How To Optimize Your Workbench Height

In this Article, I’m going to show you how to find the perfect workbench height and why it’s vital to your long-term health, comfort, and efficiency.

As of writing this, I now use a workbench that is custom fit for my body size and the work I do.

Building this workbench was one of the best things I have ever done, and my only regret is that I didn’t take the time to do it sooner.

But, in the early days of my career, I didn’t pay attention to details like this.
I just didn’t want to “waste time” on it.

I was young, and I thought that the back and neck pain I felt was just part of the process.

Until one day when my mentor, Eugene Clark, told me a tragic story about his friend and once fellow luthier that I will never forget.

Eugene’s story and his explanation of how the terrible outcome of it could have been avoided, instantly woke me up and saved me from a potentially tragic future of my own.

It was the early 2000s, and I was in Tacoma, Washington, learning the art of French polishing from Eugene Clark.

When I walked into his workshop on that first cold Washington winter morning, I thought I was there only to learn about French polishing, but I was very wrong.

During that time and the years following, he taught me infinitely more about many things.

One topic that deeply impacted how I think and work is the importance of being intentional and disciplined with our body mechanics, posture, and strength.

To illustrate that lesson, he challenged me to do basic tasks like sanding a surface perfectly flat and using a hand plane in his standard Mister Miyagi-like teaching style. As always, he blew my mind with insights and wisdom in each area I had never even considered.

That day, he watched me as I worked, commenting on how my feet were too close together, my shoulders were up by my ears, and my general posture was terrible.

Seemingly out of the blue, he said, “How tall is your workbench?”

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“I thought so,” he said.

He explained that my lousy habits and posture were, at least in part, a result of a workbench that was too low.

He then told me the story about his friend who started building guitars around the same time as he did

(For reference, Eugene was in his 70s when I studied with him in his workshop; he was still strong and worked with impressive confidence. And he used a workbench that was the proper height.)

As it turned out, his friend used a very low workbench that caused him to bend down excessively and take on a posture similar to what I was in the habit of using.

At first, his friend just had back, shoulder, and neck pain after working many hours each week.

Over months and years, though, it turned into chronic pain, and eventually, he could no longer stand and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

There may have been other factors involved in that sad story, but I hope the core message is ringing as true for you as it did for me when I heard it.

From that moment on, I made it my mission to prioritize my health.

As soon as I returned to my shop, I raised my workbench to the proper height (using Eugene’s method, which I will show in the next section). I also began a lifelong journey of learning to be evermore mindful and intentional as I work each day.

That change in my workbench height (and my approach) has been pivotal in keeping my back, body, and joints strong and healthy and has been vital in helping me maintain efficiency and quality in the work I have been able to produce over all these years.

But it all starts with finding the optimal height of your workbench.

• Low Workbench height 29″ – 33″ (74cm – 83cm)
• Average Workbench Height 34″ – 37″ (86cm – 94cm)
• High Workbench 38″ – 39″ (97cm – 99cm)

Those sizes can be helpful, but the problem is that each of us are different and will have a different optimal bench height.

To find our best workbench height, we need to base it on two main factors;

1. Our body size
2. Our work type

There are several ways we can quickly find a good measurement to use as our starting point.

This measurement and its resulting height is ideal for larger woodworking projects such as cabinetry, furniture, and other general woodworking tasks, but is too low for guitar making.

How to use the Rule of Thumb method:

• Stand with your feet flat on the floor.
• Keep your back straight and let your arms fall to your sides.
• Measure for the floor to your thumb knuckle.
Many woodworkers find this to be a good height, adding or subtracting an inch or two to fit their specific working tasks and the size of the projects they create.
But for hand-crafting guitars, I recommend using the following method if that will be the primary purpose of your workbench.

How to Find The Perfect Workbench Height For Guitar Making:

• Stand with your feet firmly planted on the floor
• Make sure your back is straight.
• Measure from the floor to the center of your belt buckle.

A workbench of this height will fit your body in a way that, along with some intentional practice and discipline to improve your posture as your guitar-building work, can help to minimize back and neck strain and increase your efficiency.

Be sure to consider the way you work, the tools you use, and any other factors that you feel are important.

Be open to adjusting your workbench height to suit what feels the most comfortable to you, but the methods above should get you to a very good starting point to work from.

Check out the video below to take a quick tour of my main workbench
(and while you’re there, be sure to follow me on YouTube if you haven’t yet).

This workbench design is the culmination of all my years of guitar-making experience and thoughtful consideration of this topic.

I hope you get a few ideas and maybe some inspiration, too:

If you’d like some help designing and building your ultimate workbench, you can check out my Ultimate Luthiers Workbench online video course and blueprints or watch the video below:

To learn more about this course and what’s included, CLICK HERE

Luthier’s EDGE members: Access this video course and download the included Workbench Blueprint PDF HERE.

The same sentiment applies to your workbench.

As I mentioned earlier, my only regret was not taking the time to build my current workbench sooner.

So, don’t wait any longer to start working more efficiently and in a safer and healthier way with a workbench that’s just right for you.

As always, let me know if you have any questions I can help with, and thanks for being a part of The Art Of Lutherie!