Why Do Woodworking Benches Have Holes

The simplest mechanism is simply to stick a dowel into a hole drilled into the front of your bench.

Why do woodworking benches have holes. In addition to bench dogs explained well by doresoom above there are other devices that use the same holes. You can also get a product called wonder dogs that let you apply pressure at odd angles. The getting started in woodworking video showed only one hole drilled in the right front leg level with the vise. They can also act like a vise when large amounts of pressure or force are necessary.

Dog holes help woodworking professionals hold the piece they re working on. Dog holes are an easily accessible and simple solution to retaining a piece of work without changing the workbench or workshop. These holes hold bench dogs and holdfast clamps in place for securing work pieces. Having lots of holes doesn t really weaken the bench but they are a lot of work to execute and you don t need them unless you have some special operation in mind.

If you have holdfasts with an 8 reach you can position the holes on 16 to 18 centers and provide lots of coverage. It is common to have holes in the benchtop that tools or jigs can be bolted to. This is useful only for a narrow range of boards. Carpenter bees are large fuzzy bees that bore holes in unfinished wood to nest and lay eggs.

The top includes 2 double rows of bench dog holes and wood and metal bench dogs are included. As i am in uk needed to convert everything to metric and could not source the table top fasteners so i made some buttons instead which work well. There is also a woodworking vise at the end and should you want to you can possibly install a front mounted vise. The frame is very sturdy and top seems like it will be a good surface to work on although suspect it will get easily stained marked.

A holdfast uses the thickness of the bench to hold down a piece of wood with no additional clamps. The front edge of a woodworker s bench is usually lined with square holes positioned at regular intervals. Have made bench just bench dog holes to complete. I also have a holdfast hole at the back of my bench that holds my swing arm lamp.

The male bees then guard the nest often harassing people in the process. A woodworker can do just about anything they need on a bench with only a planing stop and a holdfast or two. Add more as you need them. Start with the minimum.

If the legs on your base are not too far under the top simply bore a hole in the side of the leg and use the holdfast horizontally.