Need help with bench dogs

[Bob Noles]

I will be working on my bench top this coming weekend and need to be thinking about bench dogs. I have looked at hundreds of bench pictures trying to come up with the design for my needs. Studying those pictures carefully, I have noticed quite a variety in bench dog options. There are round holes and there are square holes. There are single rows of holes and there are double rows of holes. There are holes that line only the front of the bench and there are holes that line both the front and the side of the bench. All of these options have me a little confused.

Could someone please advise me or direct me to information that will allow me to make the proper choice for my benchtop. I am a little on the newbie side of woodworking and will be doing both power tool and neander methods with future projects. I have a nice assortment of hand planes and chisels as well as a fully equiped shop of power tools. I am trying to start out right and not have look back wishing I had done it differently :rolleyes:

Oh btw, I will have both vices on my bench top.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

One piece of advise I'll give you...measure three times before you drill/cut the dog holes!! It's no fun redoing them. Trust me on that!

BTW, I went with round as I started with a pre-made bench top. Square dog holes really need to be constructed while you are building the top for best results. IMHO, of course.

[lou sansone]

I agree with jim that if you are going to use a premade bench top then you will need round holes. I personally like square holes, but I grew up using them and maybe that is why. If you are going to use square holes then like jim said you really should build them into the top as you build it up from laminations of wood. I don't know about the round holes, but traditionally the square holes are tilted about 2 to 3 degrees to make sure the dog has a downward force when clamping material. If you are going to use square dogs then buy them first to make sure that the holes you make for them fit just right. Woodcraft sells them.


I personally perfer the traditional single row of holes, but I could see that some like the double row. For me the less holes the better, thing seem to fall into them and get stuck.

I hope you also have both vises already as well, at least for me, it was really very helpfull to take the actual dimensions right from the piece of metal rather than from a print of the vise.

good luck

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Bob, I like the way the square ones look, but the round ones seen more versatile because you can turn the flat side to face any direction. That helps hold odd shapped pieces. Like the others have said, if your top is finished, square holes are hard to retro fit.

Where you put them depends on what you want to clamp. Generally, they line up with your vices. I have a row lined up with my face vice and another row lined up with my end vice which I use like a tail vice. The spacing should be based on the jaw opening of your vice. My end vice opens up to 12" so I spaced the dog holes 6" apart along the front edge of my bench. There is another row in the middle of my bench, but I hardly ever use them, but I use the front row a lot. The front vice opens up about 6" and those dog holes are lined up 3" apart.

Sometimes I wish I'd spaced all the dog holes 3" apart, but I think that would be too many holes. I just have to move the vice farther to accomodate the wider spacing.

Good luck,

[Dan Gill]

Round is easier. Get an auger bit of the correct size, drill a hole in a thick piece of stock at the drill press for a guide, mount that to a chunk of scrap ply, clamp in place and drill. If you want to get fancy, you can make a template with a dowel that fits in one hole, giving you the correct spacing to the next.

One thing, you can flat burn up a drill doing 3/4 inch dog holes with an auger bit. They're fast, but the drill really works hard.

[Jim Becker]

Dan, the Irwin Speedbor spade bit (with the "wings") I bought to use with my bench cut beautifully and remains sharp after about a "billion" holes...I did a mini review here at SMC on it. It is a good idea to pause after a few holes, however, as the bit gets very hot. And a corded drill is the right tool to power it, too. These modern spade bits are a lot easier on the drill than an auger would be, too.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Jim,
I agree, I bought a set of those Irwin bits with the express purpose of drilling dog holes. Worked fast, bit stayed sharp!

As far as using a template to drill the holes - it's the only way to go. No need to find a dowel that fits - just use that shiny new bench dog.

Maurice

[Don Carkhuff]

One option you might want to consider will allow you to have a "lazy susan" that can hold any weight your bench can handle. Nice for holding and rotating heavy projects.
I drilled a hole in the center of my square bench. Then I cut a plywood circle that would fit inside the square. At the circumference I screwed 4 non-swiveling (in-line) casters. In the center of the plywood circle, I screwed a pipe flange and inserted a 6 inch long 3/4 dia pipe. Flip it over and put the pipe in the center 3/4 hole. You now have a lazy susan that can handle lots of weight.

[Bob Noles]

A big thanks to each of you for the helpful advice.

Now I know why I am finding my visits are increasing :) You are a great bunch of good folks.

[Scott Parks]

I vote for round dogs. When using square dogs and not clamping your peice perfectly square (or tapered stock), the dogs will dent your wood. With a round dog and flat face, it will rotate slightly if needed to match the peice you are clamping, thus not denting. (I hope this explanation made sense).

[Dan Gill]

Dan, the Irwin Speedbor spade bit (with the "wings") I bought to use with my bench cut beautifully and remains sharp after about a "billion" holes...I did a mini review here at SMC on it.

I saw that review, Jim. Very good info. I might have to get some of those. I went with an auger because it was fast, I hadn't heard of the Irwin bits, and the long bearing surface of the outside of the auger helped register the bit against the sides of my guide block. In other words, it helped me keep the holes straighter. But I did kill my old Black and Decker corded drill. It took several months after that to die, but I have no doubt the dog holes were the cause of that effect.