# Workbench against the wall vs. island assembly bench and mobile workstations



## KevinH (Dec 23, 2007)

I have a new house that came with an unfinished basement where I am creating a 500 square foot dedicated shop (31X13 ft, plus an additional 10×7ft "el"). One end will be for sizing, jointing and planing. The other "detail" end will be routing, fitting, sanding, etc. You can see the plan on my workshop page.

I've had workbenches against the wall before and would consider that for the sander, scroll saw, and bench drill press, but I wonder if mobile workstations for some of these tools would work better. I could roll them out of the way against the wall and pull them out when needed. I could put wall cabinets or shelves in the space above them. I could also get behind them more easily to sweep up the shop and not have so many places that accumulate dust.

Any thoughts or suggestions?


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## Bill_Steele (Aug 29, 2013)

I've had a workbench against the wall and I prefer an island workbench. So much better to be able to get to all sides of a project. I think having as much counter-top/bench-top space as possible would be a good thing.

My shop is small and narrow. All of my larger tools are on mobile bases. I think mobile bases offer a big benefit if you have a small work space.

I would also consider designing such that tool/work surfaces are at the same height and can be dual-purposed (e.g. tablesaw surface is at the same height as the planer or jointer and can be used as infeed/outfeed for those tools).

I don't have the space to have each power tool "staged" and ready to use. I roll them in/out as needed. I have a dust collector that I connect/disconnect to each tool. While this setup is efficient with its use of space and it is workable for me-it is not ideal from a flow or productivity standpoint. I spend what seems like alot of time setting up/staging the equipment just for a simple cut. I often wish that I could have all these tools (e.g. bandsaw, drum sander, planer, jointer) stationary so that I could just walk up - turn on - use it - and turn off.

Just my 2 cents.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Lessons learned. I have el shaped workbench that extends for 20 feet along 2 walls of my shop. My shop is 15 years old and that bench has become a storage for everything. It has never been used as a "workbench". Instead I have a 30×72 bench that is the only one I use. It sits in the middle of my space and although it is accessible on all sides, I have it set up as a hobby bench so the back is fitted with shelves and drawers for small parts. Most of my power tools are on mobile bases. Workshop design will change with age. The type of work you do will also change with age. At my current age of 83, My need for a large workshop (1200 sf) has changed. Since most of my work is of small nature (model making), I don't need as much space as in earlier years. If I were to do it over again, I would have eliminated the wall bound benches except for tools that require that kind of arrangement, like for a radial arm saw or small tool that doesn't require access all around. You will find that when you get older, your priorities will change, so it is hard to predict what your needs will be 10,20 or more years down the line. The only things I would definitely recommend is; keep all power tools mobile and have a walk around bench. The object here is to keep floor space as flexible as possible.

A manufacturing facility can design their space around certain tools and have it work efficiently day in and day out. A home shop is a lot different. You have to accommodate for projects of variable size. That requires temporary rearrangement of space to suit the project. The type of project you do will depend a lot on the arrangement of floor space. Probably most shops will be doing mostly small projects, but occasionally a large project will come up.

American workshops are different from European or Asian workshops. We think wide open spaces while those in other countries usually don't have the luxury of lots of space. Their shops are very compact compared to ours. It takes discipline to work efficiently in a small shop.


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## msinc (Jan 8, 2017)

An island bench is really nice because as above mentioned you can get to all four sides to work on something, but it does eat up a lot of floor space. It's also nice to let things hang over the edge if needed. All that said, I wouldn't do anything too permanent…if you have a wife you might just as well figure on changing it all to suit her needs soon. 
In 2000 I built a new house…5900 square feet and three stories. I figured surely to god I can have some of the basement…and I did. Just long enough to set up a nice little shop and then the one who must be obeyed spoke!!!
I enjoyed it while it lasted.


