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4 September 2018 at 1:18 pm #550900
I plan to add the lee valley bench stop for quick planing chores. In my old bench, I used a wood screw in the bench. It actually worked fine, but I figure I can be a bit more sophisticated in my new bench. I may try some sort of bench dogs with the end vise, but remains to be seen if I need it.
I used the gramercy holdfasts in my old bench, but I really didn’t care for it. I found the holding to be too inconsistent or they tended to mar my work if I wasn’t careful. They are fine for rough work though. These days, I tend to use a clamp in some way to hold the work at the front of the bench for mortising, sometimes in combination with the front vise.
Thanks for your advice!
30 August 2018 at 12:42 pm #550769Thanks for the info Harry. I’m going to let the work decide instead of trying to design it all out ahead of time. If I need the dog holes for a project then I’ll go for it. I am leaning away from the prairie dogs though, because they are shorter and I’m not so sure my soft wood bench is up to the task. I think longer ones may help from deforming the holes.
That is a sweet looking setup you have on your bench.
29 August 2018 at 1:14 am #550710Thanks Doug. I think I will hold off on the dogs for a while. Since I just made the bench, I thought I would fit it up with all the goodies, but there seems to be consensus that the dogs are not really needed. I’m going to wait on it.
28 August 2018 at 4:08 pm #550683Thanks Grahame. I’ll probably do something similar with my end vise. I think I’ll give the prairie dogs a try. I spent a week of summer vacation building the darn bench. Might as well fit it up and see how it goes. My wife already thinks I’m nuts. I spend all day woodworking and then watch woodworking videos to relax some more.
I’ve got room at the end of the bench to try it. Who knows maybe I’ll like it…
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You must be logged in to view attached files.28 August 2018 at 12:35 pm #550665I agree David. I’m struggling with the decision to add the dog holes. My previous bench had a few dog holes for holdfasts. I could not really get the hong of using holdfasts though and then I discovered Paul’s techniques with the clamp a vise which works real well. However, my bench is 10 feet long and I have a section on the right side with an end vise that I am considering adding a couple bench dogs for clamping boards for grooving occasionally. That end of the bench does not get much use, so maybe the dust collector won’t be as much of a problem.
FYI, my shop looks a bit tidier because I just moved in my new bench. It’s a tiny shop, but I am happy with it overall. My tools are all pretty cheap flea market items, but they work. I’ve been able to make many things in a very small space. An underrated advantage for hand tools.
Tom
28 August 2018 at 12:25 pm #550664Thanks Grahame. I wondered if dust could be a problem and they get jammed in there. Also, I’m worried if they are effectively long enough in my bench top. I used Idaho Douglas fir which is pretty soft stuff from my local Home Depot. The prairie dogs seem to be shorter and might not have enough length to spread the load. Seems like the holes could be deformed after some use…
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