My New Bench Dogs

F

ForumMFG

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
1,004
I know the topic of bench dogs have come up here a lot but I just picked up my new bench dogs from a machine shop that I had custom made.  I had them made this way because I didn't see anyone else selling them like this.  I'm sure if I looked long enough I would have found them.  But I got a really good deal on them and they are made of stainless steel.  I made them in a cylinder shape with a flat spot on the top portion of them so I can use them for aligning my guide rail up and for clamping.  The flat spot is ideal for clamping because it will not leave marks in the wood.  If you were to clamp a work piece to a tangent point on the cylinder, it would most likely put a mark in your wood.  So that?s why I did it thid way. 

Dimensions:
-The overall length is 1.46"
-The top portion of the dog is .46 tall
-The bottom portion is 1" tall
-The diameter of the bottom portion (that would go in your bench or MFT) is dead on 20.00mm
-The top portion is 1" in dia. 
-The flat spot is about 5/8" wide

I took a bunch of sample measurements of the holes in my MFT/3 top and they were all pretty close to 20.05mm so I made them 20mm.  These bench dogs fit like a glove.  Absolutely no slop what so ever and they are easy to get in and out.  I tested them on my bench and out of all the holes in my top only one had trouble getting into. 

I paid $60 for (4) of these bench dogs.  The machine shop had a bunch of left over Stainless Steel 1? dia. Bar so they gave me the material and charged me just for 1 hour labor. 

If anyone is interested in these bench dogs I can have them made for you at cost.  Because so many people have helped me here and I enjoy the forum so much I would be willing to do it.  I just ask you pay for shipping.  I would include the machine shop receipt of purchase so you can see you truly are getting them at cost.  I don?t want to use this forum to market anything as well.  I just want to help you guys out if you are in need of high quality bench dogs.  Also, If you would want them modified to suit your needs I can have them do that as well.

Below are pictures of the dogs.

-Dave
 
Very interesting.  They look kinda like the Qwas Dogs, but a little different.

Did you know about the Qwas Dog offering?  If so, you obviously decided to go this route.  May I ask what the benefit is of these over what Qwas has?

I ask because I was going to order a few of the Qwas Dogs but have yet to get around to it...  If these offer something a bit better, then...  ::)

Thanks.
 
By all means, buy from Qwas if you want.  I'm not trying to sell these.  Just trying to help anyone out.

How do they compare to Qwas? I can give you my input but Qwas will need to confirm all this or e-mail him to confirm it. 

These are made of Stainless Steel, Qwas are not.  Stainless steel is a lot harder which means if you drop them, they most likely will not get damaged. Stainless Steel will not tarnish.  They will just start to look old overtime as you use them.  They won't rust as well and I'm sure qwas made them in way so they won't rust or tarnish either.

My dogs have a flat face on them which allows you to use them for clamping without damaging your work piece while qwas product are completely round.  If you apply to much force they will most likely put a dent or mark in your work piece.

My dogs are also round which will allow you to use them for aligning your guide rail and what-not.  Qwas offers the same thing.

Qwas and my bench dogs are also designed to be used with 1/2" material.  This means is you clamp a piece of 1/2" material and you sand it, the dog won't get in the way.

I'm not here to compete with anyone so you may want to check with Qwas to find out what the real deal is.

The biggest difference is that if you buy these dogs it's like buying a 2 in 1 deal because you get the flat surface and round surface to use for 2 different things.  And they are made from stainless steel which is extremely more expensive than aluminum or other alloys.  You can buy 4 of stainless steel dogs for around 60 bucks or 4 of qwas regular dogs for 60 bucks.

If people are interested in buying these dogs I would suggest someone starting a new thread somewhere else.

I would like to point out to that these dogs look like a lot of bench dogs that are already made.  It's a very basic and simple design so it's easy to see they are similar to everyone elses product.
 
I know how uptight people can be about the content of certian posts/threads and where they are located.  If anyone has a problem with anything that has been stated above, please send me a PM and I will get it worked out.  I'm fairly new to the whole online message board thing so I'm still learning the rules and etiquette.  Being that I posted these bench dogs to show them to people, I aslo included that I would sell them at cost to people to help them out.  Helping people and selling them at cost doesn't sound like I'm marketing anything or breaking the rules.  If I'm wrong, let me know.

-Dave
 
Very cool design, I like those. I'm not entirely understanding your post whether you have a few extra from the shop or just the raw material. If you have an extra set can you bring to Lebanon and I'll take them? If not, I'll get the info from you there and order a set.
Thanks, Markus
 
What I was getting at is that I got the machine shop gave me the material for free and just charged me an hour of labor to machine them regardless if it took less than an hour.  I don't have any extra.  We can talk about training class.
 
ForumMFG said:
How do they compare to Qwas? I can give you my input but Qwas will need to confirm all this or e-mail him to confirm it. 

These are made of Stainless Steel, Qwas are not.  Stainless steel is a lot harder which means if you drop them, they most likely will not get damaged. Stainless Steel will not tarnish.  They will just start to look old overtime as you use them.  They won't rust as well and I'm sure qwas made them in way so they won't rust or tarnish either.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Stainless Steel will take more abuse and won't tarnish. I haven't heard of this being an issue with my Qwas Dogs. I think Stainless Steel is a little overkill for what we are doing but if you are working with heavy timbers on the MFT then the Stainless Steel may be worth while.

