# Bench Report > Practical notes on workshop tools and shop-built furniture. Each piece > answers one question with measurements rather than product recommendations. Bench Report is an independent site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a dealer for any tool manufacturer. Nothing on the site is for sale and there are no affiliate links. Figures given are planning numbers drawn from published manufacturer specifications and standard engineering behaviour. Where a value is an approximation, the page says so. ## The shop - [Dust collection ducting: why a bigger pipe can collect less](https://bisjettools.com/guides/dust-collection-ducting.html): Transport velocity (about 3,500 FPM in mains, 4,000 FPM in branches) is what keeps chips suspended. CFM required at each duct diameter, why oversizing a main drops velocity and causes material to settle, equivalent-length losses for flex hose and fittings, and sizing for one machine at a time. - [Why your shop rusts in spring and not in winter](https://bisjettools.com/guides/rust-prevention-humid-shop.html): Rust on cast iron is condensation, which occurs when a surface sits below the dew point of surrounding air. Cast iron's thermal lag explains the spring timing; intermittent heating worsens it; paste wax, oil and vapour corrosion inhibitors each work in different places. - [Do you actually need air filtration in your shop?](https://bisjettools.com/guides/workshop-air-filtration.html): The difference between source dust collection and ambient filtration. Approximate airborne settling times by particle size, the air-changes-per-hour formula for sizing a unit, how to read filter efficiency specs, and placement. - [Your first saw: what actually matters](https://bisjettools.com/guides/first-saw-what-matters.html): Sorting saws by the cut you need to repeat rather than by machine type. Depth-of-cut figures for circular saws and jobsite table saws, why the fence determines a table saw's usefulness more than its motor, riving knives, and where budget is commonly wasted. - [Bench height: the standard number is wrong for most people](https://bisjettools.com/guides/bench-height-ergonomics.html): Why 34-36 in. is a compromise rather than a measurement. Surface height follows task and body: planing wants a low bench, joinery a high one. Deriving your own height from wrist-crease measurement, and the table saw outfeed constraint that overrides it. ## Desks and shop-built furniture - [Desk height and monitor position: the numbers nobody measured on you](https://bisjettools.com/guides/desk-height-monitor-position.html): The 29-30 in. desk standard encodes a typewriter posture. Seated elbow height is the governing measurement and typically falls 1-4 in. below the standard, producing sustained wrist extension. Screen height and viewing distance figures, and why the order is chair, then desk, then screen. - [Desk tops: what actually sags, and why span matters more than thickness](https://bisjettools.com/guides/desk-top-thickness-sag.html): Deflection scales with span cubed and inversely with thickness cubed, so relocating a support outperforms adding material. Modulus comparison for MDF, plywood and solid hardwood, MDF creep under sustained load, and stiffening by apron, thickened edge or torsion box. - [Standing desk frames: what the rating does not tell you](https://bisjettools.com/guides/standing-desk-hardware.html): Load ratings generally count the top against the figure; typical shop-made top weights by material. Lateral wobble at full extension is driven by column stages, foot depth and column count rather than by rating. Checking travel range against measured seated and standing elbow height. - [Building a sim racing rig in wood: the load case nobody plans for](https://bisjettools.com/guides/sim-racing-rig-wood.html): Load cell pedal force (roughly 50-100+ kg) exceeds direct drive wheelbase torque (roughly 8-25 Nm) as a structural problem, and acts along the seat-to-pedal axis most designs leave unbraced. Triangulation versus mass, why void-free plywood outperforms MDF here, and where aluminium profile is still the better choice. - [Cable management for a desk you are building](https://bisjettools.com/guides/desk-cable-management.html): Grommet sizing for connectors rather than cables, tray clearance behind the knees, and service-loop arithmetic for height-adjustable frames with roughly 25 in. of travel. Fixing to the underside without splitting MDF or loading mid-span. ## Reference - [4-inch dust collection elbows: what the radius costs you](https://bisjettools.com/jw1017-4-inch-elbow-fitting.html): Centreline radius ratios for 4 in. elbow fittings and their effect on static pressure loss in a shop duct run.