Workbench Doghole "Blip" - What is the purpose?

[Lyndon Graham]

Loking at the books on building workbenches and Square dogholes, the book says I need to make a "blip" in the top half of the doghole.

The blip is just an extra large opening for the 1st one inch or so.

That is a lot of extra work. What is the purpose?

Thanks

[Chris Friesen]

On a square dog, the head is bigger than the shaft. The extra space is so that you have room to push the dog down below the surface of the bench when not in use.

[Lyndon Graham]

On a square dog, the head is bigger than the shaft. The extra space is so that you have room to push the dog down below the surface of the bench when not in use.

Why not just pull them out and out of the way?

[glenn bradley]

Why not just pull them out and out of the way?

I pull mine out and drop them in a little holder nearby.


That is a lot of extra work. What is the purpose?

I use round dogs which is a lot less work ;-)

[chet jamio]

Is there any benefit to square dog holes?

[John Thompson]

Is there any benefit to square dog holes?

Won't rotate under pressure.

Sarge..

[Bruce Page]

Won't rotate under pressure.

Sarge..

Round dogs will self align when the work piece is clamped, which to my way of thinking is an advantage over square dogs.

[Marcus Ward]

I cut a dog for every square hole on the bench and push them down when not in use, pull them up to use them. I had 3 I kept moving around from hole to hole and it drove me nuts. The blip keeps them from pushing out the bottom I guess.

[Jason Beam]

I'm with bruce. Having it rotate, in my mind, is an advantage, not a problem. The only way I could see it being a problem is if I were trying to hold something square and only caught the corner of the piece with the dog. I'd never do that so I don't see rotating as a problem.

[Marcus Ward]

If you do a lot of scrub planing diagonally or cross-grain, round dogs will let the board scooch out. If you're just a powertool user it's probably never going to be an issue.

[John Thompson]

Round dogs will self align when the work piece is clamped, which to my way of thinking is an advantage over square dogs.

Marcus nailed as round will rotate if if you skew hand planes with force as you basically use a forward stop and one in the rear in most cases. When light force is used, I don't even bother with the rear dog. Direct clamping the stock would interfere with plane bed travel.

And.. as Marcus stated... if you don't use hand planes it really doesn't matter one way or the other IMO. Basically what was ask was what was the advantage and my answer was "it won't rotate". There are cons to square as cuttng the hole but that is the advantage. :)

Sarge..

[Jim Becker]

Why not just pull them out and out of the way?

So you don't lose them... ;)

[Frank Drew]

So you don't lose them... ;)

Well, they can't get far :D.

I like square dog holes and dogs with variously sized heads for various thickness boards. A simple rack behind the bench is a good place to store them.

[glenn bradley]

Round dogs will self align when the work piece is clamped, which to my way of thinking is an advantage over square dogs.

I agree with Bruce and have no problems with my round dogs. They do, by nature, have less surface in contact with the material but square dogs have sharp corners. If I am at the point in my work where leaving marks on the material is undesireable, I use blocks on either type of dog.

I don't feel either is "right", just different. Tastes Great / Less Filling, Ford / Chevy, Left-tilt / Right-tilt and all that.

[Jim Becker]

Well, they can't get far.

I like square dog holes and dogs with variously sized heads for various thickness boards. A simple rack behind the bench is a good place to store them.

Well....some of us have the incredible ability to loose something literally on top of our benches. LOL But your point is well taken. I have some 3/4" holes in the stretcher of my Adjust-A-Bench to hold my dogs and pups close at hand and my hold-fasts are on the shelf just above the stretchers along with the mallet for the same purpose. That said, the "self-storing" benefit of the rectangular/square dogs can be a nice thing if it works for the particular woodworker, too.

[John Thompson]

BTW... even though I feel merit in square dogs for heavy hand planing I have round dog holes as most of my effort is done with power. But.. when I do pick up the hand planes I clamp a stop board in the twin screw vise on the end of the WB for the forward stop. Then just clamp a thin board across the WB on the rear side to get square contact.

And frankly... I won't hesitate to nail a batten down on the WB top back there for the same purpose. I'm not proud... not proud at all. A WB should to made to well.... work..

Square holes.. round holes... there's a way around everything.. :)

Sarge..

[Frank Drew]

And frankly... I won't hesitate to nail a batten down on the WB top

:eek:! You lost me there, Sarge; work on it not into it is my motto

[John Thompson]

:eek:! You lost me there, Sarge; work on it not into it is my motto

:).. just a piece of square or retangular scrap with a couple of finish nails run through, Frank. Butt the batten up to the stock being worked and tap each finish nail with a hammer driving the nail down about 1/2" but leaving much of the shaft and head above the batten. Very quick and very precise. When you are done you simply use the hammer claw and pull it out.

If finish nail holes bother you.. every now and then dab some wood filler in them with the tip of your finger... then a swipe or two with a sanding block loaded with 220 will take off excess except inside the hole. And if you get to the point that it really bothers you.. I built my current top of 3" thick face laminated solid SYP in two days for under $25.

To me.. a work-bench is just another tool and there are many ways to use it. Tops are expendable and easily replaced in my shop...

Regards...

Sarge..

[Al Navas]

Why not just pull them out and out of the way?
By having them buried in the bench, they are always at the ready:

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/multiple-benchdogs.png

As you change work pieces of different lengths, simply bury one and lift up the other one. This way you don't waste time looking for another one, or removing and re-inserting one.

My bench came with two metal ones (the black one below is the metal one) - I made my own out of red oak. Here are the prototypes. Later I made 7 more, in less than an hour:

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bench-dog-2.png

http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bench-dog-5.png


http://sandal-woodsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bench-dog-6.png

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