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Tagged: bench height
I have mine a bit high even probably for my height. I was skeptical about having a higher bench than I would usually work on, but it is very comfortable indeed. My guess is if you are uncertain, start out on the high end of what you think might work for you… you can always cut an inch off the legs pretty easily any time after it is assembled. Paul’s guideline of “just below the elbow” worked well for me.
I’m 5′ 11″ tall and my workbench is now 38″ high after having raised it by a couple of inches. I’m still finding it a tad low for me. The bench had always been rock solid before I raised the height but those extra couple of inches have also introduced a bit of wobble that’s noticeable when I’m planing. The cold weather has put my bench build on hold so I’ll have to wait until spring until I can finish it but I’ve decided that I will be building it to a height of 41″ to start with then drop down by half inch increments until I’m comfortable.
I took the plunge today and raised my workbench by 3″. That still only gets it up to 35½”, but I’m only 5’7″ so that makes it about an inch or so below my belt buckle.
As this is a bit of an experiment, I didn’t go for a fancy solution, just some blocks made from a 4×4 fence post screwed to the existing legs.
I think this will be easier on my back for joinery work, and if I find planing hard work, I can always make a duck board…