What is a good depth for a workbench?

[RonRock]

I'm going to build myself a new workbench. It will be up against a wall. Eventually the wall will have cabinets mounted above the bench.

I know that there is no exact answer to the question. But what would you guys suggest as a good working depth? I want the bench to "work well" and I can build anything I decide. So what works?

 

[ZRX61]

30-36in

 

[W650Mike]

30"

With 36" I tend to let stuff clutter up along the back.

Be sure to add a sufficient toe kick or overhang.

 

[cderalow]

should be about the same as a useful computer desk, or between 26" and 32".

anything more than that people start to clutter the rear, anything less doesn't allow for an open book/sheet of paper and a working item.

 

[machine_punk]

i like 28", but i move my benches away from the wall, when needed

 

[chickenhauler]

I went 30" with mine, which means I'll probably be working on a 8-10" ledge most of the time lol. Anything from 26-32 would probably be user friendly for general projects.

 

[Falcon67]

30" is a good number, or close to that. 24" would be a minimum, like a kitchen counter.

 

[GRX]

Best advice is to build it to your specifications. By that I mean your body. Measure height from floor to your waist. Then depth should be how far you can reach the other side easily.

 

[CARS]

I built mine 24" deep. I figure I wont be able to throw as much **** on it as if I built it 36".

Flat surfaces = "stuff" piled on

 

[porphyre]

My humble opinion is 30" +/- 4" is the min for a bench attached to a wall, ESPECIALLY if you're intending to hang cabinets over it.

Free standing bench, 24" is min.

 

[Bennie]

I made mine 36". It's perfect for me because I can put a toolbox or shelf along the back and still have plenty of work space.

 

[RonRock]

Wow very good advice here. Several have mentioned the "clutter" issue. That is exactly the reason I am building a new workbench. My old one was a 4' X 8' island. When I built it the shop was new and fairly empty. With time came more stuff, and eventually I could not get all of the way around the bench and it was piled with stuff. Always too much effort to be able to use the workbench for what it was designed. Which is what prompted the question. I figured others had dealt with the balance between a good depth and too wide or narrow.

Thanks for the pointers. Hopefully this time around I end up with a good balance.

 

[ChristopherLutz]

Ron - I echo the 24-30'' range.

I built mine (to my height as suggested above) and went with about 40'' deep. It's Waaay to deep. I end up having stuff piled everywhere, and it's annoying. I'm currently looking to "re-do" at 24''.

Also - if you will put cabinets above, that may change your "ideal". Depending on the height of the cabinet and ceiling, you may want slightly deeper if the space under the hanging cabinets isn't readily usable.

 

[shirkdog]

I really like reading the comments...good advice.

Our standard bench top is 22 Inches deep, but it sounds like we need to consider offering some deeper options closer to the 30 Inch range...

 

[Joe Reed]

I think the real answer depends on what kind of stuff you intend to use the bench for. Mine is 24" wide, but 36" high because I use it almost exclusively for small stuff. At that height, any wider wouldn't be useful with my short arms. If I had been planning on using it for heavier, bulkier work - like maybe transmission work - I would prefer to have it lower and maybe wider.

 

[ClayW]

30" is nice, but using a solid core 36" wood door as a benchtop is pretty nice. Clutter might build up toward the back, but you can always put small tool/hardware bins, battery chargers, etc in that space.

Mine are 36" deep and I love them. Three 2X12 boards with a topper.

 

[rocklobster]

Good question as I was wondering the same thing last year while constructing my project 'MEGABENCH'. A pearl of wisdom I found out in internetland is the following:

"You can never build a bench too long or too narrow but you can build a bench too short and too wide"

My garage bench is either 26 or 28inches wide (cant recall) and over 20' long. Personally I dont think that I would build a bench any wider unless I could justify it by the projects size or overhead cabinets. This bench tends to get way too cluttered.

In my basement shop I built a 24" wide by 8' long 'MEGABENCH' and I really like the 24" better than the wider one out in the shop, a narrower bench saves space and if you use a pegboard behind the bench it makes it easier to reach tools high up the pegboard. If you need more room build a longer bench.

24" is good because you can rip a 4' wide piece of 3/4" plywood in half and have a good top.

 

[bcdesertdog]

mine is 33" deep 34" if you count te back splash

 

[sarman47]

Mine is 96" long x 25" wide x 38" high. Just right for me. Hell even at 25" wide still hard to keep clean sometime's.

 

[SGKent]

depends upon the type things you work on. I work on VW cases and things so I like deep. That way I can have a row of drawers for nuts and bolts at the back and plenty of depth.

 

[RonRock]

You guys got me thinking. I was leaning towards 32-36 inch, but I know it will just get piled high with stuff. Maybe 24" would be a better depth, and as has been mentioned a sheet of ply or particle board would double up well.

