A REALLY Petite French Workbench – “The Bill-bo”

During our recent workbench-building event at The Barn BillR opted to build two small benches instead of one large bench.  This was due in great part to the spatial limitations of his work space, and he managed to create something(s) very special from the seeming hurdle.

I’ve already written about the larger of the two with its Emmert K2 vise, but equally captivating was his much smaller bench made from the same stock and using the identical techniques as the larger benches built that week.  Admittedly I helped him a bit with the second one once I made sure that everyone else was on-track with their large benches.

Bill reports that the final dimensions for the two benches were 54 1/2″ long by 23 1/4″ wide by 35 1/2″ tall for the larger of the two and 41″ long by 23 1/4″ wide by 30″ tall for the smaller bench.  It could literally make a nesting pair with the larger bench.  We kidded him about the smaller bench and immediately dubbed it “The Hobbit-Sized Roubo” a/k/a/ “The Bill-bo.”

He reports that it is right at home in his space, and in addition to being exceedingly sturdy has the added feature of being easily disassembled and transported to his remote retreat in the U.P.  Plus it is a near-perfect fit for a grandson.