Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Bench Plan

Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Bench Plan

The Split Top Roubo bench plan was inspired by the bench illustrated in Plate 11 of Andre Roubo's classic 17th century treatise on cabinetmaking, L'Art du Menuisier. The design has been enhanced to incorporate the advantages that the Benchcrafted Tail Vise and Glide Leg Vise provide. It's a sophisticated set of plans that take the guesswork out of building the workbench of your dreams. The measured drawings and detailed construction notes will enable you to successfully build the bench and install the vises so that they work perfectly.

The plans consist of four 20" x 30" printed pages of measured drawings that show the bench in all the necessary views including exploded, with specific details describing each part. Concise yet extremely detailed, the drawings are printed on 20-lb. bond paper and shipped rolled in a cardboard tube. Full construction notes can be downloaded below

The completed bench measures 87" long x 35" tall, with a benchtop that is 24" wide x 4" thick. It typically weighs well over 300 lbs. depending upon the species of wood you select to build it.

The plans can be purchased here by themselves, or you may purchase our Benchmaker's Package which includes all the vises and necessary assembly hardware in addition to the plans (everything you need except the wood).

Important Note - Crisscross Design Change

In February 2025, Benchcrafted released a new version of the Crisscross Solo and Retro.

The length of the Crisscross arms (the two main parts of the mechanism) were shortened by 1-1/2". This allows the Crisscross to be fit into a wider variety of workbench heights and allows for a greater variety of vise installation positions without affecting performance. The mortise for the V2 Crisscross arm is now 18" long, the previous version being 19-1/2" long. All other aspects of the Crisscross Solo and Retro remain unchanged.

Updated instructions and addenda for older plans/instructions can be downloaded below or on the Benchcrafted website.

Additional Information

Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Contruction Notes

Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Contruction Notes 2025

Benchcrafted Split Top Roubo Workbench Crisscross Addendum 2025.

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