Stop putting your workbench against the back wall, it's killing your workflow

I helped three buddies set up their home garages over the last year, and every single one of them wanted the bench flat against the wall. That puts the vise like 3 feet from the wall behind it, so you can't walk around to clamp long pieces or work on both sides of a project. I finally talked my neighbor with a '67 Mustang into pulling his bench 18 inches forward last month, and he said his engine assembly time dropped by almost half because he could actually spin around without bumping his tailbone. The pros at the fabrication shop off Route 9 always keep their benches centered with room on all sides, and they finish jobs way faster than us weekend guys. Has anyone else spent a Saturday cussing at a clamped piece that you could have just walked around?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren8061mo ago

Oh man, this hits home way too hard. I spent like three years with my bench shoved into a corner and I remember trying to clamp a long 2x4 for some shelving and I literally had to crawl under the bench to reach the other end because there was no room to walk around. Finally moved it out 2 feet last summer and the first time I clamped a full sheet of plywood and just walked around the back of it I actually laughed out loud at how dumb I had been. My vise work got way easier too because I could actually get behind stuff to tighten bolts without twisting my arm into a pretzel.

evanr791mo ago

Ngl I was totally guilty of this for years. Had my bench smashed against the wall like a dummy and just accepted that working around long boards meant climbing over crap or doing some weird yoga to reach the far end. Moved it out 2 feet after reading a similar post somewhere and it legit changed everything. I can actually spin a full sheet of plywood around now without having to unclamp and re-clamp three times. Feel kinda stupid it took me that long to figure out something so basic.