In my opinion the most important part of the bench is its height. I had quite a lot to say about height in an earlier post ( Building a Work Bench) Be sure to read what others wrote about it also. The pictures you see are from my 4th bench build. If I had built it to fit me the first time I wouldn't of had to build 3 more. Please make the height of it to fit you, don't let someone else dictates its height sizes for you.
The next step is to decide on a size for the legs. I like to have my benches look missive, But over time I have found that I like 3 by 4s for the leg sizes. I like the looks of a 4 inch wide leg when looking at the front side of the bench. That would mean the depth would be 3 inches. A 3 inch thick leg ( 4 pieces of 3/4 material glued up) works good for me. I do not have a 12 inch compound miter saw, and my table saw will only cut 3 1/8 inches. So anything thicker need to be cut and then flipped over and recut. I confess I have trouble getting the cuts to match perfectly so anything between 3 and 3 1/8th works for me.
My disclaimer is the size of the legs doesn't really matter. You can find plans that call out many different sizes. You can make them any size you want. The reason I like this size is One cut for length. don't have to flip. A ball park figure, the bench is to be 24 inches wide and you want the width of the end to be flush bench top. Then the length of the stretchers holding the legs apart is 24 -3 -3 = 18 inches. Lets say the height of the bench is 34 inches high. The top is 4 inches thick and the bottom stretcher is 10 inches off the floor. You will need 4 legs 30 inches long 4 stretchers 18 inches long, And All of this math can be done in your head, no drawings necessary. I will come back to the height of the bottom stretcher latter.
Why is the leg size so important? has to do with hole layout.
The top of the bench has to fit in the space allowed for it. Only you will know the space limitations. but make it as long as possible. Other questions are do you want it to be split top, have a tool tray etc. A good place to start is one arms length. Or 3 hands wide, see building a work bench of an explanation.
And lastly how thick dose the top need to be? I like 4 inches thick because of using bench dogs and holdfasts and for founding with a hammer. But it is your bench make it any thickness you want..
I am writing this for someone who would like to build his or her first bench. It can be a little intimating If you disagree with any of this, it is just fine with me, but please state your reason as to why. Also remember this is so someone else will feel less intimated and possibly start a build of their own. .
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Originally Posted by Tom Bussey
