JimReed Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 I am new to the Guild but really looking forward to this build. I currently work mainly with powertools but my hope is that this new bench will inspire me to move into the world of more hand tools. I understand how critical the bench height can be for handtools and because I am only 5'6" I assume that my bench should probably be a bit shorter than the "average" person. Is their a rule of thumb for bench height? And assuming I need to shorten the height of my bench, what is the best way to do so without making the build any more complex? Can I just lop a couple inches off the leg length and call it a day or will that result in some awkward proportions or other unintended consequences? Thanks for your help! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 Welcome Jim. Glad to hear you are jumping into the build! Concerning height, The Schwarz calls it the "rule of the pinky". He says the ideal height is the distance from the floor to where your pinky meets your hand. Obviously, your personal preferences may move the bench one way or another. Now if I were adjusting the height, the leave "eventful" way to do it is to trim from the bottom of the legs. There isn't anything happening between the cross stretchers and the floor and it is just empty space. Only thing that changes is the look. As the shelf gets closer to the floor, things might start looking funny. But for a small change, I think you are probably better off doing it that way for the least inconvenience. If you need to make a dramatic change, then you probably want to take the top. You will then have to adjust the leg vise chop and the sliding deadman accordingly. All things considered that's not too big of a deal, but it is technically more to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torch02 Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 According to Chris Schwarz, it's actually a rule of pinky - the top of your bench should come up to where your pinky meets your hand when you hang your arm straight down at your side. Rob Pocaro recently had a nice post about the height of your bench over at his blog Heartwood Beyond specifics, your general intuition about scaling the bench height down is correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB1 Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 There's also another method by standing up straight letting your arms fall to side and palms facing down. Where the heel of the Palm is that is the height of the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 The main plan has the bench height at 35", with 5" of space below the bottom stetchers. You could reasonably take up to 3" from the bottom of the legs, without adjusting anything else on the bench. After this, you would probably want to remove some height from the middle of the legs, which means you'll have to rework the leg vise and sliding deadman dimensions as Marc pointed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 I just did some measuring just so I'd have a reference point. I am 5'11" tall and my floor to pinky base height is 32". But my floor to palm height is 34". Being a hybrid woodworking, I will be using a lot of power tools at my bench so having a little extra height will be good for me. At 35", I'm gonna call that close to perfect for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 And hey, you can always build high and cut it down later. It's really tough to get the legs to regrow if you start too short in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 I just did some measuring just so I'd have a reference point. I am 5'11" tall and my floor to pinky base height is 32". But my floor to palm height is 34". Being a hybrid woodworking, I will be using a lot of power tools at my bench so having a little extra height will be good for me. At 35", I'm gonna call that close to perfect for me. Okay Marc, So, I'm 6'2" and the base of my pinky to the floor measurement is also 32"! Does that mean I have monkey arms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southwood Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 How about this. 6"-5" and 32 1/2" @ pinky joint. How is that for monkey arms? Base of palm is 38". And before you ask, no I can not dunk a basket ball. I have the vertical leap of an elephant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Be careful about how close the lower shelf gets to the floor. When performing some hand tool operations you may want to be able to hook your foot underneath the shelf rail for leverage/balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsPlace Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 And hey, you can always build high and cut it down later. It's really tough to get the legs to regrow if you start too short in the first place. I was once in a crew on a construction site when the lead man, one whom I was warned about, sent me to get a "board stretcher". Having been forwarned I did not question him. I left to find one! I went to the local McDonalds and ordered a quarterpounder with cheese, large fries and two strawberry shakes and had lunch. Told him I could not find one so brought back a longer board to be cut to the right length. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I know it sounds kinda goofy, but I ignored the pinky rule. Hell, it may even be sacrilegious denying the Schwarz. What I did was pretend to go through the motions of everything I could think I would do at the existing bench I have (an exterior door on a pair of sawhorses). What felt natural and seems a height I could deal with for prolonged periods ended up being 34 3/4" tall. I'm 5' 7". And that's more where my wrist starts. (null) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cts1085 Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 If I need to lower the bench height by 3 inches (I am only 5'7") what impact does/should that have on the Chop? Does the Chop get shorter as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 If I need to lower the bench height by 3 inches (I am only 5'7") what impact does/should that have on the Chop? Does the Chop get shorter as well? Here you go... The main plan has the bench height at 35", with 5" of space below the bottom stetchers. You could reasonably take up to 3" from the bottom of the legs, without adjusting anything else on the bench. After this, you would probably want to remove some height from the middle of the legs, which means you'll have to rework the leg vise and sliding deadman dimensions as Marc pointed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cts1085 Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Here you go... Thanks - I missed those entries - this forum is getting to be a great repository! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allencrane Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I'm also going with 35". If it needs to be lowered later, so be it, but I don't want to obsess about it now, as I'm so new to hand tool work that I have no extensive experience to baseline the height. That, and the last thing I want to have to create are "Roubo's slippers" if I were to make it too short to begin with! How painful...after all the work! http://www.closegrain.com/2011/04/roubos-slippers.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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