 

[38Chevy454]

If you make it 32 inches deep, you can get three pieces out of a 48 x 96 inches (4 x 8 feet) piece of plywood or other sheet material. You can make a bench 32 inches deep and 144 inches (12 feet) length with one sheet. Such as covering your workbench top with masonite for example.

 

[kyle242gt]

Right on, 38'; I went with 32" for exactly that reason. Agreed that it's deep enough to stay cluttered a lot of the time, but it's nice to have the extra space for a light, battery charger, coffee can full of bolts, whatever.

Big deal is the overhang, I forgot that, and it makes for ***** of a time sweeping loose hardware back into its cans.

 

[jimmy p]

I like 24-26" for a bench mounted against the wall, and as others have said the overhang is important. For a freestanding bench that could be used from either side Ive done 32-36"s and it seems to work well.

 

[regguy1]

I made mine 30" deep 8" long, I built the bench some years ago. I think it deals with clutter very well. You can see it in the video link below, take the guided tour

 

[onewaydave]

Clutter is a function of work ethic, not bench design.

What type of work is to be done? Will the majority of projects require depth? Lateral space can sometimes make up for depth, and sometime not.

Gonna mount a vise and use a BFH, or change transistors in portable radios?

As mentioned above, how tall are the most frequent users and what is their arm reach?

Will the user stand during use or sit? Do you want/need to store stuff under it or not?

Dave, with food for thought.

 

[rvr6000]

Was still putting things away after painting inside the garage but I built my bench 34" deep. Figured that way I could still open drawers from the toolboxes and not have to move stuff around. I do more woodworking than anything so the deeper bench is nice for working on medium size projects. Overall the bench is 12' long and about 38" high. I'm 6'2" so I tend to make things to fit me better.

It's blocked by the skid but there is a vice on the far left side.

 

[GRX]

Clutter is a function of work ethic, not bench design.

What type of work is to be done? Will the majority of projects require depth? Lateral space can sometimes make up for depth, and sometime not.

Gonna mount a vise and use a BFH, or change transistors in portable radios?

As mentioned above, how tall are the most frequent users and what is their arm reach?

Will the user stand during use or sit? Do you want/need to store stuff under it or not?

Dave, with food for thought.

Great post.

 

[ed_v]

I like 30". 24" is much too narrow for me.

Ed

 

[Falcon67]

I can add a little more to the discussion. In my old shop, I built a 24" x 8' bench. It saw a lot of work and did well, but I like to park stuff like plastic parts bins and stuff on the back side. So there were spots that didn't have a lot of work space on the front. I recently bought a 5' x 30" deep steel bench and I really like the depth. So when I build the new benches I plan to save a little coin I will use 24" wide 3/4 ply for the top with an OSB under layer and a 2x6 on the back for a total depth of 29 1/2".

 

[mdbeck1]

My benches that are against walls are usually 24"X48". My router table is 30"X60" and gets used as a layout table a lot...

 

[Orangestang]

I went with 30" deep also its 40" high I'm 5'10" its a lots less strain on my back from not bending over as much. I cut up some wood on some saw horses today and my back was killing me......

 

[buzz4041]

I used 3 - 2 x 8's for my top so that is 22-1/2". It already holds enough clutter.

 

[djjsr]

Two of my benches are cut from 4'x8' sheets. The benchtops are 32" and the other 16" are the upper shelves.

View media item 14358

 

[Kevin54]

You guys got me thinking. I was leaning towards 32-36 inch, but I know it will just get piled high with stuff. Maybe 24" would be a better depth, and as has been mentioned a sheet of ply or particle board would double up well.

32" would be a better depth. 24" is just a tad to narrow to do a lot of things without fear of knocking something off. And if you have a smaller toolbox on a 24" bench, you hardly have any room in front of the box. I built my new benches at 24" so I could use a stock laminate counter top. Looks nice, but a big mistake. I am going to have to build a bench that gives me a little more room

 

[5lima30]

My current main bench is 26" but I have had them 36" previously. I find for me 36" is a waste of space (I don't have long arms). The ideal depth is probably somewhere between 24" and 32" IMHO.

 

[ChristopherLutz]

DJJSR - what a great set up...thanks for sharing the pic.

 

[porphyre]

Big deal is the overhang, I forgot that, and it makes for ***** of a time sweeping loose hardware back into its cans.

Good point. I don't know what the standard overhang is, but I think it's about 1.5". A lot of 2x4 based benches that have cabinet doors below have no overhang. You'd have to open a door to sweep stuff off the edge and catch it all. I've always wondered how those guys worked with that....

 

[bill9860]

Built mine 32 inches. Perfect for me but as others have said it is simply a personal preference based on available space, how you will use it etc. Got 2 4x8 1/2 plywood sheets. Had them each cut @ 32 inches. Sandwiched the 2 16"x 8' pieces between the 2 32"x 8' and have a nice heavy, stable surface.

 

[jeepjunky]

Mine is 35" but was designed to have 33" tires set under it...personal prefrence