pinch dogs

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've been thinking about picking up some pinch dogs . . . looking at the ones at Lee Valley, simply because I'm sure I'll be ordering something from there sooner or later, although I see woodcraft has them as well.

Anyone have an experience on these? They're cheap enough I don't mind experimenting, but I'm curious what size I should start with? My instinct, since most of my edges joints are going to be flat, rather than, say, the angled joints like what LV shows on their page (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=31158&cat=1,43456,57657), and are all apt to be larger stock, that I should just go for the biggest size.

I figure if nothing else, it'll force me to make sure my edge joints are perfect .

[Michael Fross]

Hello Joshua,

I saw St. Roy use them the other day and wanted to give them a shot. I think I'll pick up the ones from Lee Valley, I think, for my work, I'll pick up the 1 3/4" ones.

I've never used them, so i really can't comment. Please let us know what you think when you get 'em.

Michael

[Steve Branam]

I picked up a set of old ones from Patrick Leach some time ago, in a range of sizes. They work very well. You definitely need to make sure your edges are flat (at least with complementary angles, so the two pieces lie flat when joined at the edge).

Also, you need to allow enough extra length on the stock for the tips of the dogs. They dig in about 1/2", depending on the size of the dog and the wood. Then just trim that extra bit of length off when you square up the final end.

It's probably worth experimenting with some scraps of different types of wood to learn how deeply you can set the dogs. In white pine, you can set them pretty deep, but in harder woods like oak you need to be careful to avoid splitting. I haven't used them enough to really say, but it doesn't actually seem like you need to set them all heavily to get decent clamping pressure.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Thanks for the info Steve - it was actually stumbling across an old entry on your site the other day that reminded me I want to have a go with these. I figured that I'd need to leave extra, but I didn't think about how deep those holes could go. Do you find one size more useful than others?

[Bob Lang]

I use both the 1" and 1-3/4", my preference is to the 1-3/4". The smaller ones leave you close to the edge and are more likely to split the wood. I also leave about 2" extra length on each end. I don't get why people are saying the edges need to be square is a down side to pinch dogs. The edges need to be square no matter how you clamp 2 pieces together. What I like about the pinch dogs is 1) they take the place of a clamp that costs a lot more and 2) they weigh a lot less than a clamp. These are especially important when gluing up many panels at the same time.

Bob Lang

[Steve Branam]

Like Bob says, the larger the better to reach farther in from the edge. The small ones would be useful for smaller projects. Mine vary in thickness as well, even some of the bigger ones are thinner. I don't know if that's by design or just quick and dirty blacksmithing.

And yes, the two boards need to form a 180 degree surface with a consistent edge join, otherwise the glue won't do any good! It's actually kind of fun handling the still-wet glued panel with the dogs holding it together (just be gentle so you don't knock things loose). Look ma, no clamps!

[James Taglienti]

They work well... I have a bunch of vintage osborne ones for sale if youd like PM me if youre interested i will send you some to try.