This is my first time trying out square dogs.
So, the first thing I did was chop out 20mm x 30mm mortises right through the top of my bench, because that's about the size that all of those square dog holes appear to be...
Then, I realized, that it's supposed to be more like 20mm x 20mm for the first 2/3rds of the way from the underside, and 30 x 20 from the top. Woops....
How should I go about fixing this? I don't really like the idea of 20 x 40 dog holes at the top... seems too long and narrow.
I guess I could glue 1/4" or 3/8" strips in from the bottom. But I was wondering if there are any variations on the square dog design historically which accepted "straight" holes, without the "step" carved into the top.
I could always just friction fit the dogs, theoretically, though I don't know if I can get a good fit for all the mortises equally such that they're interchangeable, if I do that. Was this done? Are the fancy wooden spring loaded dog holes a modern thing? They do seem convenient and nice to use, at any rate...
Any thoughts / insight?
Edit: More questions. Should the dogs stick out the underside? My bench top is only a tad over 2" thick.