36" Too Deep for Workbench?

[Spudland_Dave]

Is 36" too deep for a workbench? Temporary Workbench against the wall type thing?
I was planning on using some racking of some sort to make a temporary bench...then when I have time to build a REAL workbench, I will do so. So I had found some of the edsal e-rack at Lowes on clearance... 15.00 per leg...normally 33 bucks a leg. So I bought the 2 legs while they were there. Just today I remembered about a local place that sells genuine pallet racking, so I went to check...200.00 for an 8' high, 3 shelves (6 cross beams), 36" Deep set..he currently doesn't have any 24" deep... I'm just thinking if I slap that up against the wall, that's gonna be mighty deep... No debating the quality of the true pallet rack is SUPERIOR in every way to the erack...if he woulda had 24" I'd be posting a pic of my new pallet racking..

 

[ZRX61]

Not too deep if you have a tool chests on there against the wall..... but usually 36in is a tad too deep & 24in is too shallow. 30-32in seems about perfect.

 

[pattenp]

How long of a reach do you have?

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Not too deep if you have a tool chests on there against the wall..... but usually 36in is a tad too deep & 24in is too shallow. 30-32in seems about perfect.

Yup...plenty of "tool chests" along the wall..the bench is destined to go between the cabinets here, under the window.
Cabinet on the Left is 24" Deep, cabs on right are 20" deep

Plan is down the road I want to get some base & wall cabinets (Kitchen cab style) to make a bench/computer area around the window. No time or money to tackle it right now.

How long of a reach do you have?

ROFL!!!! That's a good one, and very valid question....my bench in my basement is 24" deep and by the time you put all the junk out back I find I have an effective bench area of 12" in some areas..LOL. But your right, accessing the outlets there might prove to be what kills this idea...

 

[rsanter]

Depends on what you are doing on the bench

Bob

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Depends on what you are doing on the bench

Bob

If its anything like any of my other benches...junk collecting. As mentioned its temporary...temporary might mean 6 months or 2 years..so I'd mount the spare vice I have on it, and use for normal workbench duties...

 

[Dave in Mass]

Do you need to open the window?

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Do you need to open the window?

Probably not...got 3 10'w X 8'h "Windows" I can open up with the push of a couple buttons if I needed too.

 

[ZRX61]

But your right, accessing the outlets there might prove to be what kills this idea...

That's an easy fix: A strip of outlets or a quad box under the front edge of the bench. Set it back a few inches so you can still clamp stuff to the edge if needed.

 

[383 240z]

My bench, same one I've been using for about 10yrs, is 36" deep. I like it because I do a lot of transmission rebuilding. I need the extra depth. I do on occasion wish it was about 30" deep, those feelings have passed since I re-did my peg board behind it. I added magnetic bars. Great for putting my common used wrenches and picks with in easy reach. Keith

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

36" deep is only an issue if it sticks too far out into the workspace. You can easily put storage boxes/drawer units/etc along the back that will take advantage of the extra counter space. If it were me, I'd be tempted to build a8-10" shallow shelf that sits 12" above the table top at the back. Put my small plastic drawer units on top of that and leave the bottom open for things like spray cans, small trays of mobile tools, parts, etc.

Maybe make it removable or in sections to let you reconfigure if you find you need that extra depth.

Underneath it lets you store longer term deep storage things like engine blocks or shop vacs while still leaving you room for your legs if you are using a chair.

 

[John Timmins]

I will post some pictures later. I believe my bench is 34 inches deep and 37 inches high. When the bench was made the space beneath the work bench was that height to slide a craftsman table saw under it with the blade lowered. The space between the legs was wide enough of course. the next space beneath the work bench was to store a Foley Belsaw thickness planer.

Now I have some of those cheap Lowes plastic shelves on wheels that are 34 wide slid under the bench in some places and can roll out parts boxes.

My shop is 18 feet wide. The entry is a human door and a 9 foot garage door. After my aluminum boat is rolled in, I have about 5 feet between the boat and the work bench. Everything I have is on wheels so I'm changing things around as needed, although I don't move the iar compressor or drill press much. My pint here is down let a 36 inch deep work bench worry you. You will be glad some day.

 

[jwh]

That's an easy fix: A strip of outlets or a quad box under the front edge of the bench. Set it back a few inches so you can still clamp stuff to the edge if needed.

Setting the strip back a couple inches from the edge also helps to keep from breaking the outlet. Former owner of this house had outlet in utility box under edge of bench. Actually, the box was under the edge, with the outlet & cover actually in front of edge. He must have leaned against it a few times, front of outlet was broken. I said this won't fly, have to do something better. Box had a burn inside it where hot line hit the box so he probably broke this more than once. Went with a plug strip behind the bench instead.

 

[softailgarage]

Mine is 36", I wanted it that deep 'cause I hate not having enough room to work on something. The only problem I have is the cabinet above, anything above the bottom shelf I have to use a step stool

 

[NUTTSGT]

The area were I do most of the work is 36" I believe, while the other part is 30" (I'd have to measure to be sure)


I like having the extra depth to give me plenty of room when I'm working on something or taking it apart.