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## DustyM (May 16, 2016)

Since my shop is in my 2 car garage, which is right under our house's bedrooms, we have a support pole right in the center. If I had the option to have my 4×8 assembly/outfeed table in the center, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm basically losing one side from which to access my work.

Also, once my next couple of projects are finished, mobile bases for more tools is high up on my priority list. Easy to move out of the way, and preferable to work in the open area rather than crammed against a wall sandwiched between other tools/cabinets/fixtures.


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## CHS49 (Sep 3, 2017)

Once you have and use a walk-around bench you will never be without one! Just make sure it has a good vise.


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## Loupe (Jul 22, 2016)

I am in the process of remodeling a 20×21 room into a shop. Finally after 32 years. I'm at the point of building a miter saw station and storage (I have none) bench. I'm asking you sages if I should build it full length against the wall or split it up. I looked at Norm Abrams project. Looks great but I'm just not sure. I never set up a shop before. Need help. Thanks!


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Island workbench +10

I have both, but the one against the wall has tools and other crap hanging on pegs on the wall, and that is often in the way.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

> I am in the process of remodeling a 20×21 room into a shop. Finally after 32 years. I'm at the point of building a miter saw station and storage (I have none) bench. I'm asking you sages if I should build it full length against the wall or split it up. I looked at Norm Abrams project. Looks great but I'm just not sure. I never set up a shop before. Need help. Thanks!
> 
> - Loupe


My shop is in a stand alone building with garage doors. My radial arm saw and miter saw are located along one wall with 8' clear on the left side and on the right side, a clear opening 6' to the right of the RAS and in line with the opening. That is so I can accommodate 2x's of any length by allowing them to extend out through the door opening. My table saw is also positioned so long lumber can pass through the door opening after leaving the saw.


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## TaySC (Jun 27, 2017)

Island workbench, no doubt about it.


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## KevinH (Dec 23, 2007)

Thanks for all the comments. Sounds like an island workbench is a great way to go.


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

I realize that I am very late to the party and know I'm not dressed correctly … being 100% unplugged, but yes, the island workbench is the way to go. At one time I had my bench up against the wall. That arrangement left a lot to be desired … as already mentioned above. Upon moving the bench to the middle of the shop, I found that having it slightly angled gave me a lot more room. My small shop is but 20×12 …










... for what it's worth!


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## ChipSawdust (Sep 13, 2017)

I have a two car gar same sort of deal, but 24×13 without the el you have. An island bench is required, in my book. I have bench space along one wall for showing things, tools, pieces I've worked on, etc. But the main 33×72 bench is the center of my shop. My table saw out feeds onto it as well, saving a little space.

For the planer and jointed I have a flip top roll around do bench, which has sanding and grinding tools on the other side. Again, just to save space along the length of the narrow shop.

Eventually I want a reloading bench (which may sound design silly with sawdust around) and other bench space… You can never have too much bench space or storage.


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## diverlloyd (Apr 25, 2013)

island is the way to go or make the bench mobile. anything flat that touches a wall is a shelve.


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## OleGrump (Jun 16, 2017)

Funny how bench placement seems to fall fairly evenly divided. Power toolers usually like their benches centrally located, while hand toolers usually like their benches against the wall. ("Usually" is the word as there are of course multiple exceptions to the generalization) IMHO, another factor may also be what one grew up using, or used while learning. (As an example, the only folks who seem to like a shoulder vise are those who learned on benches equipped with them…...) Pop-pop's bench was up against the wall, so that's what we used. Good, because:
In my own present case, the "woodshop" is a one and a half car garage, which also serves to house lawn and garden equipment, (including a riding mower and large rolling grill), general storage in the loft and has to accommodate "The Boss's" personal vehicle when we're out of town for any appreciable length of time. My own bench therefore had to be installed along the "rear" wall. (Nicely centered under a window)The lathe is along another wall. Anything else has to roll out of the way when not is use. Of course, if I had MY way, the entire space would be a dedicated sawdust factory.


