Size and Positioning
The optimum size of a bench depends on the work to be done, space considerations, and budget. In general, bigger is better - though most woodworkers find that most work is done on the front few inches of the top, and then mostly in the front vise or right around the tail vise. So a smaller, narrow bench isn't as much of a drawback as might be expected - and it is far better than no bench at all. Tage Frid's classic bench is relatively small and it is one of the most copied designs. A big disadvantage of a smaller bench is that they are usually too light to resist heavy work without skidding around - but this problem can be overcome by attaching the bench to the floor.
Woodworkers seem to be evenly divided on the subject of bench positioning. Some like to be able to access their benches from all sides, while others like their bench against a wall. The advantage of wall placement - besides the saved space - is that tools can be stored on the wall over the bench, within easy reach. This keeps the tool storage out of the way, and the tools can still be reached without turning around or bending down.
Read more about this topic: Workbench (woodworking)
Famous quotes containing the words size and/or positioning:
“One writes of scars healed, a loose parallel to the pathology of the skin, but there is no such thing in the life of an individual. There are open wounds, shrunk sometimes to the size of a pin-prick but wounds still. The marks of suffering are more comparable to the loss of a finger, or the sight of an eye. We may not miss them, either, for one minute in a year, but if we should there is nothing to be done about it.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Genius differs from talent not by the amount of original thoughts, but by making the latter fertile and by positioning them properly, in other words, by integrating everything into a whole, whereas talent produces only fragments, no matter how beautiful.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)