Bench Dog Hole Spacing

Status
Not open for further replies.

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
I've been updating my workbench which used to look like this

hardboardOnBench.jpg

View image in gallery

And now looks like this.


I'm in the middle of installing a veritas twin screw vise as an end vise on the far end. Then I will be drilling 3/4" bench dog holes. I think I want 4 rows of them. But I wondered if anyone had an idea on spacing. The top is 12 ft long x 31 7/8" deep. I was wondering if any one had any ideas on the ideal spacing along the length?

____________________________________________________________________________
| |
|----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x--- |
| |
| |
| |
|___________________________________________________________________________|

Oops :eusa_doh::BangHead:, I forgot that vB deletes what it considers extra spaces, But I think you get the idea.
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
What is the maximum opening of the vise? Space your bench dog holes appx. 1" less than the max opening of the vise. Ex: if your vise opens 10", space your holes 9" apart. That way you will never have a situation where a work piece is too long for one position, but not long enough for the next position. Hope this make sense.

Bill
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
What is the maximum opening of the vise? Space your bench dog holes appx. 1" less than the max opening of the vise. Ex: if your vise opens 10", space your holes 9" apart. That way you will never have a situation where a work piece is too long for one position, but not long enough for the next position. Hope this make sense.

Bill

Yes, that makes sense! Thank you.
 

striker

New User
Stephen
Steve,

I'm sure it's not a novel idea but I keep a handful of assorted scrap handy to make up the difference between workpiece and bench dog. Being basically lazy, I hate turning the vise handle too much plus It only takes one trip over a steel bench dog with a LN to realize the importance of keeping some distance between metal and wood.

Happy bench building
 

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
What is the maximum opening of the vise? Space your bench dog holes appx. 1" less than the max opening of the vise. Ex: if your vise opens 10", space your holes 9" apart. That way you will never have a situation where a work piece is too long for one position, but not long enough for the next position. Hope this make sense.

Bill

My advice/philosophy is to go one step further.

The maximum throat depth (minus a bit) of your vice is the maximum allowable distance for bench dogs. However, if you have a vice with a significant throat depth it is a good idea to choose a spacing that is a bit less than half the maximum throat depth (If 10", aim for 4.5"). By doing so you will save yourself alot of time spinning your vice open or close since on the average you will be less than 1/4 the vice's maximum throat depth from your nearest benchdog.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
A quick tip for drilling the holes. If you have a plunge router with an edge guide and a 3/4" straight or spiral bit that is the absolute best way to start the holes. This gives a nice base to make the hole straight and the edge guide lines them up nicely as well.

I finished mine with a brace and 3/4" bit, but you could also use a power drill to finish off the holes once they are started straight. With the brace bit, once the center lead screw started to poke through the bottom, I stopped drilling from the top and finished the hole from the bottom of the bench to eliminate any tear-out. Worked great.

- Ken.
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Steve,

...... It only takes one trip over a steel bench dog with a LN to realize the importance of keeping some distance between metal and wood.
No problem, I don't have any LN :gar-La; But I do have plenty of wood scraps. :gar-La; seriously that's great idea.

My advice/philosophy is to go one step further. .....
From reading your responses, in general, I think that's always your philosophy :rotflm:

Actually, I think I'll go close to the way you are suggesting. My max jaw opening is 12" So using Bill's rule that means 11". Using yours that would be a 5 1/2.

For a variety of reasons, I don't want holes spaced too close together, so I'll compromise with something like 8"
... If you have a plunge router with an edge guide and a 3/4" straight or spiral bit that is the absolute best way to start the holes. This gives a nice base to make the hole straight and the edge guide lines them up nicely as well.
I really like that idea. I have all the necessary equipment. The only problem will be the length of the rails of the edge guide. My bench is built onto the wall, so I only have access from the front.

And your suggestion gives a great way to to do the edge dog holes:icon_thum And I suspect that I have 3/4 bits long enough for me to do the complete depth of the hole.
 
