Attaching Bench Top with Bullet Dowels

[Jeff Posten]

I'm somewhat embarrassed to ask, because the whole premise behind them is simplicity, but how do you install the bullet dowels? Specifically, I already drilled the holes in the top of my legs to house the 1" oak dowels, and I have the dowels shaped, now, how do I accurately transfer those locations to the workbench top? Is it simply measuring as accurately as possible? I figured they needed to be pretty precise. Any slop would allow your bench top to move under force, and any misalignment would not allow the top to sit down properly.

Do you flip the bench upside down and use dowel centers? If so, did you rig up a 1" dowel with a 1/2" center (assuming you used a bullet larger than 1/2")? I can't find dowel centers larger than 1/2"?

Advise appreciated,

Jeff

[Tom M King]

Lipstick......

[mike holden]

Take a piece of one inch dowel and drill a half inch hole in the center, place your dowel center in that hole, the dowel in the one inch hole and mark appropriately.

[Tom Vanzant]

Hah! That's also an old rifle stock inletting trick. Prussian blue in-a-tube works too.

[Andrae Covington]

I didn't have any dowel centers, so I went a different route. I transferred lines to the face of the leg and the front edge of the top, to give me the alignment along the front of the workbench. I made a drilling jig with a lip that would register on the front of the leg or workbench, which gave me a consistent distance away from the front edge for the holes.

It still wasn't perfect. But then the pressure of the leg vise clamping has mis-aligned the top from the legs anyway.

[Jeff Posten]

I thought about marking it (lipstick) but how do you drop the base (or top) down while keeping it aligned?

[Brian Holcombe]

I'd probably just make them go through the base entirely.

[Phil Thien]

I thought about marking it (lipstick) but how do you drop the base (or top) down while keeping it aligned?

I'd do the dowel centers instead of the lipstick.

Before placing the dowel centers, get the top centered on the base. Now clamp some witness blocks to the underside of the top so you can remove the top and then replace it using those witness blocks to keep it aligned. Remove the top, place the dowel centers, replace top.

Having a helper that can help you move the top around makes this a lot easier.

[Tom M King]

I thought about marking it (lipstick) but how do you drop the base (or top) down while keeping it aligned?

Helpers. Not only for handling the top, but pieces of wood clamped to the base to keep proper alignment on the important sides as it's lowered down.

[Jeff Wittrock]

I'm not sure how long your dowels are, but If you just install the dowels upside down (so the flat side, not the bullet side is up), then you can just rest the top on top of them and position the top where you want it. Now just get a pencil in between the top of the leg and bench top bottom and draw around the dowels as best you can. Pull the top back off and find the center of the penciled in circles.

This isn't how I did it on my own bench, but used it to locate the dowels for a concrete top island.

[Jim Matthews]

I put a nail into the recess, and clipped off the head,
just proud of the stretcher.

I got the top close to where I wanted it aligned,
using paint stirring sticks.

Using pry bars, I raised the top enough
to pull out the paint sticks,
and lowered it into place.

The nail point transfers the mark.

Having done it this way once,
I just install a bracket inside
the stretcher legs and drive
in pocket screws.

If you're working with a full size
top (more than 2" thick) it's really a two man job.

[Jeff Posten]

Thanks everyone for all the ideas. After looking at the logistics with a 4" ash top, I'm leaning towards an alternate method. Trying to decide between bolts through the top, or lag screws from below.

Thanks again for all the replies,

[Joe A Faulkner]

You could make a pattern out of a piece of scrap. Rip something as wide as the bench legs. Make it as long as the bench top width. Use Mike Holden's suggestion for making dowel centers. Mark the centers on your pattern. Then use the pattern to transfer to the bottom of your bench top. You could go ahead and drill the holes in the pattern and make sure it fits to the leg assembly as you want it to, then clamp the pattern to the underside of the bench top and use your new 1" dowel centering tool to mark the wholes for drilling in the bench top. Be sure to mark your pattern so you transfer the front holes to the front of the bench top and the back to the back. You might want a patter for each side of the bench.

What type of face vise are you going with?

[Tom Vanzant]

Jeff, whatever method you use to mount the top, allow for expansion/contraction of the top at the rear. If you use bullet pins, you might also add lag bolts near the front pins, a "belt and suspenders", to prevent top displacement by the face vise.

[Peter Pedisich]

I put a nail into the recess, and clipped off the head,
just proud of the stretcher.

I got the top close to where I wanted it aligned,
using paint stirring sticks.

Using pry bars, I raised the top enough
to pull out the paint sticks,
and lowered it into place.

The nail point transfers the mark.

Having done it this way once,
I just install a bracket inside
the stretcher legs and drive
in pocket screws.

If you're working with a full size
top (more than 2" thick) it's really a two man job.
Hey I like this idea, must remember it...

[Prashun Patel]

If it were me, I'd measure the best I could, then drill over-sized holes. Then I'd glue sandpaper to the tops of the legs. The oversized holes will allow for expansion and if they move under force, it'll be so slight, you won't notice it. With the weight and the friction, you'll be surprised how little the top will move even if it had NO dowels.

[Brian Holcombe]

Jeff, whatever method you use to mount the top, allow for expansion/contraction of the top at the rear. If you use bullet pins, you might also add lag bolts near the front pins, a "belt and suspenders", to prevent top displacement by the face vise.

This is an important point,my bench top expands and contracts about 1/8" over the course of a year. To combat the issue of the face vise moving the top I fixed that side of the top and made slotted holes on the opposite side.

I also have a very hefty center spline half lapped over the battens that is allowed to float.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I too took Brian's approach if I understand it correctly. I used 3/4" dowels and made rond holes on the side of the bench I use most and elongated holes for the back side to allow for movement of the top. An added benefit is that the elongated holes make the installation of the top a whole lot easier. than if you mismeasured by even a 1/64 of an inch.

[Jim Matthews]

Clever, that.

I wager Velcro would serve, too.