Bench dog holes - advice sought

In another thread I been showing my progress on building a workbench (see http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=54301).

Before I go attacking the top of the workbench with a 19mm drill bit, I would like to canvas the opinions from forum members as to where is the best location for the dog holes.

In the attached picture you can see I've used two separate vices for the end vice arrangement.

I'm uncertain as to where to drill the line of dog holes. I originally thought that I'd drill the holes in line with the dog on the vice (shown as a red line on the photo). but I've noticed on many other benches that the dog holes are placed much closer to the edge of the bench. Would it be better to drill the dog holes closer to the edge (as shown with the blue line on the photo) using a thick "Groggy" style jaw liner on the front of the vice that can hold a separate dog (Veritas) closer to the edge?

I'd appreciate your advice and views as to where to place the dog holes. Where would you place the dog holes?

Chris

Looking good.

Your red line makes more sense as it is in line with your vice and you can use it as you said.

Some tables have them closer to the edge because they have a tail vice.

Hi

Placing the holes off centre to the vice dog will make it awkward to clamp your projects. Your red line is the best line for the dog holes for use with the vice.

You could if you want, place dog holes on the blue line AND more dog holes on the other side of and the same distance from the red centreline. This will enable a three point grip to assist in holding round and other odd shaped pieces.

Thank you for the comments so far...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scally

Some tables have them closer to the edge because they have a tail vice.

---

I was wondering about that. I was concerned that they were close to the edge because it is better for hand planing and by moving them closer to the middle I'd lose that benefit?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrFixIt

You could if you want, place dog holes on the blue line AND more dog holes on the other side of and the same distance from the red centreline. This will enable a three point grip to assist in holding round and other odd shaped pieces.

---

Good point. I didn't mention in the original post that I'm intending to place two rows of dog holes - one for each of the end vices (i.e. mirror the holes on the right hand side of the bench as pictured for the other vice). Plus, maybe, some at the other end for the front vice too.

Beautiful work, Chris.

If you want maximum flexibility with your bench, and the ability to hold reasonable sized flat objects - cupboard doors, small table tops, etc - then you might like to put a row of dog holes where you have the red line behind each end vice plus another row down the middle of the table. Also, a row (or two??) of dog holes behind the front vice could be useful.

Incidentally, a great uncle of mine who was a professional furniture maker for over 70 years used a bench with dog holes but no end vice. He held work in place using pairs of apposed wedges between the work and the dogs. Quick, simple, cheap and very effective.

As I've said before - Great Bench!!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Now - Go the red line and make it perfect!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Real nice bench, congratulations on a job well done. The red line would be the better choice for the dog holes.

Nice bench! Any more photos?

Forget that. I just saw the link to your bench in the making. Very nice!!

Bench dogs should lie within the middle third of the vice face. This assures that the entire face is in compression. Best location would be directly centred, as on your red line; this would produce uniform compression. Two lines, as Peter suggests, could be even more versatile.

Joe

Red line is best for mechanical reasons, however, having the dog holes, or at least one row of them, close to the front edge is very convenient. I often want to have boards hang over the edge - e.g. when using bearing-guided router bits on a 19mm board - the bottom of the bit would foul the bench top. My dog holes are about 65mm from the edge, so it's a bit touch & go getting overhang with narrow boards.

The other consideration is for hand planing, as someone has already said. You want the piece being attacked to be as close to the edge as possible. However, that's not a big deal if you go with the red line, as you usually don't clamp the board too powerfully (longer boards will bend up, which you don't need!) so the dogs don't have to align with the centre of the board.

I'd go with two sets of dog holes - the blue & another at equal distance from the red, as someone else has also suggested. I reckon you will find that very handy in the years to come...

Cheers,

As everybody else said, your bench will work best with the dog holes in line with the dog on the vice, no doubt. Here's a photo of my bench, with dog holes along the front edge, but as you can see, i have a different tail vice set up, which has a dog right near the front edge.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IanW

Red line is best for mechanical reasons, however, having the dog holes, or at least one row of them, close to the front edge is very convenient. I often want to have boards hang over the edge - e.g. when using bearing-guided router bits on a 19mm board - the bottom of the bit would foul the bench top. My dog holes are about 65mm from the edge, so it's a bit touch & go getting overhang with narrow boards.

---

Thank you to all who have replied. While it seems that there are some advantages in having the dog hole close to the edge, it seems that the consensus is that dog holes in line with the centre of the vices will work be best for my end vice arrangement.

What I'm now considering is initially placing a set of dog holes along the red line and see how it goes. I figure I can always drill another set closer to the edge of the bench later and either use a Veritas "Wonder Dog", change the vice liner to a thicker one and use another Dog in the liner, or simply use wedges (as per Graeme's suggestion).

BTW I purchased a couple of sets of Veritas Bench Dogs from Timbecon while while they are on special. Following the advice from this forum, I rang them to check if they had any in stock. They did! I ordered them and received them two days later:2tsup:

Consider putting some dogs at either end of the wooden vice face. I did this with my domino and then two rows down the bench in line with these. This gives 4 point clamping for panels etc.