Comments on: The long and short of bench heights

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. You have to get through the “opinions” and the “IMHOs”, which are seldom humble at all, to get to the meat of what you need. That should be more In My Honest Opinion, based on tried and tested methods that really work.

By: Andy Margeson

Andy Margeson — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:19:00 +0000

I am 6’3″ and built my bench 34″ high based on the “rule.” It is too low. After I read your post, I put 4″x 6″ under the legs and instantly liked it much better. I’ll try this height and a few others before finally deciding, but I have to say that your opinion seems right for me. Now, I have to design plinths for my nice Nicholson bench legs!

By: J Guengerich

J Guengerich — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 23:07:00 +0000

I just marked my legs before reading this post. The legs are at 35″ and the table is 3″ thick at this point. I’m 5′ 81/2″… so say 5’9″, and the measurement gives me the height that I’m working off to build the bench a total of 38″. The only time I’m having an issue right now is when I reach too far over the makeshift bench to plane. I’ve found the pull stroke works well there.
I do have kinda long monkey arms though.
Another coincidence, the bench is at 8′ long right now but when I cut it to size it will be 7’6″. That seemed like a good length for working on doors and tall shutters.
My goal was to have the bench done by the end of Oct but I’m going to have to push it to get there, its a busy season around here.

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:24:00 +0000

Keep correcting this discrepancy and even go the other way so that you can chisel the wall with horizontal cuts, perpendicular to the face of the wood. I use the knife wall to rest my chesel on before a forward thrust develops the wall pristinely. You will get it. e will show you this in the upcoming online stuff we are planning.

By: Christopher Harvey

Christopher Harvey — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Paul
I am 5’9″ and my bench is 34″ high. I wonder if that is why even with knife walls I can saw at 90° to the face but my cuts are off square vertically, even though the saw looks vertical to me? roll on your weekend or two day short course!

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:05:00 +0000

I am afraid there is no one size fits all with benches. Arm length, torso length and leg length play a part too. Long arms can indeed mean everage against you. Now that you have a max height you feel may be too tall, lay some plywood down and try working from that height for a day and see hpw it feels. Keep changing by adding and you will find the exact height that suits you and you can then cut to final height.

By: Jeremy Buehler

Jeremy Buehler — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:04:00 +0000

I was wrestling with this issue today! As a (very) novice woodworker I’ve been following your bench making series with keen interest. I do not have facilities that lend themselves to power tools, so I turned to hand tools in order to pursue the craft and I am smitten. However, it’s hard to have a go at it without a proper stable bench. I really want to see how this bench turned out because I’ve not had the opportunity to see a proper hand tool bench in person. Thanks for your hard work and sharing, keep it up!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Finally, some sanity returns to recommended bench heights. Here is to saving the backs of those Roubo enthusiasts who built benches with heights based on their pinky fingers. But then again, they seem to be enamored with being 18th century joiner re-enactors rather than cabinetmakers.

By: Scott P

Scott P — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 01:39:00 +0000

Could you share the logic used to determine the bench height? I’m 6-6 and use a 39 inch bench for hand work that was not originally designed for any type of woodworking and when working much above the benchtop due to vise/clamping limitations I feel plane work relies too much on arm strength. I’d like to know how the 43 inch bench works out.