Surfacing Split Top Roubo Workbench Slabs

[@scootb7400]

It really blows my mind when you go back and play clips of the exact logs being milled up into the lumber being used in the current projects. Would love to see a little behind-the-scenes on how you organize your footage and recall it so quickly!

[@David-qd3ff]

You know what we need, is a Matt Cremona calendar showing all the various iterations of his hair!

[@patrickodonnell7111]

While holding his wood.

[@PatCavanaugh1]

@@patrickodonnell7111 Don't you mean while holding his crotch?

[@thesawdustfactory]

Thanks Matt, I really like the tip about tilting the table saw blade before cutting the slabs in two passes ... once you know about it, it makes great sense! Regards, R

[@randyhansen2760]

Fabulous work as always. And when I win the lottery I'm building you a MUCH larger shop!

[@alanlillich6738]

It is amazing how gorgeous these slabs are coming out! The spalted edge that flashed by at 13:40 would be a joy to look at every day in the shop.

[@rick9811]

I know the joy of solo Woodworking, but there's always that time when you wish you had a hired hand. That, and a 16" Jointer! Your way of surfacing is a fair bit quicker than using a router and railed sled. Cheers from Southern Idaho!

[@TimRoyalPastortim]

Muscling those timbers like a BOSS!

[@kylejones2075]

Thank you for answering my question about what u do with all the slabs!!!

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Thanks for sharing with us Matt, I like the way it turned out. Lots of work goes into making one of those work benches, but if you’re going to do it DO IT RIGHT !!! It will last a few lifetimes. Fred.👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋

[@ffcolon2738]

Wow it’s amazing how lite the wood after you have them dried, your carrying those logs around like it’s balsam wood, that’s a nice option your giving your customers and I hope that it’s profitable, keep up the beautiful work you do 👍🏻

[@Sebastopolmark]

GREAT job Matt. With all that jointing and planing you got those 100 lb. slabs down to 96 lbs. Still alot to muscle around! !! !!!

[@farmerjohn8726]

Superb!! ... a complete story, log to customer, and a very graphic display of why you won't be offering the service in your shop! One idea to broaden your appeal and reach would be for you to outsource that dimensioning and flattening step at your end on a cost plus basis, with the third party picking them up and bringing them back, maybe a few at a time. It's probably daunting for a downtown condo dweller to take on flattening a couple 160lb slabs! Happy Roubo-ing! Farmer John, Ontario Canada

[@meleader]

Thanks again, Matt!

[@sbellock5]

That looked like a serious workout with the most inconvenient weights ever.

[@matthewjamestaylor]

Great video!!! That was a nice lesson in surfacing. The final product was beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.

[@mcremona]

Thanks!

[@randallsmith7885]

Another awesome video. Thank you! I hope that you will be offering another batch of split top kits!

[@howardyounger5456]

that looked like a lot of work. my back hurt just watching you. wow 12in jointer and 20in planer. bet that is nice. great video.

[@TrevorDennis100]

That's a clever trick @13:30 making the table saw cut concave to keep the face square for the jointer. I wonder how many people would have thought of that?

[@MikeBramm]

Come on Matt, never say never. "Cremona Millworks" has a nice ring to it. 😉

[@CalebsFineWoodworking]

Great video Matt. Watching your videos always makes me want to get into milling my own slabs. Keep it up!

[@bobleeswoodshop7919]

Very cool Matt ! Always love seeing what you are doing!

[@mcremona]

thanks Bob!

[@pawpawstew]

That's going to be an epic bench, but a beast to get to that point. Definitely worth it in the end I'm sure!

[@HyperCazual]

I never thought anyone would need a bigger jointer - but here we are... haha.

[@jimmowers7675]

Great looking wood. Can’t imagine a workbench with a top that thick. Thanks for sharing. God Bless.

[@bigdogmn73]

That is one lucky per who is getting those two big pieces of wood. I'm glad I live in the same "area" as this guy..

