But after years of working on both, I have decided to cast my lot in with the round dog camp. Not only do I get a great education in woodworking here, you expand my noiae in every post. Thank you so much for checking this out and commenting. I Made It! Chris F April 27, Great idea now the twist raid the kids toy box for those square wooden block drill a hole into them and push square bench dogs woodworking noise into them. Ready to create custom bench dogs?

Pick an image from the scroll bar or click on the large image to change pictures. Always looking for a better way to lock a bench dog so you can plain thin stock and not have the hand plane knock the dog into the bench.

The latest pair of 'lockable' square dogs are a nice way to use up small pieces of exotic wood. The bigger k This old method of holding work is one of the best. Homemade workbench hold downs constructed from aluminum track, T-nuts, laminated hardwood, and carriage bolts. Patent 5,, The Background of the Invention section makes for very interesting reading. It begins in the Egyptian tomb of Nebanon, circa B. It discusses square vs.

Where round dogs really become useful to me is when the bench top has a grid of holes aka Swiss Cheese. Just about any shape can be held between two round dogs and a wonder dog.

Could use of square in Square Bench Dogs Woodworking Games the past be partially attributed to the blacksmith? What is easier to forge, square or round. Same question for wood. Modern round dowl and a bullet catch make it easier to build than it is to chop a square step mortise. In the past it was easier to chop the mortise than it was to smith a round bar or craft a round wood dog with mechanical catch. I have round dogs on one bench, square dogs on another bench, and two cats.

Using early prints as reference can be bad news. Engravers were and are known for using apprentices and other underlings to "fill in the blanks". Early engravers were also known to take literary license in their depiction of objects not well known to them. Then there is the problem of perspective to further distort the images. Why square over Square Bench Dogs Woodworking 20 round? A round piece Square Bench Dogs Woodworking Oil of wood will break sooner than will a squared off piece of wood, given that both are made with even grain and the grain runs at right angles to the direction of force.

On the round dowel, the direction of force is applied to one very small area and there is much less mass to sustain the integrity of the dowel.

Plus, the small contact area is more likely to dent the stuff being worked. Modern bench dogs are more easily produced from round stock and cost less to produce as there is less material in the object, hence a lower manufacturing cost and higher profits.

Thanks for the reference. I will amend my statement that I have never Square Bench Dogs Woodworking Off seen one in print. I should know enough to never say never. The round dogs in the print indicate to me that they were widely know and used at that early date, and that they were abandoned for more efficient ways of holding the work as these ways were discovered. I have not studied the exact chronological order of wood holding on the benchtop, but quickly thinking brings to mind the round wood dogs circa , the square wooden bench stop, then the iron tooth in the wood bench stop, the iron holdfast, then wood and or iron benchdogs.

The industrial revolution allowed the iron tooth in the wood bench stop to re-appear as a patented cast iron pop up toothed stop. I find it telling that even though each advancement was more complicated and would be more expensive and time consuming to incorporate into the bench they were adopted anyway. A pictorial chart of work holding over the centuries would be interesting! We are fortunate at this time in that we have centuries of information at our hands and we can pick and choose what we prefer or what fits our work requirements.

Check out the bench in "Das Hausbuch der Mendelschen," circa It is nice though to be able to put a holdfast into any orifice on your bench top and slide a dog into any of the same holes. I agree with Swanz. Square dogs are cool. They are also a bit better at work holding for planing. Chris, I like to look back in history to validate woodworking tools and techniques. I can accept your point 3 about more accessories being available today for round holes. It is much more out of the way than one or 2 iron holdfasts sticking up on the benchtop!

Or stored in the front of the bench leg, waiting to take your kneecap off. That said, woodworkers and workbench users have known about round holes probably longer that workbenches have been being built. They knew that drilling a round hole was easier than chopping a square, angled, stepped hole. And they surly could make a round bench dog with less effort and cost than it took to make the usual square iron dog. Yet, they did not go with round dogs. So, one has to ask why.

I choose to believe the woodworkers of the past, who had to make their living on their bench, knew from their older peers and their own experience which methods of work and techniques worked the best, and that is what they used. Richard runs 'The English Woodworker' as an online resource and video education for those looking for a fuss free approach to building fine furniture by hand. I agree re the number of clever jigs that I cannot be bothered to make, and on a bench top it is very handy to take the tool to the top, the other way round with pillar drill being cumbersome understatement.

I found with mine about 65mm was ideal. And that wheelie pinless vice…!! I had long believed that there was no single perfect vice, but I suspect that will be as close as I would ever get. Hi Douglas, Sorry I some how missed this one. Thanks, Richard. Not only would I benefit from this myself why did I buy that drill stand?! For spade bits! Much easier than using 2 upright squares.

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