Higher table for cutting??
 

Has anyone used the bar table or pub table height table for cutting? I wonder if the higher table would work well for rotary cutting. Some are square and about the right size for a large cutting mat. Appreciate your comments or input.

I have used this. Our pub table is square and I love the height. I am tall.

I am on the hunt for a higher cutting table as well. I've been told that waist level is best & for me that's about 42" I'm thinking about getting 2 black wire shelf units with wheels & adding a 4x8 board on top. That would be great for cutting as well as sandwiching quilts.

I just bought bed risers to raise the folding table I use as a cutting table. I can't believe I never thought of this before.
OSHA has a diagram of professional standards for cutting tables here: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/sew...issorwork.html. My folding table was WAY too low for that, and I'm short.

Based on one day of use, this is really going to save my back!

I have a big, 48 inch square pub table and I love it for cutting. My huge rectangular mat is a bit too big on the long side, but it just hangs over between the table and the wall. The additional height of the table makes and enormous difference when I am cutting. Got the all wood, very sturdy table on sale at big lots for a little under $100. I had to put it together myself, but that was no problem, and the table has been well worth every single penny it cost.

Generally something about the height of your kitchen counter is best (for most people) for cutting. I found two bookcases that were the right height at Staples, placed them about 6 feet apart and then put a solid core 3' wide door on top. Just the weight of the door holds it in place and so it's easily taken apart if I ever need to move it. And the bookcases give me extra storage space. Bigger items, like the sewing machine tote bag, fit nicely under the door/table top.

Everything I've read says that the best height for cutting, should be no less than 3" below your elbow or above your elbow.

I recently bought a folding table from Costco.com that has adjustable height. Not only do I love having the taller table, but I can walk around on either side of it. It's about 30" x 72"

It depends on how tall you are. If you find yourself shrugging your shoulders to compensate, the table is probably too high.

I have always had my cutting table on bed risers. they are the best as I am tall. Bought them at Walmart

I use an island that when we moved into our new house was extra, it is just the right height and works perfect for me and is has storage under it. It is also on wheels so I can move it when I need.

I bought a table at a garage sale that that I really like, it is 18x42 x35'' high. I am 5'7" tall so it is perfect for me to cut quilt blocks. Not good for sandwiching quilts. I use my kitchen table.

I am now cutting sitting down, it can be done if carefully planned but waist size height sounds about what I liked.

While I have been 'snowbirding' with my daughter this summer, all I have had to cut fabric on is her bar type table. It is better than having a regular table or regular counter height to c, snowbirding is when a Southerner ut.

BTW snowbirding is when a southerner goes up north for better, cooler weather...or, more usually when a northerner goes south for winter for a warmer weather.

I have mine up on bed risers. Ditto for the table I use for pressing. Definitely makes my back feel better!

When I bought new dining room furniture, I bought the counter height table only because I knew it would be great for a cutting table if I needed to use it to cut. I would certainly have a counter height dining table if I didn't have a sewing room. It would be the best of double duty furniture you could have.

I picked up an engineers drafting table that has an electric height adjustment. Almost all engineers now draw on computers so the tables can be picked up for almost nothing. I inlaid my sewing machine into it and use the table at 29" for stitching/quilting and use the push button control to raise it to a comfortable level when cutting. I love it.

I spent an obscene amount of money, but bought the Martelli table and just love it.

I put a folding table up on 12" risers for cutting. I move it to 4" risers for when I'm quilting to use as an extension of my desk.
As someone else pointed out, it really depends on your height. I'm 5'11" so a kitchen counter is uncomfortably low for me. If you are able to visit a furniture store in your area that sells the kind of bar or table that you are considering purchasing, I would recommend bringing your rotary cutter with you. Leave the blade retracted/covered, but try out the movement to see how comfortable it is for you to have your arm at that height.

I'm short (5'2" if I stretch) and I cut at a counter height table and it is perfect for me. I'm able to stand up straight so easy on my back. I also use it to sandwich my quilt when I glue baste it. Anything lower and my back feels it.

I haven't read all of the responses, but I use a banquet table that is on bed risers! It has worked and I love it. No more back pain and pretty inexpensive to do.

I'm in the bed riser camp also. Got mine from WalMart.com & had them shipped to my nearest store so no shipping costs. Mine have 3 different heights so if I ever change tables I should still be able to use them.

