Bench riser?

[stmfitr636]

Chris Pye mentions a "simple 'deckchair' carving stand" in his book Elements of Woodcarving. This allows him to raise the level of the carving above his workbench to avoid bending.

Has anyone built one of these or equivilent fixture to keep your work at a good ergonomic height?

How tall is your bench and how is it on your back?

Thanks for the info. I'll be taking a class with Mary May soon and want to be prepared for a long day on the bench. We will be doing architectual mouldings (ie, egg and dart, bead and rope mouldings) and the benches are 33" high... and my back is already aching just thinking about it.

[mdallensr]

One rule of thumb for bench height is to bend your arm and measure from the bottom of you forearm to the floor. That's probably more than 33", maybe a lot more if you're tall. I'm 5' 11" and my "correct" bench height is more than 40". I've carved molding on my bench while sitting on a stool with casters and rolling along to carve each new section. Mike

[mdallensr]

I made a fixture for carving molding. I clamp it to my carving bench and usually sit to do the work. Mike

[stmfitr636]

Thanks for the info and pics Mike. Much appreciated and I got some good ideas for the class.