Lost Art Press

Reader Robert Monetti writes: Loved your presentation on workbenches, and now I am inspired to design and build my own. I know you can’t believe this, but the only information that is missing is: What are the best shapes for dog holes, round or square? I think square would be better for offering more friction but are direction limited when using clamping dogs.

If round, what diameter? If square or rectangular, what length and width? It would also be helpful as to there location and the orientation of rectangular holes.

Give me answers to these questions and I am on my way local mill house.

— Robert Monetti

Robert: Your questions will fetch a variety of valid answers. After working with both round and square dogs, I have my preferences. But both systems – round and square – work and work quite well. That said, here’s my argument.

I like 3/4”-diameter round dog holes. They are simpler to install during construction of your bench and even after construction. Round dog holes handle a wide variety of modern workbench accessories: hold downs, holdfasts, Wonder Dogs and the like. And you can turn the dogs 360° to clamp odd-shaped pieces.

The downside to round dogs is that they are usually brass or other metal, which can be dangerous to your tools. You can make wooden round dogs (use a tough wood), but I have used metal round dogs for more than a decade with only one minor incident to report.

Place the Dog Holes
So where do you put your dog holes? In general, I like to bore as few as possible. I have a couple dog holes in my benches that I never use. They are, after many years of disuse, like an unfortunate tattoo. They seemed like a good idea at the time. And why they don’t hurt much, they don’t add anything and are a reminder of an evening of wild boring (if that oxymoron is possible).

I use two lines of dog holes. One is for an end vise and one is for holdfasts. If you have an end vise (such as a tail vise), then bore a long line of dog holes near the front edge of your benchtop. Typically, this line of holes is located between 2” and 6” from the front edge. I like 4” – which allows me to clamp a 8”-wide board in the center. I have an 8” power jointer, so this makes sense for me.

I place these holes on 3” centers or so. Closer together is better for this line of dog holes because closely spaced dog holes will prevent you from screwing and unscrewing your tail vise as much.

The rear line of dog holes is different. It is mostly for holdfasts, and their spacing is determined by how far the pad of the holdfast is from the shaft. If this distance is 8”, than placing your holes every 16” (maybe a little less) allows you full coverage along the rear of your bench.

This line of holes should be located about 6” or so from the rear edge of your bench. That will allow you to rotate your holdfasts for a variety of holding situations. That should get you started.

— Christopher Schwarz

Whenever a beginning bench-builder bends my ear, the No. 1 question they have is usually about what species of wood they should use to build their workbench.

They’re almost always vapor-locked on the issue and unable to proceed on their design until they pick the perfect species.

In my experience, there is a far better way to ask this question: What woods shouldn’t you use to build a bench? That list is far shorter.

Depending on your workbench’s design, the list of verboten species could be entirely empty. You can make a fantastic workbench out of the cheapest white pine 2 x 12s at the home center – just make the top 5” thick and the legs 5” x 5”. It’ll be awesome.

But people don’t want to use white pine I guess, because that’s for stud walls and skateboard ramps. Or it’s too cheap. Or it dents too easily. So I know that I can’t talk anyone into making a white pine bench, no matter how hard I try.

So here’s are the important characteristics of an ideal workbench wood that won’t get you laughed out of your local woodworking guild.

1. It should be stiff. A stiff species will allow you to cross long spans with the top unsupported by aprons or braces, which can get in the way of your clamps. To determine how stiff a species is, check out the chart I’ve included here that I lifted from my book, “Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use.” (It’s fun to violate my own copyright.)

2. It should be heavy. Heavy benches are superior to lightweight benches, which you chase around your shop. A heavy bench moves only when you want it to. Check the wood’s specific gravity – its weight compared to water. That’s the measuring stick for this characteristic.

3. It should be inexpensive. You don’t have to buy steamed European beech to make a great bench. Until recently, European beech was expensive in this country (prices are falling). European cabinetmakers chose beech for their benches because it was stiff, heavy and cheap.

4. It should be readily available. Workbenches are great. The only thing greater than a workbench is all the great stuff you get to build on it. Don’t delay building a bench because you’re having trouble finding the wood.

5. It should resist denting. This is a bit of a minor point because I’ve worked on benches that dent easily. And it’s no big deal when they get dented because it won’t affect the quality of your finished work and you eventually work the dents out when flattening the top. To determine how dent-resistant a species is, check out its Janka scale rating.

6. It should be light in color. I wouldn’t enjoy working on an ebony bench. It would be really hard to see what I was working on. You’re often sighting things against your bench, such as when you peer down your plane’s sole to see if the iron is centered in the mouth. A light-colored bench makes this easy. Plus, the benchtop reflects light, making the shop appear lighter.

7. It should be easy to work and glue. Purpleheart and hickory get used to build masochist workbenches. You’re going to have to flatten the top of your bench some day, so make it easy on yourself, long-term.

So what woods excel in many of these categories? Plenty. In my neck of the woods, yellow pine, ash, white oak and red maple would all be outstanding low-dollar benches. (Especially ash. Thanks to the emerald as borer, ash is about as cheap as yellow pine these days.) Oh, and don’t be afraid to mix species. If you’re short on cash, make your base from a junk species and spend the money on the top. You can always replace the base.

Here are some other choices. A little pricer but still solid: white oak, white maple, birch and beech.

OK, but not my first choice: poplar, red oak, hickory (too hard to work).

Probably not, except in a pinch: walnut, cherry (too dark and a little soft), basswood (too soft), sycamore (too hard to work the quartersawn faces), and almost all the exotics (too expensive and sometimes difficult to glue).

So if the question about wood species is a red herring for bench builders, what do I think is the most important question about bench design? Here it is: How soon can you start building?

— Christopher Schwarz