Workbench Width Options

[Henry Burlingame III]

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of building my first workbench for hand tool woodworking and had a question I was hoping you could help me with:

I have been hand planing and laminating douglas fir strips together for my benchtop in groups of 4. I was thinking that each strip would end up about 1-1/4 thick so was planning to do about 20 boards total to get a workbench width of about 24". However, now that I have my 5 groups of 4 boards each glued up I see that they are each about 5-3/4" thick. So my total workbench width would be about 28-3/4" if I used them all and I am afraid that this may be a little wide. If I only glue up 4 of the 5 groups of boards I will end up with a workbench about 23" wide.

So what would you recommend? 23" wide or 28-3/4" wide? This is a roubo style workbench a la Chris Schwarz's book.

Thanks a lot!

[John Coloccia]

I always though 2' wide wasn't quite wide enough. A lot of work surfaces end up 2' wide because that happens to be a half sheet of plywood. I'm not sure how woodworking benches seemed to end up 2' wide, to be honest. I'd take the 28-3/4" option, personally.

[Jim Koepke]

Sorry to answer your question with a question.

Will your bench be free standing or against a wall?

Over deep isn't as much of a concern for a bench in the middle of a shop. That could even allow another vise or two on the other side.

Bench depth may have come about from the average reach of a person.

For me, a little extra room on the bench would be welcome.

jtk

[Henry Burlingame III]

In my current shop it will be freestanding, but this may not always be the case. However, I don't think reaching across a 28-3/4" width benchtop to get to tools on the wall etc. would be too much of a hassle. One thing that got me thinking about the width possibly being too wide was something written in the workbench book I was reading:

"A narrow bench allows you to easily sleeve casework over your benchtop to work on the assembled piece of furniture. You can level dovetails and prepare the exterior for finishing. Those are tough things to do without the help of your benchtop".

[John Coloccia]

"A narrow bench allows you to easily sleeve casework over your benchtop to work on the assembled piece of furniture. You can level dovetails and prepare the exterior for finishing. Those are tough things to do without the help of your benchtop".

So will a couple of 2X4s bolted to the bench.

No dog in this fight. Just saying that I wouldn't build a bench around being able to hang a theoretical cabinet off the end.

[Don Rogers]

My first workbench will be 27-1/2" wide x about 73" long. It will mostly be against a wall so will be a stretch to lean across. However, even if that width is not all usable to work on, it will at least be able to support work that long. Had I followed the original design, it would have been 24" wide x 60" long. Workbench casters will be added later if I have to move it around. Just step on them to drop the wheels below the legs and it will roll easily.

Being my first woodworking bench, I am most concerned about having a solid bench to work on. It's height may be too high also, but the legs can always be cut down - lots easier than making them longer.

My lack of experience in using a workbench will show up later but it will have been lots worse had I not had experienced help from the members of this forum.

Don

[David Weaver]

6 of one and half dozen of another.

Make it a little wider if you plan on using it as an assembly table as well as a bench. If it's a bench only and you're a hand tool woodworker, you probably won't find too often that 2 feet is too narrow. You will often find that 2 feet is awkward as an assembly table.

If you have any doubt about it, make it wider.

[Jim Matthews]

I have two benches in my shop, one that's 24" wide and the other nearly 30" wide.

I've never pushed anything off the back of the wide one.
I can reach the far end, without leaning over.

Mock up the top with a piece of foam insulating board, set to your chosen height.

See what you can reach, bumping into the front limit.

[David Weaver]

There is another thing true about wide benches, keeping in mind that I have a narrow bench and it's not good quality.

But that's that if benches rock at all, it's usually if you put something that needs significant sawing force in the vice in the front and put pressure on the bench in the narrow direction (for some of us, space is restricted at the end vise side of the bench if you go too many feet past.

A wider bench is going to tolerate that better, and personally, I'd rather have a 250 pound bench that's 6" wider than a 450 pound bench that's 6" narrower. You can move a 250 pound bench pretty easily if you want to, it has less wood in it, and this stuff with 4 or 5 inch thick bench tops is a fairly recent phenomenon that I don't ever plan to get into.

