Bench height for planing

[Trevor Goodwin]

I'm in the process of putting together a bench for woodworking. I do a bit of carving so initially I thought I'd go for a height of 38", but I've found (while making my new bench) that I'm more comfortable with a low height for planing and grunt work. The bench I'm currently using is about 33" and even with that I think I'd better with a lower height for planing. Despite being a young bloke I have dicky shoulders and going lower should help me because I can use more lower body for planing. In my mind it's easier to temporarily add to a workbenches height than take from it, either by adding a bench-on-bench or chocking the legs.

I have Chris Schwarz' book and I notice his English workbench design is a few inches higher than the Roubo design. I'm not sure why that it is but it correlates with Paul Sellers English workbench design that is quite high vs. the standard Roubo which is fairly low.

I'm considering a height of 30" because this is a good planing height for me. For fine work, I can add height to the top or use a stool. I'm 5'8" btw.

Just want to hear some experiences other people have had with optimum planing heights before I cut the legs.

[Mike Baker 2]

While building my bench I am using a Black and Decker Workmate. Sitting my bench top on that, it comes to about 32.5" Originally I thought this height felt about right, but I am not so young anymore, and got to thinking what my back might feel like bending down to work for any length of time. So I build it to end up about 35-36" when completed.
Will that be right? Remains to be seen. I took my best guess.
As you said, if it doesn't work out, you can find ways to add height.. Good luck.

[Rick Malakoff]

Take a look at this video some good information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBS5-AV81lg

[Karl Andersson]

When I was building my bench, I read both the Landis book and Schwarz's - somewhere in there someone mentioned that height in inches is irrelevant - that the bench needs to be where it's comfortable to you. A rule of thumb I recall is to stand with your arms straight down and bend your wrists up so your hands are 90 degrees to your arms (or close to it), and that is a good starting point to zero in on your height.

I did that, putting my bench top on sawhorses and adding/ removing cribbing under it until I found a height I liked for planning. It turns out to be a little higher than what many people like (Schwarz was extolling almost knee-height Roman benches the last time I read his stuff) - mine is about 3 inches above my wrist joint. But I have really bad arthritis in my knees and I don't like wearing glasses while I work, so having the bench closer to my eyes helps.

Carving is another story altogether and I've made a separate carving "horse" that gets carvings much closer to my eyes so I can see what I'm doing (even with glasses). I also use a raised carving bench on my workbench when carving larger panels and boards (like window casing).

Hope that helps
Karl

[Bob Glenn]

A lot depends on what kind of planes you use. Generally, if you use wooden planes, you want the bench to be a little lower, since the height of the plane raises your grip height. The opposite holds true for iron bodied planes. You experiment with different thickness shims under the piece you are planing until you find that sweet spot.

[Rick Malakoff]

Bob, in regards to your tag line, "Life's too short to use old sandpaper" I do keep a selection of old used paper just for the odd jobs that would not benefit from new.
Rick

[steven c newman]

I am 5'11", and kind of creaky......bench height I am using right now? 33-3/4" high. Most chisel work is done sitting down. Mitre Box bench is quite a bit higher. Saw handle is about the height of my elbow.

[Nathan Johnson]

I'm brand new to this and in the process of building my bench also. I'm 6' 1" with long arms and legs, and I also have awful shoulders. Because of that, I plan to plane much more by locking my arms and moving with the plane, than just pushing the plane around with my arms. I've been working on sawhorses at a height of around 31" and it's murder on my back, so I'm aiming for a bench height of roughly 36" when finished. I'm thinking of building a separate moxon vise that would sit another 6 - 8" above the work surface for doing joinery.

My garage workbench (general purpose, not woodworking per se) is 41 1/2 inches high. I have really liked that height for working on miscellaneous garage projects.

[lowell holmes]

I am 6' 1/2" (used to be 6'-1 age does that to you.) My bench is 33 3/8" tall and I am comfortable with it. You could make your bench a little short and put blocks under it until you find the height you are comfortable with and then attach the blocks permanently. It is a woodworking bench.

[Robert Engel]

Trevor, you may want to consider the heights are different for carving vs. chiselling and planing.

Since the height for carving is generally a bit higher, I would not make the bench too high.

I think a good rule of thumb is floor to bottom of hand held flexed at 90°

I am 6'-2 and my bench is 33" high.

[Pat Barry]

If its too short make some spacers to add on to the legs. If it is too long, cut the legs off a bit. This isn't rocket science.
Edit: said too short, then cut the legs off - LOL

[Rick Malakoff]

My bench is 33 5/8ths and I'm 5'9'' and I can't remember why I made it that height.
Rick

Pat I'm confused, "If its too short make some spacers to add on to the legs. If it is too short, cut the legs off a bit. This isn't rocket science."
Is that like, I cut it twice and it's still too short?:D

[Pat Barry]

My bench is 33 5/8ths and I'm 5'9'' and I can't remember why I made it that height.
Rick

Pat I'm confused, "If its too short make some spacers to add on to the legs. If it is too short, cut the legs off a bit. This isn't rocket science."
Is that like, I cut it twice and it's still too short?:D
LOL - better get a proof reader. I'll correct it. Thanks!

