Workbench Height

[Dallas Cowboy]

I am planning on building my workbench this weekend and need to know the ideal height. How high do you like yours? Do you like them taller and sit on a stool or do you prefer shorter and sit in a chair? My other bench is 36" tall and I sit at it on a stool but wasn't sure on how high is ideal for leather working and tooling

[Glendon]

I personally have a disability that makes it difficult to stand for any period of time, so my bench is standard desk height 30". A lot of people say that you get better control when standing, but if you are comfortable and have experience working on a stool, then I'd probobly stick with 36".

[Sylvia]

From what I understand you want to be able to look down on your work. My "temp" set up is actually one of those couch tables... the tall narrow ones that are meant to place behind a couch... For a long time I had my chair set at standard desk height which made the work surface of the table/slab combo just at my chest. I found I had a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders and I often "flubbed" when stamping because I couldn't see well enough. When I adjusted my chair to it's highest setting, I could SEE what I was doing and all of a sudden I have much less tension developing.

Here is a good video which shows a pro saddler's shop.

Here's another video... watch it for a bit.. you get to see him work at his bench carving.

Edited May 24, 2012 by Sylvia

[GrampaJoel]

My layout table , work bench and stone are all at 38" in height.

I am 6'1" bare feet.

I like to stand, but often I sit on a stool when I start getting tired.

One sewing machine is at the the standing height, and one at a sitting height as is my desk. I use a height adjustable swivel chair for the sitting work.

I have a hard time just sitting in one spot for very long, so I like to be able to move around as I work.

Hope this helps

Joel

[OldManDan]

That's a hard question to answer. It needs to be at a height where you are comfortable and can see. My computer desk is higher than my jewelers bench. Depends on your chair, how long your torso is if you work sitting, or how long your legs are if you work standing. Just my $0.02.

[Cyberthrasher]

Another thing to consider if you're sitting (on stool or chair) is how much work you'll be doing bent over. I have a pretty small desk that I work at, probably between 30 and 34". If I'm assembling I can work on my comfy bar stool, but if I forget and start tooling there, my back will start killing me after an hour or so. I realized I spend a lot of time directly over the top of my work when tooling, so that's when i switched to my chair for extended times. The stool is ok for assembly because I'm not bent over keeping a close eye on detail at that point.

[hidepounder]

I like my bench height at 42" That puts my elbows in the same position whether I'm standing or sitting in my drafting chair......

Bobby

[Sylvia]

I like my bench height at 42" That puts my elbows in the same position whether I'm standing or sitting in my drafting chair......

Bobby

good gosh Bobby... how tall are you?

[JRLeather2]

My bench is 43.5 inches tall, I like to be able to stand without bending over and I have a couple of adjustable shop stools.....

[NoName]

42" here as well. Comfortable to work standing or seated on a bar height stool or chair.