Benches: How Small is Too Small?

[Dan Case LR]

I'm walking proof that one does not need a fancy bench to do quality work. The "bench" I'm replacing is a sway-back folding table with a tattered particle board top. I've produced some nice items on that swayback table, including a few heirloom-quality maple/cherry rocking horses. I wish I had pictures available, but, well, you know how it is sometimes.

At any rate, I've decided it's time for a real woodworking bench.

I'm thinking through the bench I want to build, and right now I'm thinking about size. My shop is a 2-car garage. No cars, but I still need to accommodate stuff like a lawn mower and other typical yard stuff, plus a large electronics bench. I need to conserve space whenever I have the opportunity. As I've been cleaning up and refurbing the shop, I folded up the table and put it away. I had to get it back out yesterday to use as a staging area while cleaning off my electronics bench, and realized just how much space it takes up. I think I need a smaller bench.

As I've perused benches online and in print, I've seen a lot of behemoths and a few dainty little benches that look like they would collapse if you closed the door too hard. As much as I'd love one of those 7 or 8 foot long monster benches, I don't have the room. However, I also don't want to build a bench so small it's useless.

So, here are my questions for the brain trust: When it comes to woodworking benches, how small is too small? What's the smallest bench you've worked with? Any interesting innovations in small benches?

Thanks!

D.

[glenn bradley]

For many a large bench is just some flat space to set stuff on instead of putting it away. You know, the "I'm gonna get to that any minute now so I'll just leave it right there where it can get buried and cause me frustration later" syndrome . I would judge your requirements by the space you have to dedicate versus what you are building. My bench is about 30" x 90" but I generally work in an area about 30" x 60". I use the extra space as a DMZ between the front vise and the tail vise work areas but, another portable work surface could serve that purpose. A rule of thumb I read once long ago was that you should always have about 4 square feet of surface available to set out your tools, clamps and so forth; an area to pick things up, use them and set them back down other than your work area. I find I work more efficiently and happier if I keep that 'transition space' nearby. If your current bench has been more than big enough I would judge from there.

[Prashun Patel]

My bench is only 5 feet long. As long as you have another 'assembly' table that is large enough for glue ups, etc, then the 'pounding' bench only has to be big enough to hold a vise and to be massy enough that it won't move around when you're working stuff.

[Andrew Joiner]

"I finally figured out how to deal with sawdust in my hair.I shaved my head."

Hi Dan, First I admire your " keep it simple" fix for the hair issue. Many here would have used dust collectors and hoses!

When I started my own wood business in 1971 I came up with 2- heavy benches made from old pallets. They had 3'x7' tops with heavy nylon glides on the legs. I could slide them apart for building big things. Mainly they were 5' apart so I was an arms reach away from both benches as I worked in between them.On those crude ugly benches I built furniture for my states Governor and a stairway for the state historical society building.

Today in my hobby shop I have what works for me . 2- benches 3' apart. Both have vises.The smallest bench that I'd consider would need to hold a good quick release vise solid and stable. It could be 2'x2' if weighted down or tied to a wall. The vise top should be as high as your existing folding bench. Your existing folding bench could be set up next to it as a work support.

2- small benches are more versatile and can take up less space than 1 big bench.

[Ryan Hellmer]

my bench is 30x60" and, while I don't do a great deal of neander-work, I find it quite adequate. The vice is on the tail end, nice and heavy. Depending on the work you do, I would think a small bench would be quite useable (maybe 2x4 feet). Weight (or lack thereof) becomes an issue. One thing I would consider is a medium sized square bench. I always like the shop-class 5x5 workbenches with a vice on each corner.

[Dan Case LR]

my bench is 30x60" and, while I don't do a great deal of neander-work, I find it quite adequate. The vice is on the tail end, nice and heavy. Depending on the work you do, I would think a small bench would be quite useable (maybe 2x4 feet). Weight (or lack thereof) becomes an issue. One thing I would consider is a medium sized square bench. I always like the shop-class 5x5 workbenches with a vice on each corner.

I like the idea of the square bench--if only I had room to do 5 feet in both directions. I think I may do something on the order of 24 x 60. 24x48 just seems a little too small (though it may just be in my head).

D.

[Ray Newman]

Dan Case: maybe you just need to see things??

After cleaning and organizing the garage, visit your local appliance shop and ask for 1-2 refrigerator shipping cartons. Cut one up for the approximate size top, then use the rest the carton for legs. Duct tape should hould it all together.

[Bob Riefer]

Interestingly, my bench is also 30" x 60" and I have been very happy with the size. I previously had a 24" wide x forget the length, and frequently was frustrated by it being too narrow. At 30" I haven't been similarly frustrated.

[Chris Friesen]

I think it depends what you do with it...I have a standalone 24x84 woodworking bench that has been useful. I have used it to make a king-size bed frame and the length came in handy. I also used it for assembling kitchen cabinets including an 80" long pantry cabinet. I also have a 24" deep bench running roughly 16' along one end of the garage with a chop saw recessed into it halfway along the wall. For non-critical assembly I put hollow core doors on low sawhorses, for critical assembly I use the workbench and my tablesaw top.

[Jim Matthews]

There are three notable designs that I think have fruitful solutions to this problem;

My mentor Dan Socha built four "shipping cubes" that are knee height. He stacks them together and zips in some screws to join them, and four more to anchor the works onto his plywood floor.
One side has a simple vise, the other is left free of fixtures. If something needs to be fixed in place, screws and battens augment basic bar clamps. It's clever, and suits his machine tooling method well.

Joshua Finn's homasote top beam and sawhorses would work really well in a small garage. It relies heavily on bar clamps, but uses very simple construction.
That article appeared in FWW. I like the homasote top, as I work mainly by hand and that surface is kind to softer lumber.

Ron Paulk's torsion box design built almost entirely from plywood could be scaled to any dimension. This has portability and the potential for traditional clamping methods.
This has tremendous range, and lots of storage available through the open sides of the torsion box.

Lastly, if you're willing to trade money for time, Bloom Tool company has a nifty take on the pipe-clamp workbench design, also a torsion box.
They make a portable version that's Jenny-winely nifty. Dunno about you, but I'm much more interested in making furniture than tools.

The VIKA folding table is surprisingly sturdy, and folds flat. I use it as a stable base when I must resort to a powered router, out in my garage.
It doesn't look like much, but has been genuinely handy. (It flexes not at all under my substantial bulk._

Considering nothing I make is longer than six feet (in order to get out of my basement), a five foot wide bench is plenty.
Most of what I do is confined to the same six square feet (three wide, two deep) and the rest is a tool caddy/shavings catcher.

[Charles Lent]

How big of a bench? That all depends on what you make, and the space that you have available for it. Before I built my shop I frequently made do with a work mate and a 2' X 4' piece of 3/4 plywood with a cleat on the bottom that I clamped into the vice of the workmate whenever I needed a bigger work surface. I also made frequent use of a pair of home built saw horses. My shop is only 14' X 26', so I still sometimes use the work mate and the saw horses, but I now have a 20" X 60" version of a woodworkers bench with two woodworking vises on it that I use for most of my projects. At work we have several benches that have 4' X 8' plywood tops, but the shop is huge (about 40' X 160') and so are many of the projects.

Charley

[Van Huskey]

The question is how multi-purpose can you make the bench and does that allow for a bigger one. Workbench, assembly table and table saw outfeed are three good things to combine. Combining these may allow for one larger unit although the height might not be perfect for handtool work since it has to be the height of the TS, unless you make it adjustable.

As others note size depends on the work that you do but a 2'X4' bench is quite useful.