Bench Dogs (and Holes)

[Cubsfan]

Ok, so I'm just about done with my first decent bench, and I am going to be drilling the bench dog holes soon. Stupid question: do they go all the way through? I've never used bench dogs before, so I'm not really sure.

Second question: if they go all the way through, how do they stay above the surface to hold things?

Also, any suggestions as far as which bench dogs to get? And if I'm not mistaken, they are 3/4" holes, right?

Thanks for the help!

[LarryG]

Yes, the holes go all the way through, for at least two reasons: so they won't fill up with sawdust and shavings, and so you can reach under the bench and push a fully-retracted dog up with your finger.

They stay put by means of a spring wire set into the back side of the dog.

Different diameters are available but 3/4" is the overwhelming de facto standard.

Mine are brass, from Lee Valley. You can make your own out of 3/4" wood dowels.

BTW there are also square bench dogs, usually shop-made from wood, but since it's a lot easier to drill a round hole than build up a benchtop with a series of square holes, the round ones are more commonly seen nowadays.

[dbhost]

Yes, they go all the way through, that way you can use the same holes for things like holdfasts...

What keeps them from falling through depends on the design of the dogs. Mine are cheapie plastic ones from Rockler, and they have a very short, very wide square head that sticks up and keeps them from falling through...

And lastly, yes, they are 3/4" holes.

[JimD]

I use the plastic ones which are like what came with my folding bench from B&D (workmate). Hardly worth making something for what they cost.

[Brian G]

LarryG forgot one other reason they go all the way through: that's so a small screw for which you don't have an extra has a way to fall on the floor and disappear during project assembly.

I sometimes take the head off of a QuickGrip clamp, run the bar though the dog hole, reassemble the head, and use it as a hold down.

[gsmittle]

LarryG forgot one other reason they go all the way through: that's so a small screw for which you don't have an extra has a way to fall on the floor and disappear during project assembly.

I thought that only happened to me!

Some make dogs from 3/4" dowel with a little square piece glued to the top. I've been using my Workmate dogs until I get around to making/buying the real thing.

g.

[JR]

I use 3/4" dowel, too. I usually make a notch in the top of mine to create a flat surface, then drive a 1/4" dowel through from the back to keep it from falling through the hole.

Or I just leave it round. In any case, I can NOT afford the those nice ones like Larry has.

JR

[bigstick509]

LarryG forgot one other reason they go all the way through: that's so a small screw for which you don't have an extra has a way to fall on the floor and disappear during project assembly.

I sometimes take the head off of a QuickGrip clamp, run the bar though the dog hole, reassemble the head, and use it as a hold down.

Thanks for the tip on using a QuickGrip as a hold down. Never thought of that before but it will come in handy.

[Cubsfan]

Thanks for the help! I'll go later and see how the drilling goes.

On another note, are holdfasts slightly smaller than the holes? I noticed at both Rockler and Woodcraft that they sold bench dogs that were 3/4", but their holdfasts were 11/16 or 5/6. Those still the sizes to put in the 3/4" holes?

[pelligrini]

The 11/16 ones are made for 3/4" hole. The smaller holdfasts are for 5/8" holes.

The smaller one won't work with a 3/4" hole either. I picked up a big and little Jorgenson off of amazon a while back. I failed to notice that the smaller hold down was for smaller holes...

There are better holdfasts than the Jorgensons too. I've heard very good things about the Gramercy holdfasts: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/i...MS-HOLDFAST.XX

[Cubsfan]

Thanks for the help! A couple of bench dogs ordered, and now I just need to lay out and drill all the holes.