Woodshop Ergonomics

A common expression for woodworking is “working with your hands,” which is a bit of a misnomer as woodworking is actually a full-body exercise. That’s not always a top-of-mind consideration when designing our workbenches and workshops though. If we view woodworking through that lens, then the decisions made on ergonomics in our shop come into sharper focus.

WHY IT MATTERS.

There are two main reasons to concern yourself with ergonomics in your work: efficiency and longevity. Both are equally important.

The more immediately appealing consideration for woodworkers is efficiency. Working at the correct height on a stable surface allows you to put your full body into the work and spend more time in the shop. Then completing detail work up close will yield a nicer final result.

Long term there are additional benefits as well. Working with your hands can aggravate conditions like carpal tunnel or arthritis. Worse yet, poor form may result in debilitating injuries to your back or joints. Spread out over a number of years, these can become permanent, and even prevent you from woodworking altogether.

RIGHT HEIGHT FOR THE JOB

With the reasoning behind good ergonomic practices established, let’s look at one of the major considerations when tackling a task: work height.

START LOW.

A saw bench places boards close to knee height, which allows you to press your entire body into the sawing action. This is much easier than using just your arms.

You’ll notice that woodworking follows a natural progression of increasing work height as it moves from lumber to finish. Many of your projects are going to start at knee level. Breaking down lumber by hand works best at a lower level. You can use your body mass to do the hard work for you. This applies to green lumber as well: Peter Follansbee starts his spoon carving by breaking down branches with a hatchet at knee height for example.

MOVE UP.

Your weight starts on your back foot, with your torso centered over the workpiece. The plane is close to your body.	Push off your back leg, your body moving down the workpiece. At the same time, start moving your arms forward.	Follow through all the way, with your weight shifting to the front foot and your arms extending fully.

The bulk of the work takes place right around waist level. Planing, assembly, and some joinery work happen at this height. You might have noticed that the diagram on the prior page differentiates between finger and wrist height, and this is intentional.

The correct height for planing, for example, should be right where you can maximize the force of your arms and body in the push stroke. Usually this is slightly higher than you might want for assembling casework, or the height of your table saw bed.

If you have the space, having multiple worksurface of varying heights is good. If you’re limited to a single bench, build it for the height of work you’ll be doing. The so-called standard height for workstations is 36", but you should defintely build/modify your bench to your height and work goals.

CHEST.

As the work gets more detailed, it moves up to your lower chest area. This is both a function of comfort as well as a way to bring the work in closer proximity to your eyes without leaning over.

From a hand tool perspective, elbow height is where you’re going to make joints like dovetails. Don’t forget that you should be utilizing your whole body in the cut though — you’ll actually want the work slightly below standing elbow height so you can lean into it with each push.

Elbow height is also where a lot of power tool work takes place. Without the need for body force, visual alignment and arm alignment become your primary concerns. Your drill press, miter saw, and band saw should all be around this height for most tasks.

This drill press is at correct elbow height. This means the workpiece is close enough to spot the markings, and the user doesn’t need to strain their arm to work the lever.

BEYOND HEIGHT

I’m just scratching the surface on ergo-nomics here since there are literally entire books on the subject. I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight a few additional high-level considerations when building a workbench or setting up your shop.

SOLID AS A ROCK.

I think most everyone can appreciate that your worksurface needs to be wiggle-free, but the amount of difference it makes when your workbench is completely immobile is over-looked. Every action you make is going to lose a certain amount of energy due to things like friction, but your entire work station shifting or flexing saps a disproportionate amount.

Some say that a bench should weigh near 300lbs to achieve this goal, which might be a bit extreme, but the point stands. Mass and rigidity are your friends.

BUT MAKE IT PORTABLE.

Workbench casters will save your back, but they also should let the bench rest evenly on the ground when not in use.

I just told you to make your workbench immobile, why am I telling you to add wheels? First, you’re going to want to move your bench eventually, maybe even often, and you don’t want to hurt yourself. Second, I’m actually telling you to add the right kind of wheels. Locking cast-ers are great for a router table, but completely inadequate for a workbench. Use casters that allow the full mass of the workbench to rest on the floor.

LIGHTEN UP.

Let’s not forget that your eyes have muscles as well. Uniform lighting is great for tasks like assembly, but make it harder to spot imperfections and do fine hand tool work. Having your bench close to a window helps, and a nice adjustable lamp is even better. Position it high to clearly view joinery lines, or bring it down lower to cast light across a surface to see tool marks and finish blemishes. As with all ergonomic coniderations, your body will thank you.

OTHER ERGONOMIC Considerations

Prolonged use of vibrating tools, like a random orbit sander, may lead to hand and wrist fatigue, or worse nerve damage.
Using vibration-absorbing gloves not only prolongs your ability to sand, but also protects you from serious long-term side effects.
Hard shop floors take a toll on your feet, knees, and back. Anti-fatigue floor mats should be placed in areas where you’ll be spending a lot of time. Good footwear is also important, and closed-toe shoes help protect your feet from accidentally dropped tools or projects.