Work bench, how tall?

[natemoen]

I am 6 foot and my bench is 42" high and 31" deep. I do like the working height BUT it is a bit of a reach at times if something has rolled to the back against the wall.

I used all 2x4's for mine

[WMarshy]

Got pictures? I'd be interested in seeing how people framed theirs...I will post a few when Im done.

[WMarshy]

Thanks for the advice guys, I already know the counters in my house are at 32" (34?) tall and think they are always too short. When I sketched up this work bench I planned on making it 42" but then last night I notched my 4x4 corner post and left it long to see if maybe I would like it taller... at 45" tall it was definitely too tall. Figured I would try and see what a common height was for people 6'+.

[TADracer]

Make it bar height

My bench is bar height or 42" above the floor. I am 6'-2" tall and work standing or on a bar stool. Height is perfect for everything you would normally do like building carbs or doing other small maintenance stuff. My vise is mounted on one end and the height of the jaws is good and my grinder and polisher is on the other end.

Working on something large like say, a motor, then table height or 36" seems to be a bit better. When I do this (rarely) I use the heavy table I usually keep my tool box stationed on. Also, this is a better height for something like mounting a drill press.

But in the end it is your specific preference.

[natemoen]

I will go measure my bench in a little bit, but I want to say I have it somewhere around that height and I wish I had made it a little shorter. I would suggest measuring your kitchen counters, tables, and whatnot and compairing that height to what you are looking for.

[WMarshy]

most of my work will be done standing, if I choose to sit Im going to get a tall bar stool... I wont be hanging tools on the wall behind the bench as its just concrete block right now...

[natemoen]

Do you prefer to stand and work or sit and work? Are you going to have tools on the wall behind the bench?

[WMarshy]

Ive made plans to build a nice work bench in my basement and after getting the top all ready to go on Im reconsidering the height at which to build it. Im about 6'2" so I was thinking the top should be between 40-46" tall... anyone out there got a magic number that seems to work well for your height? Bench is 32" deep by 8'...