Bench Dog Holes / Spacing?

[richard poitras]

Bench Dog Holes / Spacing?

I am just finishing up my work bench build and all I have to do is drill the ¾’’ holes for my bench dogs. What is the recommended spacing to put the hole at? (How far apart) I have two Columbian bench vices installed on the bench. One at the front and one on the end.

Thanks Richard

[Anthony Whitesell]

The one rule of thumb that I'm aware of is in regards to the front vise. The holes from the front of the table to the back should be one-half the opening distance of the front vise. If the front vise opens 6", then the holes should be spaced 3" apart front-to-back.

As for how wide left-to-right. I made mine such that the outside of the bench dog holes were even with the outside edge of the metal face of the front vise. I wanted to keep the pressure as directed to the metal aspects of the vise.

[Ryan Baker]

As long as the dog hole spacing is less than the travel range of your vise you should be fine. The first set of holes have to be closer to the vise though, so you can grab short parts without using a spacer. Mine are 6" apart.

It's good to have a row of dog holes pretty close to the edge of the bench, because you will need them for clamping any board on which you are working the edge off the edge of the bench. Depending on your vise setup, this may setermine the location of your other row(s) of holes. You want parallel rows of holes symmetrically spaced with respect to the centerline of the vise screw so that you are balancing the force on the vise jaw. Staying close to the vise screw is better, but that may keep your holes too far in from the enge of the bench.

Don't overthink it too much. Drill some holes. If you find you need something diferent later, just drill some more holes.

[Andy Fox]

In the book Making Workbenches, Sam Allen suggests a 6" on center or less spacing, with the holes being about 3" oc from the front, left, and right edges. My front vise holes are also 6" oc apart, and that works fine for my quick release vise. My end vise is a twin screw, and it seems to take forever to move it 5" if the board is just the "wrong" length, so I use a 3" spacer board to avoid all of the vise cranking making me cranky. (I think that book is great, by the way.)

[richard poitras]

Thanks guys for how you set yours up I am going to go set up my hole layout and drill them. The 6’’ rule sounds about right with my vice opening as well.

Richard