Hello, I'm a long time reader here and a pretty infrequent poster.
I have been coming up with designs for a new workbench that has no vise or bench dogs. It will instead have T-Tracks routed into the top. The top will be 2 1/2" thick oak or maple.
I did some initial tests and when the T-Track is cross-grain, it is plenty strong, even at 1/4" thick. If the T-Track is routed with the grain, it looks like I need 3/8" at least so I'll probably make all the T-Tracks 1/2" deep for good measure.
Since with a T-Track, I can place a bench dog anywhere, I won't need a vise. I'll just have a T-Track on the benchtop edge where I can clamp things using 2 T-Bolts and some wood.
Everything looks ok but some of my friends are being naysayers. They think just because they never heard of anyone doing this, it must not be good.
I have it pretty well thought out. For example, to clamp thin pieces, I plan to make some wood fit into the T-track and protrude just a little bit. Then use the edge t-slot to clamp my piece to the workbench.
I think at 1/2" thick, the t-slots should hold up for a very long time.
I'm also going to build in a planing stop that slides into the t-track.
Can anyone see any problems with this workbench design? I think I thought everything out but I would rather see any problems now before I buy stuff.
Thanks!