Depth of workbench, 24 or 36 inches

[johneic]

I inherited a 48 inch deep workbench that is just too deep for my purposes. I want to cut it down, not sure if 24 inches would be too shallow. I could of course make it 30 or 36 also, any opinions?

 

[murph1]

I inherited a 48 inch deep workbench that is just too deep for my purposes. I want to cut it down, not sure if 24 inches would be too shallow. I could of course make it 30 or 36 also, any opinions?

Most benches I've seen were 30" across. What I would do is measure your reach so you can pick up things from the back of the bench.

 

[Oldoak]

If you have the space, I would go with 36". You can always cut it shorter again, but you can't cut it longer. Though, a 30-32" work bench depth appear to be quite common.

Even if you don't use the full depth as work space, it can be used for other purposes. Small container storage, a tool rack, a row of miscellaneous spray cans, etc.

On edit: I see murhp replied while I was typing.

 

[tcreeley]

I always like room to push stuff out of the way while I am working. 4' sounds ideal! But 36 is good too!

 

[EddieWalker]

Most every counter top is 24 inches deep, and I've always made my workbenches the same. I had some rolling table type workbenches that where 4x8 and where great when I had them in the middle of my shop. But they took up too much room when not in use, and eventually just became a place to pile stuff on that never got put away. Now I use 8 foot plastic tables with folding legs for extra working space when I need it.

Is your workshop counter next to a wall? Do you have to reach across it to get anything stored on the wall? 24 inches makes it easy to reach anything, anywhere. Bigger would only mean more "stuff" stored on the back side of the bench. Everything I do on my work benches is done on the front foot or so.

 

[jack707]

I have two benches the reloading on is six feet long 24 wide the other is 8 feet 24" wide.

 

[dmccarty]

Counter tops are 24 inches which is a good compromise width for having enough work surface but not too much. Kitchens and bathrooms are often tight for space so 24 inches balances the need for a work surface and available space. Having said that, if you have space more than 24 is good. 48 inches is just too much to reach across unless one needs the space for large materials. So that gets you back towards 36 inches if you have room but it also depends on whether you can reach across 36 inches and if you have the space. I would guess 30-32 inches would be a good compromise.

Later,
Dan

 

[George2615]

I'd cut it to what makes it comfortable for you to reach the wall behind the table. Especially if you need to reach an outlet to plug something in. I built 2 wood benches for my garage out of 4x4 legs and 2x6es. Originally they were 36" deep and I had a hard time reaching over stuff on the bench to plug in a tool. I cut mine down to 31" deep.

 

[PJSprog]

I'm a fan of 30-32" at most. As others have already pointed out, deeper just becomes a catch-all trap. Really, though, it mostly depends on you; your intended purpose for it, and your arm reach. It's your bench. Make it perfect for you, not us.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I built my workbench to double as an outfeed table for my tablesaw; don't recall exactly, but it's at least 36" wide, maybe 40". It , however does not rest against the wall but is usually out in the middle of the shop somewhere. My against-the-wall benches are, I believe 24", but I also built them to be movable so I could move them around as needed, but I found out that is a rare occurrence.