Well with being transferred to Prescott Az. I now have a 2,000-sq ft. hanger at my disposal. First thing was to repaint the 200 sq. ft. office and lay down a checker board floor. Next project is some workbenches. So the big question is how tall to finish them at for the most comfort. "I am 6'2" tall"
I'll post some pics soon.

 

I can't tell you what's comfortable for you. The comfort height also depends on what you are working on.

My advice is to think about your daily routine. Is your kitchen counter a comfortable height when you are fixing meals? Is the bathroom sink the right height when you are brushing your teeth?

Also, since you have space and are asking about multiple workbenches, why not make them at least two heights - a taller one for working on small parts and a lower one for bigger stuff. A gas-adjust sop stool or chair can go a long way for comfort, too.

Kinda jealous about the 2000 sqaure foot shop. No, I lied. I'm REALLY jealous...

Cheers,
Eric

 

I too am jealous. I think the standard height for workbenches is 30". When I get to work tomorrow I will measure mine.
By the way I love your signoff tag line.

 

ignoring having to lift stuff, around 36" is the most comfotable for a bench about 30" deep. That way, you don't have bend over at all to work on stuff.

 

When I remodeled my Kitchen a few years ago, I switched from 28" high to 34".
It's much better to work at. No more sore back. I'm planning workbenches in my new shop at the same height. I'll probably have a few stools just to be able to sit while doing some tasks like welding.

 

I would probably build at least part of it at a height that is about 3" below my forearms if I were standing up and holding my forearms straignt out, parallel to the floor and elbows bent 90º... That way I could still lean in and rest on my elbows for fine/precision work and not kill my lower back. I would build a chair to match the height; a bar chair would probably be about right.

 

Ok I was able to shoehorn my truck into my hanger today and get a pic of it "not trying to add to the jealousy"

 

So, how did you manage to score that?

 

There is no ideal height for the masses, as we're all different heights and have different arm lengths.

The way to figure this out ideally, is to stand against a wall, and put your arms straight down, with your hands, palms down, parallel to the floor. Have your assistant measure from the floor to your palms, and add 3 inches if you like to stand up working on your workbenches.

You want to work with your elbows bent a bit, but not too bent as that gets tiring after a while. Plus, whatever you're working on generally has some thickness to it so you want to have the benches so that the work is at a reasonable height. Of course alternaters are different thicknesses than 1/8" lexan, so there has to be a reasonable balance in the middle somewhere. The "palms down" method works very well.

A friend of mine didn't buy into my suggestion, so what he did was take a bar stool that rotates to increase or decrease height, and clamped a piece of wood across the top, then adjusted it to different heights while playing with an alternator. For grins, we measured that height as compared to the "palms down" method, and they were within 1/2" of each other.

 

P.S. here is a shot of my office.

 

we needed somewhere to put the helicopter during "inclimate weather" (In Arizona?)
"team me"
It also came with a 10 year lease. I like long term.

 

well I decided on 36" for the benches. framing out of 2X4 with 4X4 legs. them from the surface up to 6' will be peg board. the tops are going to be 9 ply 3/4" red oak ply wood.

 

Thanks I cut and pasted this into my documents as a future reference. Defiantly good info.

Bart

 

You guys wouldn't believe the "tips" I have in a huge text file collected over the years. The file is over half a MB, actually 501670 characters long. I use a text editor (NoteTab Lite) to bring it up and search for text in it. It is semi-organized into sections also. Using a text file instead of a database means I can enter free text into it and it comes up quickly when needed from a desk icon. I have tons of regular automotive files, diagrams, and pictures saved from web pages also. I have thought about uploading the file to my web page after some cleanup editing but unfortunately it does not conform to copyright rules so it is for personal use only...

I also collected helifixer's definition of "Helicopter".

 

What you might consider is putting the bench on locking casters (scaffolding 8" might work well for a load) so you can move it around. Northern Tools sells a boatload of different types. Makes better use of the space and when disassembling something such as an engine, you can lay the parts out in order and leave them that way while working under the hood.