True poor man bench.

[bennymk]

Heres my bench its not fancy but shes straight and true and dont move much she get pushed upon.

The timber on the back and front top was a 8 metres giant lintel that was meant to go in a block of flats but used metal in the end. So I kindly chopped it up with a hand saw and in the back of the transit she went.

I got to use my freshly sharpened adze for the first time which was great apart from I took a chunk of timber below the desired level near a knot so I have to repair that at some point, what would you guys do to fix It?. I was either thinking chop a nice rectangle out and glue a matching bit back in or I was thinking just keep putting my spare Resin glue in it. Was great fun using a adze (Sorby one) that possibly hasn't been used in decades. Really hunked the material away.

I brought the frame and the 52 1//2 vice for 30 nicker the top was shot and the vice nearly seized. The frame was held together with mainly bolts so I added some more support, few mortise and tenons later and we have a bench that doesn't look all that but very much does its job.

What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high.

Regards

Benny

 

[thetyreman]

as long as it works for YOU that is all that matters, it looks good to me, more than adequate, it's nice to see a bench that isn't too fancy, I'm sure that will be of service for a long time.

 

[MikeG.]

......What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high......

That's the rule: whatever works for you.

 

[novocaine]

nowt wrong with that bench and plenty of life in the top to give you a fair few cleaning shaves over the next few (read hundreds) of years.

you could lay in a patch if you feel the need but it's purely cosmetic and isn't going to improve the use of the bench any so I'd leave it alone.

 

[sammy.se]

I wouldn't consider that a poor man's bench - it's got great equipment and features.
You built it with frugality in mind, nothing wrong with that.
You can probably spend £300 retail and still not have a bench that functional. Good for you.

 

[Tasky]

What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high.

Chop off the legs one inch at a time until it's no longer too high.
That's about it, really. Purely personal taste.

You can probably spend £300 retail and still not have a bench that functional.

"Probably"...?
I'd say that's pretty much guaranteed!!

 

[ED65]

Well done on building your bench! It looks a right sturdy old thing that should last you out your days =D>

I got to use my freshly sharpened adze for the first time which was great apart from I took a chunk of timber below the desired level near a knot so I have to repair that at some point, what would you guys do to fix It?.

Inlet solid wood. If it were smaller I might be tempted to fill with epoxy filled with fine sanding dust but it looks pretty sizeable so that would be a lot of epoxy.

What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high.

Lots of debate about ideal workbench height as you'll see if you hunt down some old threads on the subject. Edit: here's one optimum-height-for-my-self-build-workbench-t99227.html

End of the day it's up to you, your height and arm length and the type of work you'll do on it are the main determinants.

 

[Jacob]

......
What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high.

Regards

Benny

Looks good.
The rule is - if you are finding it a bit high cut a bit off the legs.
You can always put blocks under if you want it higher.
30" to 36" is usual, depends on what you do and how tall you are.
A pair of saw horses is handy if you want to be even lower for something too big/high for the work top
Re; level surface - holes and hollows don't matter unless they are so big the workpiece will dip into them, but bumps and things sticking up do, and need planing off.

 

[autotrans]

looks good (hammer)

 

[Aquachiefofficer]

I wish my bench looked half as solid. Well done!

 

[AndyT]

I like it too!

As for the height thing, before you give yourself a hernia turning it over to shorten the legs, if you want to find out what it would be like lower, just raise the floor in front of the bench. Put down a piece of chipboard, a scaffold plank, a bit of old worktop - whatever you can find that will lift your feet up an inch or two. Quick, easy and reversible if you don't like it.

 

[custard]

What's the rules for the height it should be? as I'm finding it a little high.

There are no rules, but if you were lucky enough to train as a cabinet maker at the Edward Barnsley workshops you might spend three years working at a 38" high bench. For the first six months you'd use nothing but hand tools, so you'd use that same bench to dimension lots of hardwood boards using only a bench plane.

Unless you're a giant you'd find the 38" bench uncomfortably high for hours of continuous planing, but at the end of the day you'd still make it work.

For the next two and a half years you'd do your dimensioning with machinery, and then unless you're a midget you'd find the 38" bench ideal for all the joinery and other bench tasks that cabinet making requires.

In any event start tall and if, after plenty of practical experience, you absolutely have to shorten your bench, then you can. Just don't make that decision too early in your woodworking career or you may well regret it.

 

[Lons]

What Andy said. =D>

Once you've decided how much to cut off you don't even need to turn it over if you don't want to, just take the weight off the legs by levering up and packing under the cross members, a car trolley jack is useful, and cut parallel to the floor with a handsaw. You can use a flat scrap as a guide if necessary just like cutting architrave when fitting flooring. That's what I did with mine.

That bench will outlast you btw. Looks solid as a rock.

 

[worn thumbs]

I have seen and indeed worked on many benches that were a great deal worse in use and appearance.The weight will be a great benefit.

 

[thetyreman]

mine is 38" high, and I'm just under 6 foot high, works well for me so far.

 

[MikeG.]

Mine was an old school bench, and was about knee height when I got it. I've packed it higher, twice.

 

[Orraloon]

Good solid looking bench.
As to hight I agree with those who say stand on something like a duckboard rather than cut it down. A lowish bench is good to plane on but it's hard on the old back for all the other tasks.
Regards
John

 

[Just4Fun]

In any event start tall and if, after plenty of practical experience, you absolutely have to shorten your bench, then you can. Just don't make that decision too early in your woodworking career or you may well regret it.

I took that approach when I made my current bench about 7 years ago. I still can't decide if I should shorten the legs, or by how much. Sometimes I stand on a low platform to work comfortably which suggests the bench is too high. Other times I prefer to stand on the floor, suggesting the bench height is OK. I assume it depends on the task at hand but I am not organised enough to keep track of when I raise myself up and when I don't.

 

[Lons]

There must be a way to fit some sort of quick height adjuster on each leg, would need to be substantial easy to wind up and down or wouldn't get used. Needs some thought!

 

[woodbloke66]

Chop off the legs one inch at a time until it's no longer too high.
That's about it, really. Purely personal taste.

Agreed, no hard and fast rules on bench height, but if you take off too much, just put some blocks underneath to chock it up again. I went to a Barnsley open day a few years ago and was amazed to see that some of their standard height commercial benches were chocked up by around 50-75mm (or so I estimated). 'Easier to plane' was the answer when I queried it but I know that they were far too high for me to use comfortably - Rob