Optimum Height For My Self Build Workbench?

[pollys13]

Have sourced a timber merchant who will supply correct grade/type of Redwood. Only 9 miles away will collect in car tomorrow.

Would the optimum height of my workbench be my hip, bent elbow height?
Cheers.

 

[Glynne]

Not quite as bad as a sharpening thread, but wait for several contradictory views.
In brief, what ever suits you. I have an Axminster 1700 bench which, in terms of height, I thought was brilliant - until I went on a course with Peter Sefton. A short story even shorter, I worked at a bench which was about 4" higher and it really suited me. I had already raised my lathe onto blocks so it shouldn't have come as any great surprise but a higher work surface suits me at the giddy altitude of 5'10". So the bench is now about 3" higher than spec. But very much each to their own.
So I would suggest if you can try various heights then do so but if not, build one to the "standard" heights of commercial ones so as you can raise on blocks if need be or, build a low platform if it is too low.

 

[undergroundhunter]

Its all dependent on what you're doing on the bench, how you will work on it (hand/power tools or both), how tall you are, how good your back is........ the list goes on, and on and on. A bench is a very personal thing. Just to give you some idea, I'm 6'2" and mine is 38" high to the top.

Two things I would suggest:

1) If you are undecided make it taller than you think and allow for shortening of the legs if you feel the need.
2) the way I came up with my bench height is forget all the rubbish about wrist height, thumb height blahdy blahdy blah, do some ironing. Seriously I figured if it was comfortable to iron on then it would be a comfortable working height and it is (for me anyway)

Good luck

Matt

 

[dickm]

do some ironing.

somehow, I don't think SWMBO would approve of me ironing anything even on the relatively clean woodworking bench. And as for the metalworking one..................... least said the better.

 

[pollys13]

Raising on blocks seems a goodish idea, though week ago I bought set of locking castorsfrom Axminster for benches down from £54 i think it was to £19.00.
At this moment depending on any other reply's, might make legs longer then cut them down if seems to be better and if quite easy to do that. Or look at height of commercial benches and use that. Not really decided will have a ponder.
Cheers all.

 

[custard]

Or look at height of commercial benches and use that.

Most commercial benches are way too short for the modern woodworker, they stick with the tired old formulas and are nervous of appearing different from competitors by recognising how woodworking is actually carried out in the 21st century.

If you plan on converting and dimensioning all of your timber entirely by hand, using a 4" high wooden bodied plane, and you're of a height that was typical in the 18th and 19th centuries, then you'll be well pleased with the traditional recipe for bench heights.

But if just one of the above assumptions doesn't apply then all you'll get is a sore back.

I've made loads of benches, every one was taller than its predecessor...and I'm still not done with that trend yet.

Good luck!

 

[undergroundhunter]

do some ironing.

somehow, I don't think SWMBO would approve of me ironing anything even on the relatively clean woodworking bench. And as for the metalworking one..................... least said the better.

I must say SWMBO did wonder what I was doing taking my work clothes and the iron to the garage. But seriously it really did help me make up my mind.

I agree with Custard 100% on this. On my bench I do only hand tool work and I do dimension my timber using 4" high wooden planes and fine it just right for me. You try cutting dovetails on a 32" high bench I can assure you unless you are "vertically challenged" then you have a very sore back after not too long.

As I said it all depends on the use of the bench.

Matt

 

[Logger]

Mine is 38.5 inches, and I am 6ft 4. One thing to potentially bear in mind is what other uses you may need your bench for.

I work in a garage and my bench (it is a very deep one) acts as an out feed table for my table saw. My table saw is on a castors making it a good height for a bench in any case. I have another bench my mitre saw is on which is lower than the main table so I can use the main table to support large bits of timber whilst using my mitre saw.

A small table with my bench band saw is on makes the table level with my router table.

If you have any bits of kit that will require any support for timber, this may help you determine a useful height.

