I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Gunner wrote back on Tue, 26 Apr 2005 15:45:45 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :
People will ask me "how high should this bench be?" And I'll hold my hand at my hip and say "'bout this high - only it ought to be your hip you measure from." (I got hired to clean up a guy's shop. I had to clamber up on the benches to get to the stuff on the walls. He's about six inches taller, and his benches were all custom made.)
Of course, it also depends on what you what to do on said bench. The electronics bench was higher, but I was sitting on a stool too.
tschus pyotr