leg vise in the face vise position was traditional in structure.
The vise screw was wooden and quite worn though it still worked. The nut at the rear of the jaws was detached and needed to be reattached. The leg vise had a parallel guide that pierced the rear jaw, though its pin was long gone. The leg vise was roughly centered on the cantilever. Overall, the bench was incredibly sturdy and showed evidence of heavy use and age. One of the members of our party asked if someone could have faked the bench or aged a newer example to look old.