I am using a large, tall (probably bar table height) desk to cut on and I love the height!! I don't think I could go back to using anything shorter!!

I use the island in the kitchen for cutting. If I want the counter for cooking I usually have to clean all the sewing stuff off first.

I took my breakfast room table from the old house that was too big for the breakfast room in this house and bought those little things that you use to raise up a bed. Put them under the legs and it's the perfect height.

I'm 5'9" tall, and use the countertop in our bar area for cutting. It's a great height. When I travel and sew, I always come home with a backache from cutting or pressing on surfaces that are lower than that.

Yes!

And a SAFE height for cutting. I am 5"2". A table that is 32" height is the perfect height for my stature. I use a mobile kitchen island. 29" is the standard table height. Too low for me. My Back aches.

sandy

sandy

I actually use a lower height for cutting. I have a counter in my kitchen that is lower because of the height of the windows. The counter was intended as a computer station and an area to set out family buffets and so on, but that long counter makes a wonderful sewing area and also room for a larger mat with glorious sunlight. I like the lower height because I can see the edge of the fabric and edge of the my ruler easier. Just a personal preference and what you have close at hand and get used to using daily.

I also put bed risers under a folding table I bought at WalMarts. I love it because I don't have to stay hunched over a table to cut.

I'm using 2 old bookcase bottoms with a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood for my cutting table. I was able to find a company that has a 4' x 8' cutting mat, self-healing with grid on both sides. Had to trim the mat down about a .25" but its working for me. I added a piece of trim along the sides flush with the mat so it will never move on me. Its called Alvin "Magic Mat" and has been working great for me and my blades seem to cut better and longer. Went to find a custom cut mat but couldn't get it in this Magic Mat style so made a larger table to fit the mat. Always have a Plan B when Plan A fails.

Bed risers are good to use. They give you the desired height you need for cutting. They are not that expensive.

i made my own cutting table and 35 inches high was perfect for my height and I can not arch back or I get back pain so I can stand straight and cut for longer periods of time.

I have one and love it!! My back doesn't hurt as I don't have to lean over table like an dining table. Can't pile stuff up on it though but it's perfect for cutting

My cutting table is a stainless steel food prep table bought used from a restaurant supply store. It is about 35" tall, 40" wide and 32" deep. Right next to it is my chest freezer that is about the same height (yes, my sewing room also doubles as my kitchen storage). My cutting mat sits on the stainless table, but I have lots of extra width by using the freezer top to roll out bolts or stack fabrics etc. My rulers, scissors, rotary cutters etc are all hanging on the wall right over the stainless table and there is a shelf under that table that I use to stack plastic bins full of fabrics and other sewing and quilting supplies.

Also in my sewing room is a banquet table that sits lower, in an L shape to my sewing machines. I keep a cutting mat on that table also for the times I just want to sit and turn in my chair to cut or trim while working with the sewing machine.

Since I have trouble standing for any length of time, I sit to cut my fabrics, having the cutting mat right next to me, only standing for short periods if I need to. I've done my rotary cutting like this for years, I guess it's a matter of what you get used to; but if you're going to stand I can see where a higher table would be helpful.

I'm 5' 2" and had a physical therapist measure the perfect cutting, ironing, sewing and sitting posistion and height for me. 35" is the cutting height. He said it may feel awkward at first but it was the right height to not put strain on my body. The counterheight dining table is exactly 35". My kitchen counter is lower and I thought it was the perfect height. I never get aches or pains from cutting or sitting to sew after I learned the proper way for me to do it.

I know my dining set is not cafe' height, or regular height, but it is in between. I don't have any idea what they call that height, but it stands 36" high, and is perfect for me (I am 5'6") to stand for rotary cutting. I have severe back damage in my low back so bending over is never going to happen again. When I went shopping for my dinette, I took my rotary cutter and small mat with me. I guess that makes me some kind of crazy quilter, and I can live with that.

I have a cheap 6 foot long banquet table. My husband cut pieces of PVC pipe that he put end caps on and placed on each leg. I have a large cutting mat on one side and a large ironing pad on the other. I no longer have backaches and my cutting is more accurate. Mine is approximately waist high.

i got 4 bookcases the 3 shelf kind .....[big lots on sale ] put 2 back to back and one on each end ....old counter top .....was a bit short so i made a box of 2x6's just right for me ....and lots of storage under the table .....