Woodworking bench width over 24" ?

[Boris Sudel]

Thank you Jon,

I have to say that your thinking makes perfect sense to me. After much reading and thinking about the options I have arrived to the same answer as you provided and am planning to make my WOODWORKING (rather then assembly) bench 24" deep.

Boris

[Steve Griffin]

Thank you Jon,

I have to say that your thinking makes perfect sense to me. After much reading and thinking about the options I have arrived to the same answer as you provided and am planning to make my WOODWORKING (rather then assembly) bench 24" deep.

Boris

Sounds good. Let us know how it works out for you and post some pics!.

Steve,

Who still can't imagine building a tiny jewellery box on such a table, even if assembly (which is apparently non-woodworking), is preformed elsewhere...

[ian maybury]

Must say that while i'm only getting into the subject of benches that in keeping with the horses for courses point i buy Jon's point about woodworking and assembly being different requirements. Different that is in terms of some of the demands they may make of a bench.

Another distinction is the difference between using hand tools, and power tools - in that hand tools (sawing, chiseling and planing) put much greater forces into the bench, and are easily disrupted by any sort of flexing or moving - there's not much point for example in trying to chisel accurately down on to an unsupported 3/4 in MDF top.

There are inevitably going to be overlaps in function: e.g. an assembly table needs a flat top and easy clamping too, so there's nothing that says that you can't use a workbench for assembly. But it doesn't need to be 4in thick for that. Nor does it need to be that strong to support e.g. routing and other machining tasks.

Schwarz talks of some of these differences in his book. The Roubo (being a very old design) it's fairly clear is a workbench optimised for hand tool use. It happens that you can do lots of other stuff on it as well, but it wasn't designed for that. ;-) You can eat your lunch off it too, but that doesn't make it a dining table....

[Frank Drew]

... a 24" wide bench is not even a little too small, it's absurdly small.

Others may differ, especially if they are making making tiny pens or carving little figurines.

I guess everybody works differently, and every shop puts out different kinds, and amounts, of work. But in my shop and in the shop where I apprenticed, I used a traditional work bench for actual joinery work (sawing, planing, cutting or refining joints by hand) and a lower, bigger assembly table (or even the floor) to actually put together the furniture I made. For the most part my workbench was big enough for what I was making -- full-size furniture, not tiny pens or little figurines.

[Dan Karachio]

Sam Maloof's bench is 36" wide and he seemed to do pretty well with it. I have a 24" x 72" bench at 34.5" high and it has served well for wood working and assembly in every way except for width. I don't have space for a second assembly table and I think a bench can do both and does do both for many people from Sam M. on down (and down, down, down) to lowly me. When I am wood working everything pretty much clamps to the front part of the top via the front vise, the tail vise, dogs, hooks, hold downs... Width here is never an issue (it can't be too wide since I rarely need to reach across it for woodworking). When I am assembling items larger than 24" wide (very often - last three projects) height is never an issue for me, the flat top is essential, but only width has been a problem. So, since I am not referring to books (read and have them all), opinion, mantra, bench guru's or theory, but to actual experience in my own shop with my own 24" bench (for both wood working and assembly), I fail to see how I am misguided in understanding or justifying what I need?

[Rick Fisher]

I plan on building a bench this fall..

My last draft shows 32" deep.. I am 6'2..

I really like the idea of the benches with banks of drawers underneath.. I always considered the Euro style benches to have a lot of wasted space underneath..

I plan on building in a rack to hold my Bessey Tradesmen clamps.. Love the idea of them being right there, at my finger tips..

I really think a bench is a personal thing.. I only need one vice, but would love to have a dozen shallow drawers for bit tips, chisels, screws etc..

My current medite bench has a 115V power plug in a steel box under the bench top.. What a winner that idea is .. I can plug in anything, at the bench..

[Dan Karachio]

Rick, if assembly is not considered as worthy as "pure woodworking" (do woodworkers not put things together?) then where would storage rank? Tisk tisk, you see your bench as a way of making your work easier and more versatile. How misguided. Don't you realize the bench is not a tool, but the Most Holy Alter of the shop? It's sole purpose is to sacrifice hardwood in the creation of finer and finer gossamer shavings that are offered to the Gods. Those who stray from the teachings of the Prophet Schwartz are placing their souls in jeopardy.

[Frank Drew]

I really like the idea of the benches with banks of drawers underneath.. I always considered the Euro style benches to have a lot of wasted space underneath..

I don't know, I made a European-style bench and put a drawer case below, sitting on the stretchers that connects the leg frames. I guess you could say it's not integral to the bench design, but there's no reason the space needs to go unused.

[glenn bradley]

My drawer units are also self contained and removable/changeable. Things change as you go along and I didn't want them built in but the storage is very handy.