Workbench height

Re: Workbench height

John, NY

>I'm restricted in my workshop to having my workbench at the same height as my tablesaw so that I can use it as an outfeed table. This makes it just about the right height for me, i'm 6' 3", a little low maybe but I also have slightly higher benches against the wall with my compressor and dust collectors beneath them if I need to do close work. Now that my eyes are getting older I need things to be increasingly closer too...

Re: Workbench height

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>John,

The old adage was that the bench should be palm height. Too high, and you won't be able to use the mass of your uper body to produce down force. Too low, and you'll break your back.

Bugbear and I once discussed this here. As I recall, he felt the bench should be palm height with the board on it. You could also include the plane's thickness (which is considerable if you use wooden planes).

Working with children, I've noticed they need very low benches (below their palms) because they lack the upper body mass or upper body strength to push planes. This might be worth mentioning to our increasing number of female woodworkers, or even older woodworkers (though all of the older woodworkers I know are stronger than I am!).

Maybe I'm becoming weaker myself, but I enjoy working on lower benches anymore. I like sitting on my work, and I like being able to work comfortably on the middle of the bench.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Adam

Re: Workbench height

Alan Bierbaum

>It is a shame that some of us so not have the room for two benches. My palm height is 34" and my bench is 35 1/2" to match some power equipment that I regularly use. I don't have a problem planing for a hour at a time (never really tried longer times without a break). I do wish for a taller bench for dovetail work though. Except for joint work (short periods of time); I use electrons for most sawing work.

Re: Workbench height

David Linnabary

>I find myself sitting for a good bit of the finess work ,of course I use my bench as a place to study and do layout as well.

Another factor besides height is your build, if you're longer (hip to shoulder) as I am, a taller bench is nice because leaning out over your work is more fatiguing for the lower back. So when I need to get my weight out over my work I cheat a little by working up on my toes slightly. This is why I swear by a narrow bench positioned in the middle of the room. It allows you to work from all sides comfortably, of course you have to be a little ambidextrious. :)

David

Re: Workbench height

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>If I measure palm height from your arms hanging straight down it's 30 but my bench is 37. I find myself sitting down quite a bit for chopping and pairing purposes. My next bench is going to be 28" I have made a seperate small bench to sit on and use for sawing.

Re: Workbench height

Jack Guzman from Maine

>My bench is at 34" which I found to be comfortable for me for planing and most other work.However,I couldn't cut dovetails in my face vise without squatting abit.When I added the leg vise that problem was solved. The jaws of the leg vise are 6" or so above my bench height.Bench height is totally relative to the work you intend to do on it.---Jack

Re: Workbench height -- what did you end up with?

Edward Damewood, Northern Alabama

>Adam,

I read your comment with interest. Would you mind sharing your final bench height?

Referenced using arms-straight-down-at-sides, what height did you end up with for your bench? It sounds like you went lower than palms or hooked-thumbs. Did you end up at fist-level? Second knuckles? Fingertips?

Thanks for any help. I'm getting ready to build something along the lines of Bob Key's starter bench, and I'm curious about dimensions.

Thanks to all of you for these bench threads -- this is good and important stuff!

Edward Damewood

Northern Alabama

Re: Workbench height

paul womack

>Bugbear and I once discussed this here. As I recall, he felt the bench should be palm height with the board on it. You could also include the plane's thickness (which is considerable if you use wooden planes).

That sounds about right. Of course, this only applies to a bench primarily used for stock planing.

If your predominant work is moulding creation, or DT cutting, or cabriole leg carving, you may come to a different conclusion.

At the risk of repeating myself, there's is no single ultimate bench to which everyone should aspire.

BugBear

Re: Workbench height

John Downey, Tucson

>One shop I worked in for a while had these add on tops for the benches that brought them from a good height for planing and sanding to a good height for more detailed work. They were about eight or maybe ten inches tall, and had dowels in the mini legs that slid into holes in the bench. It was quite a good idea I think, though you do have to store the thing when not in use.

John

39"

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>I work on different benches in different shops. My bench at home is 39" which is roughly an inch higher than palm height. I like a high bench because it is so easy on your back. Its nice to do layout work on, etc.

But keep in mind I'm big and pretty strong, so when I built my bench, I never saw any problems with its height. Also, I have a tendency to make things much bigger than normal because I get frustrated living in a world where every thing is designed for people a foot shorter than me.

I'm not sure how high the bench is at the museum. It may be 34" inches or so, which could be as you say, below fist height for me.

I don't have an answer. I just wanted to mention that you should put more into the bench height equation than just the palm high rule. Though it can be a back breaker, a low bench has its advantages.

Adam