With the flame throwing double iron, you never need to go to the other side of the bench to plane, either, so I'm changing my vote to 6" wider than 24" (and make mine with a top 2 1/2" thick with a skirt, and with cheap hardware)

[Kees Heiden]

Actually thick bench tops is a pretty old phenomenon, just not everywhere.

[David Weaver]

Right, I agree with that. The very old benches made of solid wood were thick.

but it's not necessary for planing, and they went out of style for a while (the 400-500 pound benches) and people continued to plane.

Only the recent boutique stuff has made folks think that a bench with a 2 1/2 inch thick top and two colombian vises is a starter bench.

We have benches around here (actually at home where I grew up, which is an older area) in antique shops that are of indeterminate age, but probably on the order of 200 years old. They are so beat they are almost unrecognizable, and the antique shops get a hold of them, run a brush over them and then cover them with some kind of clear finish and call them interior furniture. The last few I have seen have been a single board of oak. They are probably only 18 or 20 inches deep (still, a board 20x4 inches is very big given current standards).

I don't know, maybe it's just me - I don't get excited about the idea of a 500 pound bench in a shop where it's nice to be able to move the bench from time to time, nor does the idea of a pine bench 4 inches thick get me excited at all.

Everyone likes different things, I guess.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have switched around several times in terms of my preference for my bench top. Currently I plan to follow Bob Lang's design for the 21st Century Workbench. Bob's bench is a split top, 11 3/4" per side with a 7 1/2" gap making a total bench top width of 31".

Bob has posted here on SMC that were he to build his bench again he would make two minor changes: reduce the width of the gap and the trays designed to fit those gaps, make the front "half" of the bench wider than the back half. Following Bob's thoughts I am thinking maybe 13-14" front section, 8-10" back section with maybe a 5" gap, with removable trays. The split top, of course, provides a place drawers or cabinets can be hung in, among many other uses. My total bench width will be close to what the OP's top would be if glued up as is. There is a fairly recent post on split tops where the virtues and issues of this top style are discussed extensively.

[Henry Burlingame III]

Thank you everyone for the advice.

I think I am going to glue the top up with all the boards and just embrace the extra width.

Now all I have to do is decide on height ;-).

[Jim Matthews]

Now all I have to do is decide on height ;-).

I'm of a mind that hand tool users get their best leverage with benches at your belt line.

Lower, and you'll be bending over to see what you're doing.
Higher, and you'll have your elbows flexed more than 90 degrees.

You can always build a riser, or "bench on bench" if you wish to raise the workpiece.
Lowering a bench is considerably more difficult.

[Mark AJ Allen]

Probably been mentioned but if your bench is too wide and against a wall, stretching to get wall hanging tools get's old REALLY fast; it may even be a safety issue. I won't recommend a width; that's dependent on your body but a bench can never be too long, heavy or rigid. It can be too wide and too high.

[Brian Hale]

Brian first bench was 4' x 8'.... Never again
2nd was 22" x 60".... Too narrow and not long enough

Current bench is 38" x 108" i think. That's a very good size for me. I'm 5' 6" and the bench is 32" tall which is good for hand planning and mortising but a bit to short dovetailing. I can walk around it and use it from all sides but if it was against a wall it might be a bit too wide to reach over so a couple inches narrower might work.

Brian

[ken hatch]

I'm a bit of a work bench curmudgeon.....I believe most over think their work bench build, especially first bench builds. Unless you have very specific needs build the first one or two benches out of construction grade wood, make it heavy with good simple joinery (no through mortices but with pinned and/or draw bored housed M/T's). Do not obsess over vises, put a simple face vise on, something that can just be bolted to the bench, a metal QR tail vise if you must, drill dog holes wherever, and go to work. BTW, longer is better, it should be wide enough to be stable but unless you have a specific need for extra width just wide enough to make it stable (550mm to 650mm), height....who knows, you just have to work at different heights to see. My mantra is build it strong, build it heavy, build it cheap, and build it quickly, then go to work making furniture.

