Workbench height

[Mike G]

I was sure we'd done this before, but I couldn't find anything in a search.

Could you guys list your workbench height, your height, what you do at the bench, and whether you are happy with the height.

Mine is 860 high. I am 1780 tall. The bench is used for hand tool working, mainly, including carving and lots of chiseling and planing, and it's too low.

I'm thinking that any new bench in my future might be 950 tall, with stretchers placed such that I could reduce the height by up 2 or 3 inches if necessary.

 

[Woodbloke]

I posted the other day about this the other day; make it a standard height and then put blocks under the legs to raise it to exactly what's needed - Rob

 

[Mike G]

It's not quite that easy when it's screwed to the wall. And what is a "standard height" anyway?

 

[Dr.Al]

I was sure we'd done this before, but I couldn't find anything in a search.

Could you guys list your workbench height, your height, what you do at the bench, and whether you are happy with the height.

Mine is 860 high. I am 1780 tall. The bench is used for hand tool working, mainly, including carving and lots of chiseling and planing, and it's too low.

I'm thinking that any new bench in my future might be 950 tall, with stretchers placed such that I could reduce the height by up 2 or 3 inches if necessary.

I'm 1.98 metres high; my benches are at 1 metre with the possibility (via my portable workbench) to raise it up to 1.2 metres.

I plane at the bench, chisel at the bench and weld at the (other) bench (at the same height), although that's mostly done seated on a high stool. I also (Japanese) saw in the vice but mostly use the portable workbench to do that higher up. Sometimes its also nice to plane and chisel on the portable workbench, mostly for more detail stuff rather than flattening / thicknessing boards. I don't think I'd want my main bench much higher as it's fairly comfortable for general planing stuff. Chiselling would certainly benefit from a bit more height, although one day I'll try chiselling while seated, which might help there.

 

[RogerS]

I'm a short-arse at 1.80m compared to Dr Al.

My bench is also 1m.

I use it to pile stuff on top of when I can't find anywhere else to put it. :lol:

 

[AndyP]

The height of my Sjoberg bench I showed elsewhere is 37”. I’m 6’2”. With my ams by my side 37” is about where my watch face is from the ground. I find it comfortable but I reckon you may be doing a lot more planing that I have ever done.
What is important, I think, is the height in relation to your hands rather than your head, if you see what I mean.

37” = 94 cm

6’2” = 188 cm

 

[Lons]

I'm a short-arse at 1.80m compared to Dr Al.

My bench is also 1m.

I use it to pile stuff on top of when I can't find anywhere else to put it. :lol:

So that was bench I saw under all that stuff Roger :lol: :lol:

 

[Cabinetman]

Bench 940
Me 1750
That’s 37” and 5’9” if I’ve converted it correctly.

 

[Alf]

Time to think outside the box, Mike. Or on the box. You might consider a 2m tall bench and a step ladder, f'rinstance. In fact I think I'm certain we've had this conversation around here before...



No good giving you my bench height because the floor slopes, so it's different both ends. Besides, it's such a subjective thing, what's the point?

 

[9fingers]

My rule of thumb for working height is that when working your forearms should be as near to horizontal as possible.
So a bench for a lathe for example should be lower than one designed for hand tool use.
If you have pick a fixed height then go for 50 mm below elbow level.
Another consideration when fixed machines are involved in the mix is to get the machine tables at the same level as the bench even if that means raising the machines as you then have support for long lengths of timber.
Bob

 

[Windows]

I'm 6' 2" (and a half) /1890 mm and prefer to do hand planing, chiseling, and track sawing on a bench of about 36 inches / 920 mm. Hand sawing height varies quite a lot based on the workpiece and how it's held, but sawing at that height is OK too. I tend to do woody activities in short bursts so can't be sure a different height wouldn't be better, but seems comfortable enough. I agree with AndyP about basing the workbench height on arms rather than head.

 

[Doug]

1820mm & my bench is 910mm which I think was the height of my table saw when I built the bench years ago but it works fine for me.
That said one day I could be planing timber 20mm thick & the next 200mm thick so unless you are always working on similar thickness timber bench height is never gonna be optimal for every project.

 

[Mike G]

I'm a short-arse at 1.80m compared to Dr Al.....

Everyone is a short-arse compared with Al!

