Reply To: Apron on the Work Bench???
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There are different types of workbenches:
– Paul Sellers;
– Nicholson;
– Roubo;
– Split Roubo;
– Moravian;
– Scandinavian/German/Austrian/…
– …
Each type uses its own trick to ensure stability and absence of raking.
If you try to mix the various design, it most probably will not be successful.
The Paul Sellers type relies on:
– two rigid A leg-frames for front-rear stability;
– two aprons combined with wedges to ensure right-left stability. Note that the wedges can compensate legs shrinkage if any.
– the workbench-top glued to the front apron which makes a very rigid L beam. Twisting this beam would be quite difficult. It also prevent bench-top sagging (at least at the front);
– the bench-top is screwed to the bearers of the A leg-frames which prevent the base formed by the two leg-frames and the two aprons to become a lozenge under stress. (it stay “square”).
The base of a Scandinavian/etc. workbench is made like a bed. It relies on two WIDE boards for the long rails at MID-HEIGHT tightened against the leg-frames (by bed bolts or by tusk-tenons) for left-right stability.
The Moravian uses the same principle with some added benefit from skewed leg-frames.
The Roubo and split Roubo rely on low long rails and legs tenoned in the bench-top. For the split Roubo you need to make A leg-frames.
I have seen Nicholson workbenches not made in a consistent manner. Some might be better then others. I am doubting about how they would react to shrinkage. I still have to found a good explanation of the benefit of the angled notch in the apron and its relation to the leg-frames.