“Lowering” the bench

Apr 20

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Before getting on to my next project, I spent a few minutes modifying my workbench. 

For a while now I’ve felt that my woodworking bench was:

1. too high and
2. too wobbly

So, to improve its stability I removed the industrial casters that I had installed when I made the bench.  I’ve learned that casters on a woodworking bench are just a bad idea.  You need maximum stability from a woodworking bench and no matter how "industrial" casters are, they will allow too much movement.  Plus, I’ve found that I almost never need to move the bench.

More importantly, I "lowered" my bench by about 7 inches.  I found out via Internet research that a woodworking bench should be about the height of your palms held parallel to the ground while standing with your arms straight down by your sides.   I made this modification, and I love the new height.  Perfect.  It looks too low to my eye, but feels perfect when I work at the bench.

About mattsanf

Matt Sanfilippo is the Chief Partnership Officer (CPO) for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Co-Director of its Engineering Research Accelerator. In this role, Matt coordinates and enables strategic and sponsored research opportunities across the college, and stewards the development of proposals for major research opportunities along strategic themes. Additionally, he enables collaboration among the college's research institute/center executive directors, and industrial and government relations personnel in the pursuit of opportunities with industry, federal and state governments. Before becoming CPO for the College, Matt was the Senior Executive Director for Research Initiatives, the Executive Director of CMU's SII (Smart Infrastructure Institute) and ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) and RAMP (Research for Advanced Manufacturing in Pennsylvania). Before CMU, Matt was Managing Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, an engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed Baker's technology division including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality, visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services. Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on information security, supply chain and mobility solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies. Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, an infrastructure engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics. Matt is on the board of Larson Design Group (LDG), past Chairman of the Board for the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, current board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), current Vice President of the Sewickley Heights Gun Club (SHGC) and former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.

Posted on April 20, 2006, in Tools and Shop, Woodworking. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.

  1. Wuudchuck | April 20, 2006 at 9:23 pm

    Hi Matt,
    Boy, I’ve been searching high and low for “active” woodworking bloggers. I started a woodworking blog of my own last month. Finding woodworking related blogs out there like your’s that are actually updated on a regular basis has been a challenge. Congratulations on getting over the 100 post mark. Keep up the good work.
    Wuudchuck

  2. Matt | April 21, 2006 at 8:39 am

    Thanks!
    I agree. I’ve found a variety of CNC bloggers, but almost no active woodworking bloggers. A few are listed in the sidebar of the Woodworking magazine blog (see the links at the left). What is your link? I’d love to check it out.
    Matt

  3. Wuudchuck | April 22, 2006 at 10:26 pm

    Hi Matt,
    It’s http://wuudchuck.com. There isn’t much there yet. I’ve only been blogging for about a month now. I hope I can keep it up and it becomes something useful that others can enjoy.
    Wuudchuck

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