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## CHS49 (Sep 3, 2017)

You can make parts and pieces with a bench against the wall, but if you want to assemble them there is nothing better than a stand-alone bench that you can walk around. The table saw surface doesn't work very well: The out feed is difficult to work around, it's tough to use clamps, and glue spills are a pain in the neck.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

OleGrump: I think you are right. I grew up with wall mounted benches and have always had my benches that way. It's only within the past 10 years that I realized how much I needed an island bench. I still have the wall bench, but I never use it. It has been, ever since I built it, used as a repository for junk, wood, dirt and grime. I'm too old now to try to rectify it, so I will just let my next deal with it. I'll be 83 in 5 more days and I am only doing small projects. I am in the process of building a 16×16 foot deck and about 1/2 finished, but that will mark the end of any major project. Those water logged 2×10's are impossibly heavy. I can't handle them by myself; my son has been helping me with the heavy work. Working slowly with many rest periods, I hope to have the deck finished in 2 weeks. I will post a picture when it is 100% done. Here is a sketch of my shop.


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## OleGrump (Jun 16, 2017)

Yep, you are SO right. In Pop-pop's shop, PARTS for projects that were done by hand were SHAPED (i.e. sawn, planed, bored, etc.) at the wall hugging work bench. "The bench is for doin' the actual work on the wood, boy….."(that wasn't just yesterday….) 'Sembly happens over here" ..... There were six or eight "trestles" (sawhorses to us nowadays) atop which various pieces of plywood were placed, depending on the size of the cabinet or whatever he was making. When not in use, the trestles were stacked one atop another against the wall, as were the sheets of plywood. This allowed for the use of the large (and fairly early) Craftsman table saw. Once ANY electrical piece of equipment was set up to make a cut/hole/molding, Pop ran SEVERAL pieces through the machine, before setting up for the next step. There was always a sort of stockpile of parts that would be used when he got to the assembly stage. Once 'Sembly started, it continued without interruption until completed. To this day, I have a couple of folding tables which are employed for 'Sembly, and put away when not in use.


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## OleGrump (Jun 16, 2017)

Ron,
Thank you for sharing the diagram of your shop layout. I have admired your Sievers drill press on line many times. Fantastic job ! Question: I see you have a "treadle operated reciprocating saw" shown. Is this the same thing or idea as a "sash saw", sort of a spring pole operated saw….? Great stuff !!!


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

> Ron,
> Thank you for sharing the diagram of your shop layout. I have admired your Sievers drill press on line many times. Fantastic job ! Question: I see you have a "treadle operated reciprocating saw" shown. Is this the same thing or idea as a "sash saw", sort of a spring pole operated saw….? Great stuff !!!
> 
> - OleGrump


Thanks! Yes, the "treadle operated reciprocating saw" and a sash saw are one in the same. In this application though I have a leaf-spring of sorts vs. a spring pole. Thanks for asking.


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## OleGrump (Jun 16, 2017)

Ron, Thank you for sharing the photos of this saw. Another fantastic piece! Great stuff, finely made. I'm sure I am not alone in being a little bit covetous of your wonderful work space.


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

> Ron, Thank you for sharing the photos of this saw. Another fantastic piece! Great stuff, finely made. I m sure I am not alone in being a little bit covetous of your wonderful work space.
> 
> - OleGrump


Thank you, Sir!


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## EricTwice (Dec 9, 2016)

My workbench (Home) is meant to be used 360 deg, and the vise is movable to any position on the perimeter of the bench. (I built it when I was doing a load of repair work) I can have several small projects going at once and can move the vise anywhere I need it to be. It is very practical.

That said, A friend of mine has a shop that is 12×24 and has pushed his against the wall because there just isn't room.
The main area in your shop is 13 feet. 
I do not know what kind of work you will be doing. so my advise is simple
You don't have to decide now. get your tools in place and see if it works. Try different things. and post pictures when it is done so we can all enjoy them.

and most of all have fun


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## LumberZac (Nov 27, 2020)

> Once you have and use a walk-around bench you will never be without one! Just make sure it has a good vise.
> 
> - CHS49


Only one!? If you can walk around it anyway you could have a different vice on every side!

