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Holy cow I mucked around a lot making the dogs for the portable workbench featured in the June 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine.
I made spring-loaded bench dogs (more complex than necessary). Dogs using a bullet catch (the right-size hardware wasn’t readily available at the home center). And when I considered casting the dogs, I knew I had gone over the edge.
So I simply made some dogs that relied on a friction fit alone and they work just fine.
Like all woodworkers, I can over-complicate single-cell division.
Anyway, I made a short video that demonstrates how to make these dirt-simple dogs. The trick is… well there is no trick. Just make them so they fit snugly and you will be fine for several years.
The dogs in this video are made using 3/4” x 1/2” maple. The shaft of the dog is ripped down to 1/2” x 1/2”.
— Christopher Schwarz
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I tried the dog with a spring method and it hasn’t worked out so well. This looks liek a good and simple approach but I have one question. With the dog trimmed flush with the bench top and the underside of the bench and dog sitting on a flat support surface, how do extend the dog above the top of the bench?
Thanks, Dave
This is what I did on my Roubo. I had full intentions of making springs for the dogs once I had them all finished but they’ve been working just fine without springs so I haven’t gotten around to it.
I doubt if very many of us have a way to drill square dog holes, so it’s round for the hoi polloi.