Workbench Critique

[norgee]

I've been constructing my shed for some time now and after getting some storage racks in I finally have enough space to build a decent workbench. I'm thinking something along the lines of the attached images.
Can anyone see any obvious problems with the design? The two gray uprights are box section steel posts that form the frame of the shed, all the timber that butts up against the posts will basically be held in place with an L bracket and screws. The rest of the timber joints are half lap joints. The sunken part of the workbench is to hold my mitre saw so that the deck of the saw is the same height as the workbench surface. The four posts on the left are to be dynabolted to the slab with an L bracket (so I can store my mower under there). My only real concern are that the four posts around the sunken miter saw surface are pretty complex at the top. Will that complexity weaken the workbench too much?

The timber posts are 90 * 90
The timber bracing is 90 * 45
The workbench surface is two sheets of 25mm ply laminated.

workbench.jpgworkbench_no_top.jpgworkbench_complex_post.jpg

[elver]

the bottom rail needs lifting up about 80mm. room for you toes. standing at a bench with no toe room is really not fun after a short while.

[norgee]

the bottom rail needs lifting up about 80mm. room for you toes. standing at a bench with no toe room is really not fun after a short while.

The kick panel is there for the next stage of the project, drawers so I can't actually raise it. It's currently set 95mm back from the counter edge (the counter overhangs by 50mm and the kick panel is set another 45 mm back from the front edge of the frame). I had read some web pages that suggested 75mm would be enough toe space, but I'm a tall guy with big feet so pushing it back even further might actually be a good idea. It could go back to a depth of up to 135mm if I laminated two lengths 140*45 for the posts.
....and having said all that I've gone full circle and it might be worth while raising them and leaving a gap under the workbench/drawers.
Either way you've made a good point, thanks for the tip.

[Benwoodgo]

Hi Norgee,

I have only just recently pulled down/destroyed my workbench which was built in much the same fashion as the one you have shown. When I built it I thought it was amazing and would serve me well forever. Now a few years on when my needs/skills changed I found i was stuck with a bench that couldn't be modified and ultimately needed to be destroyed with very little salvageable.

My only advice is to consider a modular design that isn't fixed or built off a wall. You never know when you might want to have shelves instead of drawers or want to hide an air compressor out of the way etc etc.

Good luck with your bench.

Ben