[@normolson1]

Impressive Matt, thank you

[@colinomeara1608]

Thanks Matt. Cheers :)

[@patb457]

Great idea tipping the TS blade a bit on the thick cut

[@walterrider9600]

thank you Matt

[@littlefallsworkshop]

Nice stuff. I feel like a wuss feeding 1/4" wood through my planer for my little boxes now. ;)

[@bquade70]

Yo slaboy! Lake Havasu-☀️ AZ. Great vid👍👍

[@phooesnax]

Wish I ordered. Very nice work Matt!

[@FredMcIntyre]

Awesome stuff Matt! 😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@TotalBoat]

Those slabs are amazing! Nicely done, Matt - they turned out awesome!

[@mcremona]

Thanks!!

[@briananderson8733]

Question; Is there a reason not to dig out some of the bark inclusion prior to filling with epoxy? On the issue of the service of offering surfacing service; I wonder how many people who want a bench don't have the planing skills nor the machines to do it. I dont feel I have the handplaning skills and have only a Delta 6 inch long bed jointer and a 13 inch thickness planer. I am currently obtaining the final set of tooling to build a split top roubo bench. With a Benchcrafted crossbrace leg vise and a lie-nielsen tail vise. 2 inch thick hard maple pieces laminated together.

[@piersclarkson9712]

....and now you know how to move bodies around!!!😳😁🤣 I bought a whole rear subframe and suspension for one of my cars... before it was broken down for refurbishing it was 100kg plus of flexing sagging metal... moving it around was mine!!😳🤣🤣

[@yoelai]

Fantastic stuff! What wood is this?

[@anoka114]

How did the dust collector work?

[@victorhopper6774]

just to point out how much things have changed. in 1968 i worked in a factory built 1n 1910 that used posts and beams that were 6"x18" by 20 feet long. hundreds of them. the second floor was 4 inches thick held up by 2"x14". i think it is still there, it was 5 years ago. the office doors are solid 2 inch thick oak. johnson mtg urbana ,ohio.

[@wilvanboxtel4233]

Question what do you do, with all that waist,

[@diycentral]

I guess I missed the part about the epoxy fill on IG. Pretty cool that the customer can say they were the only one. Woodpecker style... One Time Service.

[@mcremona]

A little bonus content for the KZbin folks 😄

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

Matt, when are you going to offer slabs like these for sale again? I feel the need for a Roubo made with this material! Very, very cool video, btw!!!

[@mcremona]

most likely not until next year. if you shoot me an email, I can put you on my notification list. thanks! [e-mail]

[@derekcraig3617]

shouldn't you remove the bark as much as possible before pouring epoxy?

[@ScottWalshWoodworking]

How's the hernia? I'm jelly of this future bench.

[@davids7209]

You're jelly... I'm preserved.

[@Wordsnwood]

Just slip one of those into your carry-on luggage for me next time you come this way...

[@michaelpanik9845]

What do you use for equipment dollies?

[@firesurfer]

Will adding a vacuum to the side, aid in pulling in the epoxy? I guess it depends on the knot.

[@mcremona]

It can but you need to be careful not to get any on the surface or you'll have issues daming it. I haven't found it to be a necessary thing to worry about since the epoxy is fluid enough with a long enough set time to find its way all the way down.

[@firesurfer]

@@mcremona That's what I thought. Thanks.

[@afurnituremakerslife]

Check out Logs to Lumber's new Flexirip beam saw. Would make that job a piece of cake.

[@ray62202]

I have almost completed my split-top Roubo that is pretty much like yours, but mine is made from Euro beech. At the risk of starting a religious war, what finish for the bench do you recommend, if any at all? I'm a traditionalist, but no finish at all invites every glob of glue and spill to become a permanent blemish on my nice new bench.

[@mcremona]

I’m on the side of since it’s a utilitarian thing, use whatever finish you have that you need to get rid of. Mine is finished with outdoor oil

[@peterlittle9935]

It would be so so nice if you would mention the cost of final product to the purchaser

[@mcremona]

This one was a full kit, a grade mattcremona.com/shop/workbench-kits/workbench-kit-reservation-winter-2020

[@jaredmiller7]

Matt why’s a fantastic job! I’ve made a few coffee table like this with large steel casters. What brand is the beam saw you have? It looks like it cuts quite a bit deeper than the two major brands I’ve seen out there. Thanks again for these videos!