 

[Mike G]

Very interesting. I am an outlier at one end of the scale, and Roger is the outlier at the other end, with the highest bench: height ratio.

Bob, your elbow-height minus 50mm suggestion would give me a bench at 1050 high, taller than everyone else who has replied, and nearly 8 inches taller than my existing. And it would start interfering with my window, too.

 

[Mike G]

Time to think outside the box, Mike. Or on the box. You might consider a 2m tall bench and a step ladder, f'rinstance.

So, what spacing of step ladder steps........? :lol:

In fact I think I'm certain we've had this conversation around here before...

Yes, I thought so too, but I can't find hide nor hair of it if we have.

 

[Tiresias]

For what it is worth from an amateur my bench is 890 and I am 1725. I actually made it that high so I could cut it down if needed. But it wasn’t necessary, seems perfect for me. Planing (I prep. my stuff by hand), chiselling and sawing, but probably all smaller stuff than you habitually do – the largest edge jointed panel I’ve flattened would be about 750x500.

890 is about level with where a watch would be if I wore one.

But you haven’t ascertained what height shoes people wear when working. surely that would make a difference. Personally I never plane in anything lower than a kitten heel.

 

[Alf]

In fact I think I'm certain we've had this conversation around here before...

Yes, I thought so too, but I can't find hide nor hair of it if we have.

Blessed if I can find it either. We may be victim of our own digressions - or just imagining it!

As to step spacings, I'm sure Fibonacci must come into it somewhere.

 

[AndyP]

Mike you did ask a similar question on behalf of your friend about lathe height a while back

https://www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4856&p=109786&hilit=Height#p109771

 

[Phil]

At 1.7 I am short-arse (and shrinking)
My bench height is determined by the height of the RAS table at 845mm

The sequence is, starting from the right:
RAS 845mm
Workbench in the middle at 845mm and to the left the router table also at 845mm, both are fitted with height adjusters.
Can comfortably saw 3600mm pine planks on a level surface.
Routing anything longer than about 1500mm is not on, the wall is in the way.

The table saw is 940mm due to the mobile base. Actually a very nice height for assembly work.

 

[Blackswanwood]

This may be of interest Mike.

https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/workbench-height/

As you probably know Richard used to have a business making benches.

I also seem to recall Chris Tribe saying on one of his courses that 3” above the wrist was a good rule of thumb.

Cheers

Robert

 

[chataigner]

My rule of thumb for working height is that when working your forearms should be as near to horizontal as possible.
So a bench for a lathe for example should be lower than one designed for hand tool use.
If you have pick a fixed height then go for 50 mm below elbow level.

That's what I do too

Another consideration when fixed machines are involved in the mix is to get the machine tables at the same level as the bench even if that means raising the machines as you then have support for long lengths of timber.

Also what I did in my current workshop, it meant raising my combi saw/planer/spindle moulder by nearly 20cm, but the working height is much more comfortable as a result.
Bob

So: I'm 1m88 tall and my bench is at 110cm, which is a bit below my elbow height as mentioned above. These are far from typical proportions however, as I'm told I have an average size upper body and VERY long legs making my elbow height significantly higher than for most people of 1m88.

 

[chataigner]

@mike : if your bench is at 860 it's not surprising that you have back problems.

 

[Mike G]

.....As you probably know Richard used to have a business making benches...

Yes, I met him once. No nonsense approach, I'd say. God knows how he put up with all the frippery sold as "essential" at all the woodworking shows he used to attend.

 

[thetyreman]

I'm just under 6 foot high, bench height is 38 inches here from the ground seems right for me.

 

[Mike G]

Thanks Ben.

This has produced, believe it or not, some very interesting results. Here are your heights and the heights of your benches drawn on a graph:



The dashed line is the average, excluding the two outliers (me and Roger). I have the shortest bench to height ratio, and Roger has the tallest. They're the dots with the circle around. Now, we've only 10 data points, but already there is a very interesting ratio emerging.......1:1.97, or very nearly 1:2. In other words, if we are representative, then a bench height of just a tad over half your standing height is average.

(edited to change "under" to "over". The figures didn't change. I had made a mistake)

 

[Mike G]

.......So: I'm 1m88 tall and my bench is at 110cm,.....

Are you sure? That's way off the top of the graph (you've now got the circle for the highest ratio):



Did you mean 1010, perhaps?

