Replies

1. 
   RalphBarker | Aug 04, 2009 06:43pm | #1

   A round dog is one that is eating way too much. ;-)

   Steel is very strong and durable, brass is almost as good, but looks sexier. Personally, I prefer wooden dogs, replaced as needed.

2. 
   mikeddd | Aug 04, 2009 08:33pm | #2

     I used to use wooden ones all the time, then purchased a set of the Lee Valley brass dogs awhile back they work very well for me, I hit the top of one a couple of years ago with a #6 Bench Plane (there was some cussing after that), but when I got looking at the damage and all it did was scrape up the top of the bench dog a bit but did nothing to the plane blade, if you are concerned with marring a finished piece just back it up with some scrap wood. I still use the wooden ones they are the cheapest and they won't mar your finished product. The brass ones you can store in the dog holes in your bench when not in use the wood version usually has to be stored elsewhere. Never tried the nylon ones.Thats just my two cents worth.

   Mike

3. 
   davcefai | Aug 04, 2009 10:03pm | #3

   Wolfcraft Europe sell plastic (nylon?) square-headed round legged bench dogs. These also come with their tables. The tables are on sale in America but I could not find them listed separately on their website.

   
   

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   Edited 8/4/2009 3:04 pm ET by davcefai

1. 
   Jimurock | Aug 04, 2009 11:29pm | #5

   B & D sell something similar -- cheap and effective: http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide/Product-Details.aspx?ProductID=2659

   Jim

1. 
   davcefai | Aug 05, 2009 07:24am | #6

   I will give up woodworking before I buy anything else from B&D in Malta, apart from a vital spare.

1. 
   donkondra1 | Aug 05, 2009 07:40am | #7

   I bought a pair of brass ones from Lee Valley a couple of years ago but I still use shop turned ones in oak and maple.  They just seem more "friendly" :)

   Cheers, Don Don Kondra - Furniture Designer/Maker

2. 
   Jimurock | Aug 05, 2009 03:29pm | #8

   I guess this is a vital spare if you own an old workmate ;^) .  Mine came out of the ark, but it won't die.  Those plastic doodads are sold here anonymously in hardware stores and probably have no link with B & D -- neither have I, these days.

   Jim

4. 
   DonC | Aug 04, 2009 10:44pm | #4

   Cut a hunk of dowel, put a rubber crutch tip on it, drop it into the dog holes,enjoy!

   You never leave marks on what you clamp. You never hurt sharp tool edges. Save your money and get the best bench dog I've ever used.

5. 
   sledge | Aug 05, 2009 03:54pm | #9

   I use 3/4 dowel about 3" long with a 1" piece of 3/4" inside diamater copper pipe glued to one end. This fits snugly into a 3/4" hole in the bench. I have several doz around so there are always several at hand. Easy and quick to make. When I have to plane a thin workpiece all I do is hacksaw off a bit of the copper end. 

   These do not mark my workpiece.

   Ed 

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Aug 06, 2009 03:56am | #10

   Ed,

   Right there man!

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   9619 | Aug 06, 2009 02:46pm | #12

   Bob,
   Bench dogs are a thing of the past.
   Just use double sided tape.
   MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Aug 06, 2009 06:49pm | #13

   Mel,

   Bench dogs are a thing of the past.

   Still muddling about a dogless bench.  I don't need no stinkeen dogholes, yet..............

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

   Edited 8/6/2009 11:49 am ET by KiddervilleAcres

6. 
   Wateren | Aug 06, 2009 04:51am | #11

   HI bw

   I use two types of dog, both homemade (though my benchtop holes are 7/8", the principle shouldn't make a difference). Don't make two, make a dozen.

   - First type, peg is an almost-loose fit in the hole, dowel with a 1¼" square of (in my case) oak about ½" thick. The peg is glued into a through-hole in the hardwood square, in use the square acts as the stop for the workpiece. This is good because the square turns to orient itself to the surface of the workpiece, whatever shape it is. These are easiest to get out of the benchtop, as they are a loose fit.

   - Second type, peg is a tapered piece of softwood, sized so that 1/2-3/4" is exposed above the bench when it is hammered into the hole (no square attachment to these pegs). I used to use round tapered pegs, but found that squared pegs were just as good and much easier to make from scrap board. The tapered pegs have to be persuaded to come out of the benchtop afterword.

   I occasionally run into them with a plane or spokeshave, sometimes with a chisel, more especially when working on thin workpieces - no harm to the tool, but the 'bump' gets into the workpiece and if you're on the final finishing, you have to work it out. More often my knuckles suffer from such contact. One advantage of the first type is that you can make custom dogs with a thin square - less than ¼" if you like. These are not as robust as a thick piece, but if they are just shorter than the workpiece board, there's that much less chance of hitting them or having to plane around them.

   Hope this helps.

   Cheers,
   Chris