ForumMFG said:
My dogs have a flat face on them which allows you to use them for clamping without damaging your work piece while qwas product are completely round.  If you apply to much force they will most likely put a dent or mark in your work piece.

My dogs are also round which will allow you to use them for aligning your guide rail and what-not.  Qwas offers the same thing.
Click to expand...

When we originally discussed bench dogs on here (MFT and Guide Rail Alignment ) we decide a flat face could be bad. If the dog fits snug in the hole then the flat face might not align correctly (turn the dog) and be a source for errors. Now I have never seen it happen but we decided to be safe and use round faces. Dave's Dogs have enough round area that it could be used either way.

Let me stress to please check your hole diameter before ordering. Most tables made in the last 3-4 years should be fine but tables older than that may have holes smaller than 20 mm. Considerably smaller. Calipers are not ideal for measuring inside diameters so take several readings until you fell like you are getting consistent readings.

I would say Dave's Dogs should work fine and last many life times.  :D  The price makes it a good deal.

I went with 6061 aluminum for my dogs so I could use cheaper machines. I didn't own a lathe when I started this venture and a good one will cost several thousands dollars. All my profits would be lost in one machine. The aluminum allowed me to use a mini-lathe costing about $1,000 after accessories. Not only is the aluminum easier for me to machine but also easier for the user to file, sand, etc.
 
Qwas,

I don't think the stainless steel is over kill when you look at the price.  I personally always buy things to last and stay looking nice.  That was my personal choice.  I'm not trying to sell these so it doesn't matter to me.  My dogs fit absolutely perfect.. There is no slop what so ever.  My holes were 20.06 dia. and my dogs are 20.00mm which is .06 slop. Or you can say no slop for how much it is.  You are right, the dia. of the head is so large that you don't have to worry about it when you turn them.

-Dave
 
Nice.  As another option, I bought a set from John (he's posted on here a few times and sells the domino spacers/bench dogs on Ebay).  The version I picked up are a bit taller with a flat side and a slot drilled through them which allows a fence (track from Woodhaven) to be easily connected.  He will also do custom work if anyone has special design requests.
 
Dave, you are right, for the price they are not overkill. I was looking at it from my perspective of deciding which metal to use for production dogs. I did make a pair of dogs out of cold rolled steel (and I sold a pair) for testing. While they are nice, it wasn't worth the extra troubles when compared to the aluminum.

My personal use, I like about .08 mm slop on the dogs. Your .06 mm would be great also.  :)
 
Steve,

Do you have a link or something that has more information about those Domino spacers?  I'm just curious about them.

Qwas,

Do you plate the aluminum at all?
 
How much thickness does it add to the aluminum?  Do you account for the plating when determining your diameter?
 
It is a very thin layer, about .001 inch. Yes, we take an extra thousandth off the dogs to accommodate this layer.
 
Dave, would you please bring one of your bench dogs to Lebanon?  Not for purchase, I'd just like to take a gander at it.

Thanks, Dan
 
Dan,

I already planned on it.  Rick Bush wants to see them as well.  He's with Festool and you will meet him as well.
 
Steve-CO said:
Nice.  As another option, I bought a set from John (he's posted on here a few times and sells the domino spacers/bench dogs on Ebay).  The version I picked up are a bit taller with a flat side and a slot drilled through them which allows a fence (track from Woodhaven) to be easily connected.  He will also do custom work if anyone has special design requests.
Click to expand...

Steve,

I bought the first set of dogs John auctioned on Ebay. Picked up some track from the company that sells tons of it on Ebay, can't remember the name.  They attach to the flat side of the rail with a simple t-bolt. I always get an exact 90 degrees when I set up Jerry Works "dead square corner' using 4 of the dogs and 2 rails. Very useful.

Jim
 
ForumMFG said:
These are made of Stainless Steel, Qwas are not.  Stainless steel is a lot harder which means if you drop them, they most likely will not get damaged.
Click to expand...

I kinda got the impression that bench dogs were often made of softer material so that they would limit damage to tools, for example when planing a piece of wood.

Veritas make their Round Bench Dogs and Bench Pups out of brass, and their website says "Brass dog is less damaging than steel to a sharp tool edge."

Forrest

 
I kind of look at these like clamps...you can never have too many or enough types ;-)  I use the non-clamping side of the Festool clamping elements, but I also own some of the Qwas Dogs and Rail Dogs, which work great in certain applications.  I see these  dogs as a kind of hybrid of the two.  A friend of mine works for a company that uses Powder Metallurgy to make car parts, and he was playing with a similar design...

A lot more expensive than using a lathe, but I guess if you are making thousands of parts it is cheaper.  
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Woodpecker Layout and assembly square
Replies
6
Views
783
Crazyraceguy
Crazyraceguy
Woodenfish
Bench Critters - New Tool Released
Replies
19
Views
2K
Woodenfish
Woodenfish
C
JessEM clear-cut stock guides misunderstood
Replies
12
Views
1K
SoonerFan
S
S
Since when did track saw rail clamps become the defacto MFT clamp?
2 3
Replies
45
Views
29K
squall_line
S
mcfal12
“Vac Sys” knockoff
Replies
3
Views
265
rst
R
Back
Top