Workbench: Aesthetics & Practicality
I’m in the beginning stages of building/designing a massive workbench. I’ve spent the past three weekends flattening the two legs, which are of cherry crotch. They are 2-3/8″ thick and measure 35-1/2″ across at the wide end and 15-1/2″ across at the narrow end. They are 36″ tall, but will almost certainly be docked. From a design point of view, do you think it would looks better to have the wider part up or down? If the wide part is up, I would add a wide foot on the bottom, similar to that of the dogwood dining room table I built.
The top will be 2 to 3″ thick and atleast 34″ wide (atleast 36″ if the wide part of the crotch faces upwards) and longer than 7′. It will have a full bank of drawers underneath starting ~6″ below the benchtop. To go along with the curvature of the legs, I would like to contour the drawer faces so that they flow from one to the next like a wave.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
– Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
Replies
Chris,
That bench will be a fine beast! I feel envy.
One thought concerns the potentially very wide bench top should you put the wide end of the crotch up. I imagine a 36 " wide bench will be very usable if you can walk all around it and do things from all four sides. I lack space in my shed so my bench is agin' one wall. At 24" wide I find the far edge (and the tools racked beyond it) is just a bit of a stretch. 36" would be no good for bench-agin-wall configuration perhaps.
If you have a big shed with lots of space, no worries.
Another thought is that putting on a foot (if the narrow end of the crotch faces down) to improve stability also adds height - so you will need to lose even more off the length of the crotch pieces...? If the up/down aesthetic ir not really here or there perhaps the less complex or simpler solution of wide end down might be the decider.
Personally (just a matter of taste) I would like the wide end down. Despite it being then an upside down tree it still seems more natural, perhaps because it then has inherent stability as a bench top support and doesn't need that add-on foot.
Lataxe
I wouldn't think crotch woods would be as stable as one could desire on a work bench.
Personally boards like that should find a home where they would be seen by everyone setting foot in your house. Just think, coupled with the curve drawer fronts what a sideboard you could make.
Steve,
There's a reason I got four of them! The others, however, are significantly warped and will yield a much thinner board.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I don't think you need to worry about stability in workbench legs. I mean, what's gonna happen? They shrink or twist a bit? So what -- they're only legs, not vice jaws or something.
I'd put them crotch up, the way they grew naturally. Otherwise, they'd look upside down to me.
At first, I was thinkin', "Now why would anyone want to use that wood on a workbench?" But the more I think about it, the more I like it. Way too cool. Do it.
And post pics.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Chris,
Some arguments for wide end up this time:
If you want to have the drawers contoured to the curve of the crotch legs and right up to the top's underside, then having the narrow ends of the crotch-legs up will mean the top drawer is well hidden under the wide top. This will make it difficult to get things out of the top drawer, as it will need to be pulled right out before its entrance clears the top.......?
If a thick and heavy 36" top is balanced atop a 15 - 16" wide pair of legs (the narrow ends of the crotch pieces) is there going to be the possibility of some movement of the top when downward pressure is applied whilst working towards the edge of the top, as in planing something held in a face vise?
Just thoughts.
Lataxe
Lataxe,
Yes, I thought about the drawers not working so well if the wide end is up. That is pushing me towards having the wide end down. That makes the bench look more stable, also. It also makes the benchtop look less supported. The bench will go in the center of my bench room which is maybe 12-14' wide by ~24' long (lengthwise, of course). All in all, good points you've made.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Wide part down will lower the center of gravity and automatically give you a wide stance.
The top should be at least 3" wider than the legs on each side in or you will be tripping on them all of the time, not insetting the legs on furniture that gets walked by frequently is a classic design blunder and presents safety risks in a shop.
Don't forget to allow for wood movement when you attach other components to the legs.
John White
John,
Center of gravity will be important! It would not be good having a workbench weighing several hundred pounds wanting to tip over! 3" on each side would require a 42" wide benchtop! That's awfully wide! But is it unheard of? Maybe I'll have to give the width some serious thought. Would it be criminal to make the crotch narrower at the wide end?Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
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