 

[melliott28]

My worksurface is a little over 22". But, I think the ideal depth is 24" for most of the work that I do, as the wall behind is still easily reachable so that I can reach the outlets and cabinets above the workbench. I think that any extra depth is an invitation to store stuff on the workbench, because with the added depth allows you to continue use your workbench without clearing the surface.

That said, it would be nice to have 36" deep workbench as a dedicated place to assemble or build things. With that much space you would have room to spread out the various parts and also you could put some drawers at the back of the worksurface to store hardware and parts for easy access.

 

[Paticus]

36" if perfect for me, I can move stuff around to make room if needed. It's great and never feels cramped

 

[EJM02]

Mine is deep and I love it. I designed my bench depth so I could use my compound sliding miter saw at full extension without bumping into the (future) drywall. I ended up putting the miter saw on a cart so that I can roll it outside when I'm making a bunch of cuts to keep dust down to a minimum in the garage. What I ended up with was a 34.5" deep bench with a whole lot of open working room on it.

I really like it. If I end up with a bunch of piled **** on the bench---and lets face it, we all do---, I can literally just push everything back to make room for something that needs immediate attention. Emergency repairs, toy assembly, etc etc. Also, having a bunch of **** on the bench gives me a great excuse to escape to the garage when needed. "Hey babe, I gotta go clean up the bench, its so cluttered it's killing me." Solo time secured.

The top shelf of my overhead cabinets are a bit hard to reach though. I store stuff up there I only need once in a great while. The bottom shelves house my WD-40, oils, spray paints, the day to day stuff. Id like to fabricate some sort of open system behind the cabinets, picture an open box frame between the wall and the cabinets about a foot deep and as tall as the cabinets are. It would give me a space to store scrap lumber and other materials normally stacked up against the wall and also jut the cabinets closer to me from the edge of the bench, making the top shelves more reachable.

Hope my 2 cents helps a bit

 

[zkling]

Mine is 30" deep back against a wll + a tanker desk which is also 30" deep, but that is more of an island. For me (vertically challenged) 30" is my max for comfortable reach. If you plan to put tool boxes on the back of it I think 36" is fine. You may want to elevate the tool boxes though, otherwise if you are anything like me you will have so much **** on your bench that you won't be able to open the bottom most drawer(s).

There is an old joke about machinist tool boxes, back when guys had to carry their boxes to work. It goes something like; Question: "What is in the bottom drawer?", Response: "I don't remember, it has been so long since I have been able to open it will all this stuff on my bench in front".

Looks like you have a very nice blank slate of a garage to start organizing.

 

[sloppy]

I like 36" tops I can reach the back and never be cramped..

Mine is 30" deep back against a wll + a tanker desk which is also 30" deep, but that is more of an island. For me (vertically challenged) 30" is my max for comfortable reach. If you plan to put tool boxes on the back of it I think 36" is fine. You may want to elevate the tool boxes though, otherwise if you are anything like me you will have so much **** on your bench that you won't be able to open the bottom most drawer(s).

There is an old joke about machinist tool boxes, back when guys had to carry their boxes to work. It goes something like; Question: "What is in the bottom drawer?", Response: "I don't remember, it has been so long since I have been able to open it will all this stuff on my bench in front".

Looks like you have a very nice blank slate of a garage to start organizing.

Isnt that why Kennedy made the intermediate box?? that way you can get in your bottom drawer of your top box

 

[zkling]

Isnt that why Kennedy made the intermediate box?? that way you can get in your bottom drawer of your top box

Yea for those that are in denial. For the others that aren't afraid to admit the inevitable, they actually make just a riser without drawers. No loss drawer or bench space. Talk about a company that recognizes the problems of their customers.

 

[JMartel]

My bench is 30". I wouldn't want more than that.

 

[Davefr]

No, Mine is about 42" deep and that space get's used along with 120% of the rest of the surface!!

Here are 3 rules:

1. A workbench can't be too big
2. A workbench can't be too strong
3. A workbench can't have too much storage areas.

 

[John Timmins]

OK here's some pictures. As I said above the bench was designed to roll a table saw and thickness planer under the top to get them out of the way. The Counter top is 36 1/2 inches high, 38 inches deep, and 42 inches wide between the legs. All that machinery is gone. The woodworking shop became a Harley project shop, an now it's current function is to store a a boat and restore vintage Mercury outboards that push it. The automatic transmission Mercury outboards and the 1936 Fero Air Pump are featured topics on other Garage Journal entries.

The cabinets above the work bench were not originally in the bench design; placing them on the wall would make them too far back to reach anything. About a foot from the wall 2x4 verticle boards were framed in to support the cabinets and peg board was placed beneath the cabinets to hand tools on. The point I'd like to make is that storage area behind the upper cabinets for 8 foot lengths of wood, light bulbs, etc. makes it not wasted space.

The last picture shows some of the construction features of the area beneath the work bench. The legs are untreated pine 4x4 that were dadoed. routered, and polyurethaned. Painted particle board are the "walls" of the workbench. The top is 3/4 ply with composition board over it. the top was reinforced with the oak frame after my frined thought it was a good idea to put the cheapo Chicom 6 inch vise on the top and it made the top sag.