[@raylanham7305]

How much do you charge for those split top slabs?

[@mcremona]

2500 for the top slabs; 3000 for a full material kit

[@giovannipetitti1588]

Great Matt 💯💯👏👏👏👏♥️

[@JT-hw6mq]

Would penetrating epoxy be a good finish for a bench top like that?

[@josephkerkau2520]

How much for your work bench kit?.also. shipping to Michigan?( enough for a 4x8)?

[@alana1079]

Note to self: Buy one of these kits the next time they become available.

[@dmfor9001]

No need to do any CrossFit type workouts. Wow you are a strong.

[@Donnie9by5]

Pound for pound he gets the job done!

[@b0y9ggz]

Looks like this video was your old shop. Any change in plans to offer this milling now that you have your new shop?

[@mcremona]

This is the new shop

[@jackreeves3001]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! KANSAS

[@drawlele]

So if this is the way when are we going to see you rebuild your bench? Or is the current bench what’s perfect for now

[@mcremona]

Probably next year

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

Ask the customer to send a picture when it's done. Cool trick cheating the cut on the saw Herc.✌

[@bige9055]

Awesome video Matt, oh ya you had short hair also.

[@yvonboudreau3932]

I don't see the need of a gym membership for you anytime soon. LOL Have a great day.

[@michaelc5369]

Maybe in the new shop after you hire a big strong assistant

[@jimcooney9019]

cool one

[@rayk9315]

Hey Matt: How do you like those Grizzley machines?

[@felixreali7101]

great video. really enjoyed this one. qq: does the epoxy not ruin the planer blades? 🤔

[@mcremona]

Nope. It machine really nicely

[@felixreali7101]

@@mcremona perfect. thanks. I've never tried epoxy before and I'm really looking forward to start :)

[@richardlong191]

Matt, how do you clean up the residue from the sheathing tape if you are not going to joint or plane that surface?

[@mcremona]

Acetone

[@BCDanno63]

Hey Matt I don’t know who is more hydraulic in structure ?? You or Andrew Camarata ?? while he picks up engine blocks and large excavator buckets you pick up large trees... And neither one of you look intimidating size wise ...Love your stuff..

[@thwwoodcraft1449]

And now my 8" HH jointer seems small.

[@tarz9386]

MATT, get with it, the money is in 2x4s . lol,

[@mcremona]

😂😂 accurate

[@inspectr1949]

You're so right as they are over $8.00 now for an 8 footer and crap lumber to boot.

[@stephenblum5521]

Looks like all my smart alec weightlifting comments are taken. So I'll just say, thanks for the video.

[@mcremona]

hahaha thanks!

[@johnsobj]

The riser sled for the thicknesses is a great idea to allow for the ridge left from the jointer. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Thx! Do you find that method works better than just using a hand plane to take off the ridge? Since you used your method, I’d assume you do think it’s better. Thanks and great work!

[@Blabbermouthwoodworking]

Hello, Mat, I am watching you run that slab in your thickness planer with the milamean plywood on the bed of the table why ? just wondering . I use paraffin wax on all my machines to make the wood slide with ease.

[@hansh5140]

do wax your jointer bed? found it made a huge difference on my table saw with less drag! great videos Matt

[@mcremona]

I of course waxed it after using it 😂

[@randallsmith7885]

Oh no. You aren't going to show the filled areas after milling them down? I am left with an emply place inside! ;-)

[@jtdyalEngineer]

I wonder if total boat has some epoxy to treat that?

[@davidpape9726]

I think surfacing the slabs is a good excuse to buy a thirty to forty inch over an under planer.

[@mcremona]

Been planning to do that 😅

[@brucewelty7684]

A Peter Principle workbench.

[@johnburens3395]

How about surfacing some slabs for all of us who you addicted to juicy slabs?

