I am building a woodworking bench, and am Using Garret Hack’s article, “A bench for a lifetime” to glean some details from. The article shows dog holes cut to 7/8″ X1-1/8″. I used these measurements for my top. Recently I started looking for dogs and can’t locate any that would seem to be the correct size. So I thought maybe the are home made of wood. I can’t find any info on making them either. My bench is not so far along that I couldn’t change them, but would rather not. I am looking for some advice on how to remedy this small problem. Any help would be appreciated. I guess it goes without saying that I am new to woodworking. Actually I haven’t ever used a dog/bench system.
Thanks, bred
Replies
Video
There's a video here on this sites that will show you how to cut them, I forget what it's called, but I found it by searching for "bench dog".
You'll know you're looking at the right one if you're watching a bald guy who runs a school who's making sets of dogs for something like 4,349 benches. Or so. He's forgotten more about bench dogs than I know.
Good luck!
bench dogs
Hey Thanks! I don't know why I couldn't find anything earlier. Those bald guys are smart...
That bald guy is Alan Turner of the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop
He's a great guy with a fine school, and he's one heck of a furniture maker.
The video can be found here https://www.finewoodworking.com/subscription/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=26990
Frank
bench dogs
I had located it. No offense to bald guys. I might be one myself someday. I hope smart comes with it! I do have a question about the video, however. He refers to using a hand plan to taper the dog if you have dog holes that aren't canted. This is my situation, and I am not sure which side he is refering to, or for that matter which direction the angle should be. Any ideas?
Mike
Out Of Square
Yup.
Dog holes are usually canted two degrees towards the tail vise. This helps pull the work tight to the bench, and prevents the work from popping out as you tighten.
You can shave the face of the dogs so they have the same two degree cant above the bench surface, if your holes aren't canted.
Out Of Square
Yup.
Dog holes are usually canted two degrees towards the tail vise. This helps pull the work tight to the bench, and prevents the work from popping out as you tighten.
You can shave the face of the dogs so they have the same two degree cant above the bench surface, if your holes aren't canted.
a bubble off
I get it, it is just the portion that makes contact with the work. That makes sense. I couldn't see how tapering the portion in the hole would work. Thanks for the help. Now if I can just get back to that project...At times I suffer from the afliction of "begats". I might start out on making a bench and end up working on a distantly related machine I need to tune up. I guess that's the great thing about hobbies. There is no clock.
Hip to be Square
Mike,
It seems hip to be square and square to be round, but I have to admit to being a round dogger myself. So I can't be of much help with the cant.
I think my approach would be to just make a few, try them, tweek them. There are at least a hundred in your scrap bin right now just begging to be set free.
Frank
the politics of geometry
He also is quoted as saying,“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.” I guess that gives me a year to liberate those bench dogs from the pergatory that is my scap bin.
I had never heard of him before, but do appreciate history. A quick search turned up one of the details in his life was his public support for Hitler in 1934, and was an ardent supporter of the French in their war against Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, that didn't work out so well for us...(Wikapedia), beyond that his political career seems long an distinguished.
Bench Dog Update
bred,
Not sure if you're still working this out, but Alan Turner has an article in this month's (Jun/Jul) American Woodworker. In it, there is a drawing of the dogs, with dimensions.
Frank
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled