Making bench dog holes

I hate using a handheld drill to make bench dog holes because I can never get them perfectly clean or square. So now I use my plunge router! Much better results and way easier than pushing on a drill.

https://youtu.be/fdyyuIJZu5o

Attachment 477486

When I glued up my bench years ago, I used rectangular holes for the bench dog holes. I dedicated one strip of wood in the lamination of the bench top, the width of the dog hole. Basically, I made the strip out of the material that wasn't the holes of the bench dogs. I just assembled the non-bench dog wood on the adjacent pieces of wood using glue. No drilling needed. New bench dogs were a simple matter to make. Being a pre-fab hole, it was easy to control the angles and dimensions. For the rare occasion that I needed a round bench dog, I made an insert with a round hole to accept the round bench dog.

I used a drill press, I’m not sure a router can drill a through hole in 100mm thick Jatoba. Rod

Thanks for the idea and video Jason.

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Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan

I used a drill press, I’m not sure a router can drill a through hole in 100mm thick Jatoba. Rod

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You used Jatoba for a bench top? That's some hard, dense stuff. I'd love to see some pictures of that, in a separate thread. (Aside: Used to be a guy here that used Purple Heart - it was gorgeous.)

Fred

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Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly

Thanks for the idea and video Jason.




You used Jatoba for a bench top? That's some hard, dense stuff. I'd love to see some pictures of that, in a separate thread. (Aside: Used to be a guy here that used Purple Heart - it was gorgeous.)

Fred

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Hi Fred, I'm away now however when I get home I'll take a photo of it....Rod.

Once you affix your template in place, drill some pilot holes before you start routing. They don't have to be straight or centered. They will allow some chips/debris to fall out of the hole and lessen the chip build up. Especially for those who don't use a vac on their router.
I also suggest a putting a sacrificial backing board on the bottom side to avoid blowout or splintering on exit.
Just a suggestion

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Edward Weber

Once you affix your template in place, drill some pilot holes before you start routing. They don't have to be straight or centered. They will allow some chips/debris to fall out of the hole and lessen the chip build up. Especially for those who don't use a vac on their router.
I also suggest a putting a sacrificial backing board on the bottom side to avoid blowout or splintering on exit.
Just a suggestion

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Sounds pretty much like what I did when I built my bench. Came out just fine.

It's just common sense for drilling/routing any through hole.
The router will give you nice clean side wall but isn't really necessary to hog out the center waste material.