I mean I'm exaggerating, sort of, but then I'm not really in the sense that this is completely up to you when you have a freestanding bench. You don't have the same range of options of additional holding options(which you may use at the same time if your project requires a glue up and you want to shape another part of it while it's drying, for example) if a bench is against a wall, and even less so in a corner; it has to be a face vise and an end vice(which you still need some open space for). I will say Shoulder Vices are at their best if in the corner though; they're the one vice i wouldn't want on a central work bench.

Now if you have two or more benches you can set them up differently and 1-2 vices each is fine, but if you have one bench tucked in a nook somewhere and want to try a new vice you'll have to either remove your existing vice or prototype on something else. So a free-standing bench gives flexibility when in use but also in that it's more able to adapt to your changing needs, preferences and expectations.

But hey, maybe vices are a vice themselves and I'm just a little crazy.

Another thing is that having the workbench set apart has a subtle advantage of distinction; whereas a 'boundary' setup creates a homogeneous row of horizontal surfaces that are more likely to collect junk, 'The Workbench' being central promotes good habits of surrounding it with dedicated storage and keeping it clear between projects.

It's not my current setup but I'm also thinking of positioning a workbench parallel with a bandsaw so if I want to cut the ends of anything I can rest the other end on the workbench.

I'd encourage you to think about the largest thing you'd like to work on and if you're the sort of person who will move things around effectively if you do go with multiple things on casters? That sort of thing could work, sure, but requires discipline; there's no point if the workstations either never move or end up milling about haphazardly like wood-eating zombies trapped in your basement…



> Thanks! Yes, the "treadle operated reciprocating saw" and a sash saw are one in the same. In this application though I have a leaf-spring of sorts vs. a spring pole. Thanks for asking.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a fascinating piece of equipment. I did briefly look into whether there's a pedal-operated bandsaw available anywhere but decided it was a lost cause. Reciprocating makes a lot more sense for leg-power, feeling a bit sheepish for not having thought of that. 
How does it perform? Can it cut any harder woods? Or does it depend on your leg strength? Haha


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## OldDogNewTricks (Jan 7, 2021)

So I am planning to convert my garage into a workshop, however my wife wants to still park the cars there (especially in the winter). So the plan is for 1 workbench on castors and a 2nd assembly table on castors as well.

I'd be able to move the cars, shift the workbench and the assembly table. The idea is that the table will have a fold-up side to it, so I can make it about 6 foot by 6 foot. The workbench I was thinking would be Morovian style, maybe 5-6 foot in length.

Power tools would be on mobile cars and could shift up against the workbench or assembly table to use as infeed or outfeed.

When done, everything goes back against the edge of the garage, taking no more than 3 feet out from the wall.

Thoughts?

Mike


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

Ron,
nice saw.
do you have a bellows on it to blow the dust away.
see this video:




at about 2'10" 
Incidentally, one can see that the apprentice doesn't make full stroke sawing, which reduces the efficiency of the bellows.

About the subject of this post, my workspace is about 2 X 3 m.


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## boyce523 (Feb 13, 2021)

I also have a basement workshop, but with limited space. I built an 8' x 3.5' mobile workbench and with such it can be an against the wall or I can pull it out into the middle and work all the way around. I also added tools storage on the bottom level, so many of my tools roll with it. My table saw and router table are on the their own stationary mounts, but I may add castors to them later. Big fan of mobility for flexibility


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

I have to say I have always had a bench in the open so I could work from any side. That said I have only ever worked from the sides with the face, and end vise, so in use I could have always had it against a wall, and still done everything I do with them.

I know some really gifted woodworkers who have a wall bench.


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