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How Long Should I Make My Workbench?

15 comments
13 years ago
General Articles     Hand Tools

This is a question I hear a lot.  My answer, as long as your shop can accommodate.  Longer even.  You will thank me later when you are in the excited throes of a project and you have 9 different things going on at once.  You know what I’m talking about.  Those multitasking moments when you are gluing up panels and cutting joinery while waiting for the panels to dry.  The moments when you are too impatient to wait until all the joints are cut and you partially dry fit your project while still cutting the dovetails on that 3rd drawer.

Here is a shot of my bench last night while I was fitting drawer bottom panels into drawers.

long workbenches allow multitasking in the work shop

On the lefts I have my large panel shooting board set up and I’m shooting the edge of a panel fresh from the clamps.  In the middle on the near side I have a smaller panel clamped with holdfasts and I’m cutting rabbets to fit the panel into the drawer grooves.  In the middle on the far side I have a paring hook set up where I’m smooth planing a completed drawer bottom to remove marks and get is finish ready.  On the right side in the leg vise is another large panel part where I’m jointing the edge to ready it for the glue up.  Finally on the back right of the bench are some assembled drawers with bottoms already fit and ready for fitting in the case.

Let’s see I think I have some space open on the upper left corner where I could begin cutting the tongue and groove into the back panels…

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Chet Kloss

I wish that every horizontal surface in my shop didn’t devolve into a junk collector…

Rob Bois

In general, I agree that a longer bench is better but as a dead-center hybrid woodworker I needed to make certain trade offs with regard to my bench length. To go any longer than 6 feet, I would have had to give up a router table, drill press, or drum sander to make room. That just wasn’t an option. However, I do have a separate assembly/finish room where I typically bring all my components after they have been cut. I also frequently use the table saw surface as a staging are (once all my components have been cut to size) leaving my bench top free to handle just one or two operations without cluttering it up. As for pure joint cutting (I don’t dimension anything by hand), I’ve never found that I needed a bench any longer than six feet. Of course if you don’t have a table saw or assembly table in the shop an extra few feet of bench length is a very wise investment. Then again, I’m the guy that built a new wing on my shop to accommodate a power jointer so it really does come down to prioritization 🙂

    Shannon

    Agreed, I’m the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m the guy that sold his table saw and build a joinery bench to go in it’s place. Of course if I had just won a new Bad Axe tenon saw I would build an extra foot onto my bench just for a place to put the saw.

Mitch Wilson

What you really need, Shannon, is to find yourself a used pizza oven. You know, one of the kinds that has multiple “bench tops” that revolve. Drawers on one level, panels on another, etc. Just disconnect the heating element unless, of course, you also want to use it as an emergency kiln.

    Shannon

    I like this idea but I think it would be best to have one level still active to make pizza. Hand planing is hard work.

Damien

A matter of taste. The shorter the bench, the easier it is to walk around it. So by making it short, I increased its length. A small bench keeps the door open for alternatives like joinery bench, assembly table, planing beam, sharpening station, working outdoor, …

Ben Lowery

When did you finally sell the table saw?? I missed that one.

    Shannon

    Just last week. I haven’t really said anything about it here yet because the saw is still in the shop. The buyer can’t come pick it up until early November. He is a fellow SAPFM member who jumped on it when I mentioned I was going to put it up on Craigs List.

Mike Siemsen

A work bench needs to be just a bit longer than the pieces you work on. Typically the longest pieces are moldings at around 8 feet. I believe a bench is a place to work on and should be kept clear of clutter and junk, be consistent with putting tools away as you are finished with them and keep detritus like bits of waste from dovetails off of your bench so you don’t end up damaging your work piece by placing it on them. Keeping your bench top clear of unnecessary stuff prevents tools from being knocked to the floor and projects from being damaged.
Mike