T

toolferone

As to the drilling part I would use a bradpoint bit. I would also cut a block of hard would long enough to clamp down and around 1-1/2 " thick. Drill a hole with the drill bit but in the drill press nice and square. Then use this to drill your holes in the bench. If you need to drill deeper then then the bit and wood block allow, you will be fine with out the block after you have drilled with it first. The hole will guide the bit the rest of the way.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
My bench was almost 5" thick so the router didn't quite make it all the way through. If you're too far in to use the edge guide then some other straight edge clamped in place will do just fine. I'd use my Festool guide rail system but even a 1x4 from Home Depot clamped to the bench would suffice to give a straight row of dog holes.

- Ken.
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
As to the drilling part I would use a bradpoint bit. ....

Tom, curious, why not use a Forstner Bit rather than a brad point? BTW, the guys at Woodcraft said that had been in, and looking real good, Weight wise :rotflm:, Congrats

.... I'd use my Festool guide rail system ...

Zapdafish said the same thing, but I mis-understood how he meant to use it. Now that you mentioned it too, I now understand:widea::widea:.

When, I actually start to make the holes, I'll take a picture of the setup and add to this thread. I was going to "drill" today, but I ran into problems with assembling and attaching the vise.:BangHead:
 
T

toolferone

The forstner only has a short height. I want the sides of the brad point to act as a guide in the hardwood block keeping the bit nice and straight.

That was nice of them to say. I am looking forward to getting to my goal, 50 lbs more to go.
 

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
Another option if you need a longer reach than your stock router fence will allow: Bolt some 1/4" Masonite (or MDF/Plywood) to your router in place of the stock subbase, then screw a straight board into the Masonite to serve as the fence. For drilling holes this alone is sufficient, but if you ever wanted to cut a slot this way, as opposed to clamping a fence to the project, you would want to attach a handle to the auxiliary fence so that you could push the fence along with one hand and the router with the other. Such a setup also works well as a gauge block for setting up a clamped-on fence to your project.

Steve, thanks for the chuckle -- I've never been one to settle for "good enough"... I always thought that meant "could have done better"!

I often use Tom's suggested method when drilling free hand. I've never been the best at drilling perfectly straight holes freehand (esp. with short bits), but take some thicker scrap wood, drill a perfectly straight hole of the desired diameter on the drill press, then use that to start all your holes. You get perfectly straight holes every time -- even works great for tapping bolt threads. They also make wonderful drilling jigs for drilling holes for drawer pulls and door handles, etc -- drill everything with perfect precision and spacing at the drill press and you can then duplicate it until the end of time with no setup or layout and a portable drill.
 

FredP

Fred
Corporate Member
I've been updating my workbench which used to look like this


And now looks like this.


I'm in the middle of installing a veritas twin screw vise as an end vise on the far end. Then I will be drilling 3/4" bench dog holes. I think I want 4 rows of them. But I wondered if anyone had an idea on spacing. The top is 12 ft long x 31 7/8" deep. I was wondering if any one had any ideas on the ideal spacing along the length?

____________________________________________________________________________
| |
|----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x----------x--- |
| |
| |
| |
|___________________________________________________________________________|

Oops :eusa_doh::BangHead:, I forgot that vB deletes what it considers extra spaces, But I think you get the idea.


umm.... steve???? I never seen your bench look like the first pic! :rotflm: me thinks the floor is a mess!:gar-La;
spacing? I would go 6" or a little less. my end vise opens about that much....:icon_thum
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Is this closer to what you thought it should look like?

umm.... steve???? I never seen your bench look like the first pic! :rotflm: me thinks the floor is a mess!:gar-La;
spacing? I would go 6" or a little less. my end vise opens about that much....:icon_thum

Actually, the spacing I am going with is 7 1/2. I have a Tucker vise on the front, a couple of feet from the near end. It has built in dogs and their spacing is 7 1/2.






By continuing that spacing to the other end, both vises share the same holes .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top