[@Blue.4D2]

⭐️😊👍

[@eddyarundale1566]

👋

[@dariushmilani6760]

The trouble with solid slab top is that wood movement very likely to warp the top and occasionally need to be resurfaced.👍

[@philjohnwilliams]

These slabs are all quarter sawn and so are less likely to warp like that. Also, all solid wood benchtops will require an occasional resurfacing

[@tobiasbradley7229]

Gees if that was Australian hardwood there's no way you'd be lifting it!

[@nscr2]

Did you wear the same shirt on purpose? Or was it just a happy accident lol

[@victoriavalladarez9094]

This is a pretty solid little workbench. While once you figure out how it comes together, it is physically Easy to assemble kzbin.infoUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh by yourself. But the diagrams explaining the steps are really pretty bad. I could not get the handle pins in all the way despite multiple attempts, so I just used a screw I had on hand for the 2nd handle. I could not get the first pin in further or pull it back out. You are supposed to hammer it in, but I had no leverage and the handle is plastic and I did not want to risk breaking it. I will get a lot of use out of the bench because of the convenient size and height. It does fold up nicely for storage. They even explain how to fold it so you don't get pinched...that is important!

[@DarkTouch]

another surfacing alternative is a pair of edge jointed 2x10 boards as parallel rails and a MDF box/sled with a router running a bottom flattening bit. This method can flatten unlimited sized slabs more or less.

[@JonScottSmith]

Matt, have you considered getting a large CNC router table? That'd make surfacing slabs a breeze.

[@mcremona]

I plan to but I likely still wouldn’t offer surfacing unless I had an employee to do it. I come at it from the perspective of having too many things to worry getting done about already.

[@damienwalsh1845]

love your videos matt! but if you were going to offer as a service would you not consider investing in some gear to make it more efficient? cheers SaltyDuck

[@mcremona]

I would likely just outsource it. Not enough volume to justify the capital outlay

[@damienwalsh1845]

Yeah true true.... you can’t be all things to all people!! 😊😊👍

[@johannes.f.r.]

If you had a shop cart with adjustable height and the space around the machines to use it, then it should be feasible. If you could do them in batches it might be worth giving yourself some space by moving stuff around for a day or two. But heaps of floor space and a forklift inside the shop would be preferable.

[@davidpeterson5186]

The laminated top is going to be more dimensionally stable initially and through the years. But you are putting to use silver maple which would end up in a landfill as it is not even good firewood.

[@leeskithree]

looks like you outfeed table on your jointer is a little off Matt

[@timothybaker8234]

On that first epoxy fill, use your shop vac from the side to draw the epoxy into the knot.

[@mcremona]

The one issue I have with that is if you do pull epoxy all the way through and get some on the surface, it will be incredibly difficult to dam it up as the tape will not stick and form a seal

[@boooshes]

@@mcremona if you want to try it, apply the tape, burnish it on, then poke a few small holes in the tape where the voids are; just needle sized. Next, apply the vacuum until it starts to weep out if the tiny holes, then another piece of tape over everything.

[@anthonygalante729]

Epoxy naturally want's to flow down hill depending on the cure time not a problem

[@MAGAMAN]

Wouldn't multiple thin pieces glued together be more stable than one big slab? Also, you need to fix your blade cover on your jointer. A guy on a youtube channel I follow lost all his fingers down to the knuckles on one hand because he accidentally brushed his hand against the blades on his jointer which had a blade cover that didn't close to cover the blades. When you lose your fingers to a jointer, there is zero chance of putting them back on.

[@cliffordarrow6557]

he was rabbeting a wide board that wouldn't otherwise go through jointer conventionally.

[@pctatc66]

spags must have watched this video.. hence the thumbs down

[@reforzar]

You should get a forklift.

[@mcremona]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@gizanked]

He keeps saying planer but it's clearly labeled as "thicknesser"

[@mcremona]

He's kinda dumb

[@gizanked]

@@mcremona at least he's allowed to talk. Unlike some podcasters I know.

[@26tp]

No gym for you.