Work Bench Size

[1075tech]

When I first started this adventure, I used some new and salvaged wood to build my work table. I'm thinking I went a bit overboard.

The table is 4' x 8'. I have it on swivel, locking casters and have a 5 drawer tool cabinet built in to it.

Turning to the experts here - What is a usable, appropriate size for a work table? I'm running out of room. The table saw and jointer are moveable. I plan on either buying or building a stand for the planer. I have a benchtop drill press and vise mounted to another 28"x54" bench on casters.

I want an area to work, sanding, assembling, etc. It also will have to house my miter saw and router.

What works for you?

 

[Mike Davis]

My shop is tiny and my work bench is for hand tools.
18x60 inches.

 

[creasman]

There are a lot of variables here...

• Do you work mostly with sheet goods or lumber, power tools or hand tools?
• When you say "house my miter saw and router" will these have permanent locations on the table, or stored underneath and pulled out when needed?
• Is the table meant to be an out feed for one of the other tools (e.g., table saw, planer, etc)?

4x8 is a fairly large work area. I assume you have the room to work from all sides of the table. You can only work as far as you can reach.

I have a standard work bench that is about 2' x 7' where I do 90% of hand tool work. It is 36" high, has a wagon vise, face vise and my hand tools stored within arms reach (drawers below or slot/cabinet in the middle of the bench). Beside this I have an assembly table that is about 3' x 7' and 24" high. This height allows me to assemble and finish furniture mostly while standing. It makes a nice saw bench as well. I find the combination of these two to be very practical.

I'm reading a book on the history of workbenches. One of the author's comments is that we shape our bench and then our bench shapes the work we do. There are always trade offs. His research also shows a lot of modifications to older benches over their history. There isn't one right answer. You'll have to experiment and see what works best for you and your style of work.

Don't feel locked into a certain bench design. Feel free to make modifications, or start over. I thought I'd built a good work bench a few years ago, but didn't really like it at all as I started to move more into using hand tools. I built my current bench that I really like and sold the first one. More recently, I find myself thinking about adding a second bench just to add some variety. It's a journey.

 

[Rwe2156]

Yeah, 4x8 is big. My assembly table is 32x80. Workbench 28x72

I've seen a few people who build 2 tables that can be linked together for cutting full sheets of ply.

 

[John Jimenez]

I have a 4 x 8 because I wanted a place to put my slab flattening sled and a large level surface to do epoxy pours occasionally. I made the bench height to match the height of my table saw so I can use it as an out feed table when working with longer stock. I also store my dewalt planer and router table below the bench and have assigned spots on top of the bench for these tools when needed. I agree with others in that it really depends on the work you are doing and how much space you have.

 

[demondeacon]

My workbench for hand tool work is a bit less than 6 feet. It is a good size. My worktable for finishing, assembly, glue ups is 4X6 feet. I find this a good size and have never really missed another 2 feet. 6 feet in length for a worktable offers plenty of support for longer boards or plywood that you are breaking down. There is also room to glue up several drawers at once.

 

[jsloane]

When I first started this adventure, I used some new and salvaged wood to build my work table. I'm thinking I went a bit overboard.

The table is 4' x 8'. I have it on swivel, locking casters and have a 5 drawer tool cabinet built in to it.

Turning to the experts here - What is a usable, appropriate size for a work table? I'm running out of room. The table saw and jointer are moveable. I plan on either buying or building a stand for the planer. I have a benchtop drill press and vise mounted to another 28"x54" bench on casters.

I want an area to work, sanding, assembling, etc. It also will have to house my miter saw and router.

What works for you?

I have a similar setup, but my work table also covers six drawers with many handy items for working. Its too big at 3X8 but no plans to change it.I mounted my 13" planer on a rolling cabinet, router and table saw are mounted in the same table on a rolling base. Garage shop is shared by two cars so all big tools must be mobile. Drill press is mounted on the 3X8 table corner.

 

[Mike Davis]

There is a 30 x 60 for sale that may be what you need.

 

[tvrgeek]

Only absolute correct answer: "It depends"

FWIW, the bigger the table, the more junk on it in the way. I do assembly on my outfeed table. I do joinery on my much smaller bench. About 20 x 60.

 

[1075tech]

Seems as though bigger isn't always better.

I appreciate all the replies.

Looking it over and taking some measurements of the area and obstacles, I'm leaning towards maybe 3' x 5'.

Watched several YT videos while I was supposed to be working and have some new ideas.

 

[creasman]

You may want to review this thread (Workbench build). It has a lot of examples from various members. One of the posts I added has several books that were helpful to me in designing my current workbench. It's a rabbit hole that every woodworker goes down at some point or the other. Perhaps worm hole is a better analogy as you come out in a whole new universe -- increased appreciation and new thoughts on the humble workbench.

 

[tvrgeek]

Think a lot on your work holding. I have a Moxen on the right end and an iron face vise on the front left, rear face flush with the apron, so just a few holes in the right leg will support long stock. I think the Moxen makes it more versatile than a wagon vise as with just a dog hole in the vise, it works the same. Dog holes spaced just less than the vise opening. Iron vise or leg vise, not really much difference except you can't buy an old Record vise any more. If I did not have it, I probably would have done a leg vise. PLAN, as adding one is a lot harder than designing it in the first place. My shelf for tool chest is low enough to allow clearance for my hold-fasts. Also plan what you want to use for planing stops. There are some very nifty ideas easiest done up front, rather than retrofitting.

If my floorplan allowed it, my bench could be up against a wall as I find I only work on the one side. Having a wall for the tool tills behind it would save me a lot of steps, but I just can't pull that off. Someday if I can obsolete my table saw, I can use the square footage for an assembly table and swap positions with the work bench to get me that wall to use.

For the work I do, it would be hard to go wrong with the bench Mike pictured above. I do like my laminated legs/top so I effectively get big honking through mortices for no real effort. Yea, it is sturdy. Made form 2 x 12 SYP ripped in half that gave me more stable and heavier than using 2 x 6 fir. So top is about 5 inches thick. I have built thinner tops but now would not go back.

With some planning, the miter saw, drill press, and router table can all be in one against the wall assembly. Don't try to put them into your work or assembly bench.

Of course, you can do everything on a simple Roman bench.

 

[Ptofimpact]

My shop is tiny and my work bench is for hand tools.
18x60 inches. View attachment 218195View attachment 218196

That Bench is a Beauty