Alan,
I’m in the process of building a workbench. So far, I’ve got a base with a solid maple top 30″ wide by 90″ long. I will have a twinscrew tail vise at one end, and a pattern-maker clone vise at the right corner.
What do you recommend in terms of dog holes? Would three rows of holes running the length of the bench be sufficient? Or would four be better? Within each row, what spacing do you recommend between dog holes? I’ve heard some recommend 5″. Do you agree?
I don’t want to drill too many holes into the top of the bench. But I don’t want to be stuck with too few clamping options either. I’m looking for an optimal spacing, but I don’t have the experience using a bench with dog holes to know what is optimal. Thanks!
Thanks!
Replies
HH:
I built my woodworker bench from Tage Frid's article in FWW #4 (Fall 1976 !), pretty much as he drew it out, and it has worked well for me for many years. It has a single row of holes for rectangular dogs on 5" centers, 8 in the bench top and 3 on the tail vise.
The dog spacing needs to be less than the total travel range of the tail vise. Otherwise, the only disadvantage I can think of to having a wider spacing is the time it takes to move the tail vise the extra distance. My tail vise moves 1" in 3 turns of the lead screw.
That said, what's optimal for you very much depends what you will use the bench for, i.e., what kind of work pieces you will be trying to hold on the bench top.
Hope this helps.
Alan
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