Cheers

Nick

 

[Droogs]

With Custard on this. My latest bench 4th I've made and has gone from traditional height to 40" and is feeling pretty darn good using both wood and metal planes. I also use the router on occasion and this hieight is great for that. Did have to raise the bandsaw cuboard and the router table to line up with the bench. I'm 185cm or 6'1" and I'm at the bench for an average of 13 hours a day everyday. No back ache so far

 

[pollys13]

Uum, the timber is reasonably priced and as I say only 9 miles away. Think will decide on a height for legs, if later on find a different height would be better. The legs, I think will be easy to remove so just put a new set on.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I left the legs of my bench long then tested it with a dry assembly, gradually trimming down until I found the height I preferred. It was a bit of a faff, but in the end I got it just right.

 

[pollys13]

I left the legs of my bench long then tested it with a dry assembly, gradually trimming down until I found the height I preferred. It was a bit of a faff, but in the end I got it just right.

Good idea, why didn't I think of that, duh

 

[ED65]

Would the optimum height of my workbench be my hip, bent elbow height?

Yes :mrgreen:

There must be older threads on this if you want more but there was some good input on it just a short while back here.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I left the legs of my bench long then tested it with a dry assembly, gradually trimming down until I found the height I preferred. It was a bit of a faff, but in the end I got it just right.

Good idea, why didn't I think of that, duh

I would go a step further and actually work on it finished before cutting the legs down an inch at a time. You may well find what you think is a bit high actually isn't. We (well, most of us) no longer spend hours hand planing, so a lower bench is no advantage to us and sometimes (especially as we're getting older) a higher bench is.

 

[John15]

Mine is 36" high and I'm 5' 10" tall. I find this height very comfortable at the moment. If my back gets worse I will probably raise it a bit.

John

 

[pollys13]

I left the legs of my bench long then tested it with a dry assembly, gradually trimming down until I found the height I preferred. It was a bit of a faff, but in the end I got it just right.

Good idea, why didn't I think of that, duh

I would go a step further and actually work on it finished before cutting the legs down an inch at a time. You may well find what you think is a bit high actually isn't. We (well, most of us) no longer spend hours hand planing, so a lower bench is no advantage to us and sometimes (especially as we're getting older) a higher bench is.

OK cheers.

 

[Jacob]

Between 30 and 40 inches.
Handy to have it short but raised on blocks so you can adjust it.

 

[DoctorWibble]

Richard Maguire, who built custom benches for a few years, has said that his customer benches averaged around 34". Paul Sellers likes 38".

I have two one around 33" and a wall bench at 36". The wall bench is great for fixing things but I prefer actual woodwork on the lower one. Sighting down chisels, planning, general leverage and just getting over things I find a lot less comfortable on the taller bench.

So maybe start around 36-38" and cut down to suit

But really its not like you're stuck in a chair, you're moving all the time so an inch or two either way isn't going to make much difference.

 

[DTR]

36" for me, I'm 6'2". It's a bit low for some jobs, dovetailing for example, but for most jobs it suits me. One day I'm going to build a twin screw vice (a Moxon) for dealing with those sorts of jobs.

 

[custard]

Festool make their MFT work table 35 1/4" or 895mm high. I doubt they just plucked that as a random number out of thin air. Although I suspect they've chosen 35 1/4" as the lowest acceptable height for power tool operations in order to maximise the bench's stability.

My current bench is 36 1/4" or 920mm high. Purely by coincidence my saw, planer, and spindle moulder are also 36 1/4". Again, I doubt Felder arrived at that number by just flipping a coin.

I've worked in workshops with 38" high benches (and craftsmen who ranged from 5'6" to 6'4") and found them excellent for jointing, inlaying, shaping, jig making, scraping, sanding, veneer cutting and all the other tasks that constitute the majority of bench work. It's an acceptable height for hand planing provided you have machines for most of the donkey work, if you do rather more hand planing work, but still have some access to machines, then 37" or 36" might be a better compromise. The next bench I build will be 37" high.

My sharpening station is 39" or 990mm, that works very well for the linisher that does most of the serious metal removal, but can be a bit too high for extended sessions of hand honing.

For assembly and glue ups of medium to large size case furniture I prefer much shorter trestles or saw horses, applying sash cramps at above head height doesn't lead to the best results.