Bench Height

[harry strasil]

Bench height thread over on Roger Nixon's Traditional Tools Site, so I thought I would commandeer it for over here.

Question:

What is the ideal heigth for the top of a woodworkers bench.

My reply from the Traditional Tools Site :

Its kinda like Anvil height for a Blacksmith. The only set rule is for the hammer to hit the work fair and square and for the Smith to be COMFORTABLE working at his Anvil. Some people are short, some are tall, some are inbetween. I am 6 feet with longer arms than normal people and I have a bad back, so my Anvil height is at mid wrist.

WW Benches are no different, the only RULE should be whatever is comfortable for the WWer. I prefer a little taller bench so I can use my long arms to move a plane rather than my body. What ever is COMFORTABLE for the individual is right. Mine is 36 inches.

[Alan DuBoff]

What is the ideal heigth for the top of a woodworkers bench?
(shiparoo)
Mine is 36 inches.I'm building a bench right now and I'm making it 36" also. I think this is all relative, I actually feel more comfortable planing at 34"-35", but I don't like doing all the other work I do at that height as much. Since I spend more time doing the other stuff mostly, I'm sacrificing and going with the extra comfort.

I have a bench in my garage I renovated recentely, and it's 37 1/2", and actually comfortable for me to work at. Since that bench sees tailed apprentices, the extra height works out fine.

[Ben Grunow]

I have all of mine set to 36" (I'm 6' 3") because that's what I like but what's equally important is that (in a small shop) all your surfaces be the same height. That way you rest a board on anything an it will be level. My assembly table doubles as infeed for larger items (like Norm) and I find myself working on all kinds of things stretched between the assembly table and other bench which is about a 40" gap. Just MHO.

[James Mittlefehldt]

My bench is 34 1/4 due to a slight miscalculation, I am 5' 9", and if anything I would say it is a bit too high could be maybe an inch or two shorter, but I designed it and built it and I often scratch my head when I look at it when I realize I built it myself with a workmate.

[Jim Becker]

One of the reasons I went with a Noden Adjust-a-Bench system is that there is no one ideal bench height...it may change with the job. So with limited space, I chose to have the ability to set the bench to the level most comfortable to work on a given operation.

[tod evans]

my bench is 32", i`m 5-10, seems fine to me..02 tod

[Tom Hamilton]

I've seen writers suggest the crease of the wrist as the benchmark for bench height.

But what feels good and doesn't produce negative side effects (back pain, leg strain) is also a pretty good indicator.

In short, it's up to the individual woodworker.

All the best!


Tom, in Houston, with a 36" high bench for his 5' 10" frame.

[Mark Singer]

A taller bench allows a closer relationship to the work....for sighting surfaces...checking with a straight edge....Also planing is easier at about 36" A good range is 34" to 36"...

[Frank Fusco]

I am under 5'8" and my bench is 35". As I age, I find that hunching over is very hard on the back. Most of my work is small so I like standing straight. When I do larger pieces I have to reach but that is OK. I also raised my lathe 4" so I can stand straight when working.