Workbench Thickness

[Billm302]

I am looking for your thoughts on workbench thickness. I have a hard maple workbench, 84" x 24" that I am reworking. It is the only workbench in my shop so I use it for just about everything. It is currently 1 1/2" thick. It has no vises but I am adding a face vise and a tail vise, both metal.

The thickness hasn't been a problem to date, but I am going into the use of handtools more extensively and am considering adding another 1 to 1 1/2" to it's thickness. I am definitely making the front of the bench at least 3" thick but am uncertain if I should just thicken the whole bench. I have the maple necessary to do just about anything.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever gone back and thickened your bench? How about anyone who has a bench of similar thickeness? I live in Phoenix so my woodworking season recently reopened and will stay open until next May when it gets too hot to work in the shop. I am retired so I have the time to do whatever I choose.

[Large Wooden Badger]

If you plan to use hold downs, you will need to make it thicker.  Mine is 4 inches

[Billm302]

Thanks for the feedback, I currently use the Veritas fast action hold-downs and they work in a 1.5" bench.

[Large Wooden Badger]

oops, nevermind then.

[Phil S.]

We were having this discussion some time back and IIRC it was Bob Lang that chimed in about a test they did at Pop Wood on the optimum thickness for use of holdfasts.  My recollection (for what that's worth these days
) is that it was surprisingly thin, 2-1/4", thinner or thicker yielded less "holding power".  I would imagine that depends at least to some extent on what holdfast you're using and that I do not recall from Bob's comments.

You state your current bench has met you needs.  The best reasons I can think of for making it thicker would be to accommodate the vises you are adding, to effectively work with holdfasts and to be stiff enough so it doesn't flex when you're working on it.  The first two can be accomplished by adding blocking just where it is needed, i.e. where the vises will be mounted and where the holdfast holes will be drilled.  The third item may need a more extensive renovation, but that depends on how the bench is framed and what type of work you'll be doing on it, smaller lighter projects needing less support than heavier projects or those needing a more vigorous application of muscle.  You also need to be thinking about the height of the working surface.  If you're happy with the current height the additional wood will need to go on the underside of the top so the bench doesn't grow taller.

You might find that once you decide on where you want to end up, it might be easier to make a completely new top rather than trying to upgrade the one you have.  Given the choice, I'd prefer a top of a single layer to avoid potential problems with additional joints, wood movement, etc.

[Bob Lang]

We were having this discussion some time back and IIRC it was Bob Lang that chimed in about a test they did at Pop Wood on the optimum thickness for use of holdfasts.  My recollection (for what that's worth these days
) is that it was surprisingly thin, 2-1/4", thinner or thicker yielded less "holding power".  I would imagine that depends at least to some extent on what holdfast you're using and that I do not recall from Bob's comments.

You state your current bench has met you needs.  The best reasons I can think of for making it thicker would be to accommodate the vises you are adding, to effectively work with holdfasts and to be stiff enough so it doesn't flex when you're working on it.  The first two can be accomplished by adding blocking just where it is needed, i.e. where the vises will be mounted and where the holdfast holes will be drilled.  The third item may need a more extensive renovation, but that depends on how the bench is framed and what type of work you'll be doing on it, smaller lighter projects needing less support than heavier projects or those needing a more vigorous application of muscle.  You also need to be thinking about the height of the working surface.  If you're happy with the current height the additional wood will need to go on the underside of the top so the bench doesn't grow taller.

You might find that once you decide on where you want to end up, it might be easier to make a completely new top rather than trying to upgrade the one you have.  Given the choice, I'd prefer a top of a single layer to avoid potential problems with additional joints, wood movement, etc.

The article was actually in "Woodworking" magazine, PopWood's short-lived sister publication. One of the biggest issues with the article was that the current Gramercy holdfast was not then available, and most of what was available to test was not so good. Without looking up the article, my recollection is that the best results were in the range of 1-3/4" - 3". When Joel released his newer models we repeated the tests with them and they were by far the best of the available bunch, especially when you factor in the price vs. custom made ones. I can't imagine a situation where you would need or want anything bigger than that.

My bench has a 3" thick top and I use the Gramercy holdfasts regularly. I also have a couple of older, smaller Jorgensens that work pretty well. On all of my holdfasts I glued a leather pad to the flat that comes in contact with the wood. Before that I worked for a long time with a manufactured maple top that was about 1-3/4" thick. My current top is definitely stiffer than the thinner one, but the old one was pretty solid.

To answer the OP's question, I don't see enough of an advantage in a thicker top to justify pitching what you have or adding thickness to the entire thing. I would look to the base construction and make sure you have a solid structure below the top. If holdfasts won't work well in what you have all you need to do is add a strip of 3/4" material to the bottom side of your dog holes. Good advice in the post above. If there is any flexing in the current setup I believe it can be corrected with a stiff base.

[Foggy]

The hard maple bench that I grew up with, made by my father so it was extra stout, was a multi use bench [and junk storage shelf
]. It had a steel plate, about a foot square, flush with the bench top. This was for when we needed to pound or beat on stuff, or solder or heat something. This plate was directly over a bench support leg. I don't remember the bench thickness but ti sure was heavy.

[Phil S.]

Thanks for adding to the conversation and straightening out my hazy recollections, Bob.  Great to see you're still about.

[Billm302]

I am the OP. To clarify a little better... the base for the workbench is maple also and very solid. There is 13" overhang to the left which is where I intend to face mount a 10" Jorgenson quick release metal vise. The overhang to the rght is also 13" and I intend to tail mount one or two Record 52ED 7" metal vises. The center 54" between the legs has a wooden cabinet with 20" deep drawers sitting on the stretchers. The overall weight as it sits currently is fine, but heavier certainly would not hurt.

The issue I am most concerned about is the stiffness of the top and its ability to resist sagging and thus remain flat especially after adding vises to each end. The base supports the top across the full width of the top 13" from each end.

[Edwin Hackleman]

I am the OP.  To clarify a little better... the base for the workbench is maple also and very solid.  There is 13" overhang to the left which is where I intend to face mount a 10" Jorgenson quick release metal vise. The overhang to the rght is also 13" and I intend to tail mount one or two Record 52ED 7" metal vises.  The center 54" between the legs has a wooden cabinet with 20" deep drawers sitting on the stretchers. The overall weight as it sits currently is fine, but heavier certainly would not hurt.

The issue I am most concerned about is the stiffness of the top and its ability to resist sagging and thus remain flat especially after adding vises to each end.  The base supports the top across the full width of the top 13" from each end.

2" thick will work for the top. Build up the sides and ends for the vises that overhang out up to 18". Mine do:

  WorkBench02.PDF (Size: 141.82 KB / Downloads: 273)