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Lie-Nielsen Toolworks continues to turn back the clock (a good thing in the world of hand-tool woodworking). The Warren, Maine, manufacturer plans to offer a version of the 18th-century French-style workbench made popular in Andre Roubo’s “L’Art du Menuisier.”
The company has just completed work on its first Roubo bench (shown above) for a customer. The bench is quite similar to the version I built for Woodworking Magazine, with a few exceptions. The two ends of the base are a bit different , there’s extra stretchers in there to attach the top, plus cross-bolts that allow the bench to be knocked down. Also, there is a twin-screw vise in the end-vise position at the request of the customer.
All the important functional details are spot-on. There’s a wooden planing stop mortised into the top. There’s a crochet and a leg vise , you don’t have to have both bench accessories to plane things on edge, but they are both convenient and useful. Also, Lie-Nielsen has added a sliding deadman. This is an accessory not shown in Roubo, but is very handy for securing wide panels and doors.
The bench is maple, and Thomas Lie-Nielsen reports that it weighs 400 pounds. The top is 4″ thick, 24″ wide and 8′ long. When the bench is put into regular production, the legs will be 4″ x 4″.
The bench will be more expensive than the two styles now offered by Lie-Nielsen, a European bench starting at $2,000, and a David Charlesworth-style bench for $1,500. Thomas says that building the Roubo involves additional labor and material.
If you’re interested in ordering one, you’ll need to wait a bit. The company has temporarily suspended taking orders for benches until it can reduce the waiting list, which Thomas says is now at about nine months.
But if you’ve seen these benches at shows or in other shops, you know that the quality justifies the wait.
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