The reason for construction grade wood is it will be cheap and you will not mind modifying it as desired and if you can't modify easily it is not cost prohibitive to build another. After a couple of builds you will know what is needed, what gets in the way and is a PITA or doesn't work. Then someday build your "pretty" bench, at that time you should have enough knowledge to build your perfect bench.

BTW, I find a good working width for my work is about 370mm but that is too narrow for good stability, hence the split top on my bench so I end up with a 630mm bench width. Of course as always this is just the ranting of an OF and YMMV.

[Jim Matthews]

BTW, I find a good working width for my work is about 370mm but that is too narrow for good stability, hence the split top on my bench so I end up with a 630mm bench width. Of course as always this is just the ranting of an OF and YMMV.

That's about where I'm going to end up, with my split top.
And the other part, too.

Being able to slip a clamp or batten in the middle of a bench top is something
I'm always working around.

OFIT (in training)

[Tom Vanzant]

Just finished replacing the base on my small bench. Using clear HemFir from the local Borg, I laminated 3-1/8 x 2-3/4 legs, stretchers and rails, and 3-1/8 x 1-3/8 bearers to mate with existing holes in the top...18 x 49 x 3" thick, a modified Lervad 10-3/4 x 49 carvers bench. Legs are flush with bench top and have a 18 x 47 footprint. Much sturdier than the original folding base and its subsequent replacement. After trial and error with platforms of various thicknesses, I settled on a height of 32". I can plane 1/4 to 16/4 stock comfortably and use risers and bench-on-bench for DTs and such. Smooth sailing so far... I like it!

[Stanley Covington]

The bench width you select should depend on several factors. One is how tall you are, and how long are your arms (and how good is your back). A shorter guy like me at 5'-8" cannot effectively use a 36" wide benchtop pushed up against a wall. But if I can access it fully from both sides, then 36" or even 40" is entirely practical.

Another factor is what you intend to make using the bench. Cabinet face frames need a minimum of 24, and 36" is much better. Rails and stiles and chairs parts don't need much width. The ideal is for the benchtop to be wide enough and long enough to entirely support any single piece or assembly you need to plane or true. This is because the bench is not just a table to keep things at a convenient height and wood shavings out of your coffee mug, but more importantly it is a jig that helps you achieve flat, straight and wind-free boards with a minimum of effort. So for making doors, the most efficient benchtop is at least 36" wide, and 80" long. You can build doors with a narrower bench, of course, but it is more work and requires greater attention. And of course, you can't use a 36" wide bench pressed up against a wall. you need to be able to work the door from both sides. On the other hand, if you build small boxes and knick-knacks, then an 18" wide benchtop against a wall is plenty wide.

Another factor is how much space you have in your shop. If you build panels, doors, and work wider boards, then accessing from both sides is important. But you need 24" clear each side of the bench and at both ends. So consider how much room left for the benchtop, and how much of a wide board or panel can hang off the benchtop while planning the opposite side.

I don't like tool troughs because they reduce the effectiveness of the benchtop as a jig. The workbench is not for tool storage. If there is not room for the tools on the benchtop, then they need to be cleared away and or stored on the shelf between the spreaders underneath.

So ask yourself how wide your jig needs to be, how wide a jig you can physically handle, and and how much space you have to place this jig.

Stan

[Jim Matthews]

I don't like tool troughs because they reduce the effectiveness of the benchtop as a jig. The workbench is not for tool storage.
If there is not room for the tools on the benchtop, then they need to be cleared away and or stored on the shelf between the spreaders underneath. Stan

Troughs are where I hide my tools under shavings.
My benches can be for tool storage, or working space, but not both.

Amen, Reverend.

[John Coloccia]

The reality for me is when I'm working, the bench stores tools. That's just how it is. I really dislike tool troughs, though. I'd rather have solid bench space. The tools always just take care of themselves it seems. When a couple too many are out, it encourages me to put them away. If I had a tool trough, I think it would eventually just turn into a junk drawer, anyway.