Toni...
Great site. I'm in the process of designing my next bench so I appreciated all those inputs. As mentioned, I'm a fan of Chris' book on workbenches. Something on this site particularly struck home...
"I also wanted something which reflected me. I'm not satisfied to just do what other people do, I had my own needs and built my bench to suit them."
Well, what can you say? Can I clamp all the stuff that I do?...when I need to do something do I turn to my bench to be able to do that or go to the outside bench (rough pine) to do it?...is my bench my first go-to tool?
This guy has gripes and gloats. Well worth reading...between the lines. I'm still struggling with the above questions. A bench is a personal thing...there is no single right answer.
Cheers.