Workbench dimensions and stability

Grahamshed · 8 Aug 2013

I am planning a new workbench built entirely from 4x2s and loosely based on the Paul Sellers videos and am wondering about the size.
It will be approx 7 foot 6 inches long and 27/28 inches wide. I want to keep as much storage space underneath it as possible but am concerned that it might 'bounce' at that length. Do you think it needs a set of legs in the middle ?

Phil Pascoe · 8 Aug 2013

What's your top made of, and how thick is it?

Grahamshed · 8 Aug 2013

It is all made of softwood 4x2s so it will be 4 inches (ish) thick.

Phil Pascoe · 8 Aug 2013

It's laminated, and four inches thick. I don't think it'll go far - in any case, your morticing and heavy work is done over a leg anyway, not in the centre where any bounce would show.

No skills · 8 Aug 2013

I've just made a bed that is easily mistaken for a workbench (wonder what will happen to it when its no longer required :wink: ), its nearly 7' long with about 4 1/2' gap between the legs (legs are 5 1/2"x3 1/2" approx) and with a 11" deep apron - no top obviously (its a bed! honest..). If I put a 3 1/2" thick top on it and attached it to the apron properly I would imagine it would only 'bounce' if I was morticing with a very large club or sledge hammer.

Don't forget that once the top is attached to the apron you are forming a right angle of quite thick timber that will be very strong, admittedly the further from the front of the bench the weaker it is but who mortices big lumps of timber whilst reaching right towards the middle of the bench?

FWIW

Jacob · 8 Aug 2013

It won't bounce but the closer to the legs the "deader" it is when you come to hammering (nailing, morticing, carving etc) so extra legs in the middle could be good (but not essential).

PS one good reason for not having a top layer (ply, mdf etc) is that this introduces a bit of a bounce when hammering. Solid timber best.