I think I will start a new blog with pictures constructint the whole bench.

I have big plans to modernize the space beneath the work bench when the garage cools off (still 90 in September ! ).
There is about 5 feet of space between the boat and the work bench. Everything on the shop is on wheels. Out of this picture is a blast cabinet, RA saw, and drill press.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Just a followup...I ended up pulling the trigger on what he said was 36" Pallet Racking...get it all home and actual measurement is 34"...set it all up and all I can say is I'll never build a 24" deep bench again...Wonderful depth and size of worksurface.
I'll take some pics...

 

[steel 35]

Dang it, I just cut my 42" rack down to match my existing 24" Yesterday

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Dang it, I just cut my 42" rack down to match my existing 24" Yesterday

Ouch...That's what I was going to do as well, cut down my rack to 24" and cut off the front beams above the worksurface..BUT Between the comments I got on here and Mother Nature (Too cold to paint these days) I figured for this year, just bang up what I got and because its modular, just take it down to cut down next spring when I have more time...At this point I wont cut the depth down...will see how working with it as is over the winter goes and I May/May not cut down the front vertical...next spring may just be a re-paint job...
I know standard size for kitchens is 24" and all, but after having had mine up for a little bit now, combined with having had a 24" bench in my basement for years now...I wouldn't want anything less then 30".

Sorry for the crappy pics, took these while I was in process of decking it. I've since completely decked the worksurface with 2x8's...will put a solid piece of 3/4" MDF over the whole thing soon...and I've decked the top shelf and bottom shelf and installed a 4' T8 fixture under the top shelf.

 

[CaptainMarvel]

Personally, like many here, I do not think 36" is too deep. I built a 48" x 36" workbench (using the 2x4 Basics workbench leg kit) and I use it as both a workbench and an assembly table.

In fact, mine looks almost identical to THIS GUY'S BENCH - including my decision to use 2x6's for the support beams rather than 2x4's.



As a bit of additional assurance, you can check out a good number of large depth/width workbench/assembly tables (images) --> HERE

 

[steel 35]

I fit mine for the 24" tops there 28" outside, I am glad to see the 42" gone. Still a long ways to go on this project but here is part of it today.

 

[ixlr8]

Just a followup...I ended up pulling the trigger on what he said was 36" Pallet Racking...get it all home and actual measurement is 34"...set it all up and all I can say is I'll never build a 24" deep bench again...Wonderful depth and size of worksurface.
I'll take some pics...

Want to let a fellow Mainer know where you got the Pallet Racking... it looks perfect for my needs.

 

[92GreenYJ]

I wound up building mine at 30"s deep. Perfect for me as it gives me lots of extra space to work with. I was never a fan of the two foot wide benches. Doesn't offer enough surface area especially when you are trying to tear something down and need space to lay out parts and pieces for the project at hand. I can still easily reach the bins, drawers, pegboard, and power strips and switches at the back too

 

[sberry]

I like that Spud,,, that is real nice, fast and priced right. You can sponge brush a little paint on the flats for color change if you want but you could load that with features easy for sure.

 

[roadracer97]

my workbench is 36 inches deep, and i love it. i can have stuff sitting against the back and still have plenty of work space up front. i can reach everyting at the back. there is still room for parts bins of other storage to put on the back if you like also. i highly reccoment going 36 deep if youve got the space

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I like that Spud,,, that is real nice, fast and priced right. You can sponge brush a little paint on the flats for color change if you want but you could load that with features easy for sure.

Thanks....to make a long story short, I highly doubt & challenge anybody to show me a stronger/more sturdy quick & dirty work bench then pallet racking for the cost...no wobble at all, solid as a rock, could put anything I wanted on any shelf there with no safety/strength issues. Seriously the only "problem" I have at this point is how I can mount my vice.

Another reason I went this way is this is a temporary bench...I've got a mental image of some nice toolbox type cabinets or even some kitchen cabinet style, with wall cabs as well, but lets just say my wallet doesn't match my dreams.

Since its so easy to take down...I'd like to take it apart and bring it over to a professional powdercoating shop I've used...SnapOn red and Black is what I'm thinkin...

 

[steel 35]

Seriously the only "problem" I have at this point is how I can mount my vice.

Look close enough there are two mounts on mine below one has a vice and the other has a portaband they do interchange.

 

[Mustang1167]

If I could find the room for a 36" work bench I would go for it, so I vote yes. I would put a top chest on it and store a bunch of junk on it and call it a day. Then complain I got no where to work then build another one.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Look close enough there are two mounts on mine below one has a vice and the other has a portaband they do interchange.

I saw that...was looking for a less permanent/not a big project type mounting solution...as mentioned above, down the road when I build my permanent work bench (have a WIDE Snappy EPIQ drawer I got cheep) I will make these a normal rack..

If I could find the room for a 36" work bench I would go for it, so I vote yes. I would put a top chest on it and store a bunch of junk on it and call it a day. Then complain I got no where to work then build another one.

Hmm...Not seeing a problem with anything you said...isn't that how its SUPPOSED To work?