 

[AndyP]

Methinks you are going to need to do some trial and error testing before you commit to bolting your bench to the wall Mike.

Nice to see that I am just below average………I’ve heard that somewhere before.

 

[Woodbloke]

Methinks you are going to need to do some trial and error testing before you commit to bolting your bench to the wall Mike.

If the bench is made heavy enough it don't need to be bolted to the wall - Rob

 

[Mike G]

Methinks you are going to need to do some trial and error testing before you commit to bolting your bench to the wall.....

Yep. I'll build it tall, and cut it down bit by bit as necessary.

 

[Mike G]

....If the bench is made heavy enough it don't need to be bolted to the wall - Rob

Mine does, because it has a shelf attached to the back that runs through to attach to a cupboard, and with sockets on it.

 

[Woodbloke]

Mine does, because it has a shelf attached to the back that runs through to attach to a cupboard, and with sockets on it.

Yebut I thought (maybe others as well) that you were going to build a brand new, super-duper, über heavy new one with a built in tail vice? - Rob

 

[Mike G]

Yes, yes, I am, but that shelf is something I couldn't do without. It will always be at the back of any bench I ever have.

But yes, you're general point is absolutely right. A properly heavy and rigid bench is almost always free-standing. After all, there were generally people working on both sides of benches way-back-when.

 

[Andy Kev.]

I'm 6' tall (1.83m?) and my bench top is 36" high.

I've felt for some time that it could perhaps be 1" lower but the feeling isn't so strong that I have actually got round to trimming the legs. Certainly though, if I were building a bench, I would opt for 35" height.

 

[AndyT]

If the bench is made heavy enough it don't need to be bolted to the wall - Rob

But just for the sake of balance (and knowing that Rob has seen my bench):

If you can bolt a bench to the wall (and to the floor) you can get by with cheaper, lighter construction.


I know mine is a bit unusual in that it has four supports, not two, and two of them are just bits of chipboard or blockboard, but they mean that the bench top never has to span more than about three feet between supports. I get something which is completely rigid however I choose to use it.

But rather than rabbiting on, here are some more data points for your research and graph, Mike.

Bench height from floor - max 31½" / 800mm, min 30"/760mm. Most used area is about 31"/787mm. (The floor is far from flat.)

I'm 5' 9½" / 1770 mm. The top of the bench is at wristwatch height.

I built the bench when we moved in to this house, which was over 32 years ago, and have been very happy with it throughout that time.

I did recently make a huge improvement to its usability, by buying and putting down some thick rubber gym matting in front of it. This noticeably improved my grip on the floor, making planing more efficient, but of course it effectively lowered the bench by ½"/12mm. I didn't think I'd need to change the height but have since started to think that as my back gets older I am beginning to find the bench a little bit too low. I do have an extra planing board (with a wide stop) which sits onto the top of the bench, and I think I will try using that a bit more and see if it evens things up again.

 

[PeteW]

If you can bolt a bench to the wall (and to the floor) you can get by with cheaper, lighter construction.

It's not always about the bench construction. When I built mine, I made it sturdy (had to get No.1 son to help lift it upright when done - I couldn't move it), but even so...

The shop floor is wooden boards on joists and was a bit bouncy. So I moved everything out and overlaid chipboard flooring in an attempt to stiffen things up, which worked but only up to a point. When planing, my weight shift would still flex the flooring and the bench would 'ripple' from right to left. Ever so slightly but enough to be really annoying.

So I used two angle brackets from B&Q and attached the bench legs to the wall. Rock-solid now!

 

[johnward]

I'm 1750 tall (or there abouts) and my bench is 910 high.
When I built it I followed a tip for the height being the middle of the hand when standing upright.
Luckily for me it's just about right!!

 

[Woodbloke]

If you can bolt a bench to the wall (and to the floor) you can get by with cheaper, lighter construction.

Oi mister, that's deformation of dooberies! You'll be hearing from my brief :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[NickM]

I measured some of them today and the benches at Edward Barnsley are 1m tall. That seems OK to me and I’m 6’.

Haven’t measured my home bench yet.

 

[Mike G]

That IS interesting, Nick. Thanks. They probably know a thing or two about benches for hand tool woodworking.

 

[thetyreman]

That IS interesting, Nick. Thanks. They probably know a thing or two about benches for hand tool woodworking.

+1 very interesting and higher than you would expect.