[Trevor Goodwin]

I made this post because I want to avoid shortening the legs because that would be a lot of work. The legs will be 5x3.5" pine, mostly because that's what I've got on hand. Sure it's pretty simple to cut the legs down afterwarsd, but with hand tools it would be a big job dismantling the bench, cutting them down, then planing the pine end grain smooth, all whilst making sure they're identical length and square; then reassembling the bench. I'm going with 31" for the height, I think that will be a comfortable height for planing which is what I've been struggling with most. Something like this looks very handy for when I need to get closer to the work: http://www.finewoodworking.com/2008/03/21/a-benchtop-bench

[Pat Barry]

I made this post because I want to avoid shortening the legs because that would be a lot of work. The legs will be 5x3.5" pine, mostly because that's what I've got on hand. Sure it's pretty simple to cut the legs down afterwarsd, but with hand tools it would be a big job dismantling the bench, cutting them down, then planing the pine end grain smooth, all whilst making sure they're identical length and square; then reassembling the bench. I'm going with 31" for the height, I think that will be a comfortable height for planing which is what I've been struggling with most. Something like this looks very handy for when I need to get closer to the work: http://www.finewoodworking.com/2008/03/21/a-benchtop-bench

I think mine is 32" and I picked that because it is level with the top of my tablesaw so it can serve as an outfeed support for long boards or plywood if need be. I agree that something on top would help for detail work.

[lowell holmes]

It had slipped my mind, but when I designed my bench, I measured my elbow height from the floor and used that.

I read somewhere to do that and it worked.

[Robert Engel]

Yes, the benchtop bench is quite handy. Steve Latta also has one a bit longer you may want to look at.

I built the one in FWW but I incorporated a moxon vise into it.

366182

[William Fretwell]

I'm 6' 1" now, my work boots take me back up to 6' 2" and I prefer 38.5" to plane. I push the plane along far more than down. Paul Sellers has a good video just pulling a plane to show how easy it is with a sharp blade.
The benefit is cutting dovetails and chiselling in general is so much easier to see. You can add a matt or have a false floor to 'lower' your bench very easily.

[Noah Magnuson]

I am 5'9" and built my latest bench at 35". I tried a lower bench and it just didn't work for me. It is ideal for most of the joinery work and I generally have no issue with it for planing even for a long time. There is no "correct" height, just the "right" height for what you do most often. Also, you can always laminate a few sheets of plywood together into a platform instead of blocking up a shorter bench.

[Jim Koepke]

I am 5'9" and built my latest bench at 35". I tried a lower bench and it just didn't work for me. It is ideal for most of the joinery work and I generally have no issue with it for planing even for a long time. There is no "correct" height, just the "right" height for what you do most often. Also, you can always laminate a few sheets of plywood together into a platform instead of blocking up a shorter bench.

My thought on this sort of thing is to build it a bit tall and then use a platform or layers of wood to find the ideal height and trim the legs accordingly.

The OP has already stated they do not want to trim the legs after assembly, so that nixes that idea.

Another way would be to cut tenons on the bottom of the legs and shim the bench up to a comfortable working height. Then build sled feet for the base with the new height incorporated into the design.

Of course, it might be easier to use these or other methods on one's current set up to determine an ideal height before starting.

jtk

[Andrey Kharitonkin]

I am 6' tall and built a bench 37.5" high. My thought was exactly like Jim said - start high, cut to low it. However, I also have stretchers at the bottom of the legs that now limit the amount for what I can cut. Otherwise, there would be not enough space for my feet when standing close to the bench.

I think I made it a bit too high for me. 35.5" probably would be better. I usually plane something between 3/4" to 2" thick on my bench. But you get used to pretty much anything, high benches, low salaries... :D

I tried to apply Jim Tolpin approach. But then my body doesn't fit in 8 times of my hand spans. My hand span is about 8" but my height is 72.5". That is 9 spans (I have long neck, long arms).

Another constrain that I foresee is that bench on the bench has to be about 8" tall, if one wants Moxon vise to be installed in it. And resulting height plus material thickness should be comfortable to saw. That means, find optimal height for sawing minus a little minus 8" and use that for the bench height, perhaps?

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm 5'-10" and my bench is 34.5". Planing height doesn't both me much until it gets too tall. For instance when I add my planing beam directly onto my bench it's pretty tall at that point and slightly uncomfortable.

Don't forget that the material is going to take up some room as well.

[Bill McDermott]

I like having a relatively tall bench. But I made my outfeed table (for the table saw) as a second bench with dog holes, holdfasts and planning stops, but no vise. It is much lower than my primary bench. This combination works great for me.

[James Pallas]

I believe you have to experiment. Only you know how you work and what planes you use. I also know that small increments make a difference. An inch can be huge. I have physical problems and do a fair amount of cooking. I simply can not work at a 36" high counter top. I could in the past but now I need 2" more. I was also 5'8"" and now I'm 5'5". I finally went to an adjustable bench (smart move on my part). Experiment for yourself and get it right. It makes a huge difference. No one size fits all in this case.
Jim