routing dog holes

[madge]

hi all, I need to drill dog holes in a new workbench but don't have a drill stand - what do you think about using a router? what kind of bit would I need?

 

[JMcK]

I'll probably get shot down for this, but I looked at this problem myself several times (a woodworking hobbyist) in the end I used a hand-held drill with a 20mm wood drill. I made it as upright as I possibly could by eye and a square and then drilled the holes.

I felt, and so far have been happy with the result, that, provided the holes were as near as possible to vertical then any dogs used would be able to do their job. Obviously, I'm not talking about large erors

I also use Richard T' holdfasts without any problem. The fact that holdfasts work by exerting a sideways pressure on the hole means that any tiny error has no effect.

As I said, I will probably get shot down for the above.

 

[kevin dwyer]

want to borrow a brace ?

 

[thick_mike]

I'll probably get shot down for this, but I looked at this problem myself several times (a woodworking hobbyist) in the end I used a hand-held drill with a 20mm wood drill. I made it as upright as I possibly could by eye and a square and then drilled the holes.

I felt, and so far have been happy with the result, that, provided the holes were as near as possible to vertical then any dogs used would be able to do their job. Obviously, I'm not talking about large erors

I also use Richard T' holdfasts without any problem. The fact that holdfasts work by exerting a sideways pressure on the hole means that any tiny error has no effect.

As I said, I will probably get shot down for the above.

I also use Richard's holdfasts with "sub-optimal" holes I drilled using a hand brace and spur bit. I quite like the way I can tighten and loosen the grip by rotating them in wonky holes.

 

[deserter]

Also drilled all my holes with a cordless and spade bit, works a dream, just take it steady.
I also turned my beach dogs on the lathe and they are also perfect, and my hold downs hold tight.

 

[WoodMangler]

Also drilled all my holes with a cordless and spade bit, works a dream, just take it steady.

Me too - I just have a couple of set-squares on the bench at 90 degrees to each other. I line one up by eye , the missus watches the other one and tells me when i go off vertical (or you could use a mirror).

 

[Andy RV]

When I built my bench I did the dog holes with the router and a 19mm straight cutter, nice clean and square holes and easy to layout by making a base with an adjustable fence (small sheet of mdf with 2x2 as a fence).

However! My router bit wasn't long enough to cut though the 75mm top so I finished the holes with a forstner bit, this created a step/ shoulder that stopped the dogs from dropping all the way in.

So if you do go the router route make sure the bit is long enough to create the hole in one opperation, another option could be to use an undersized cutter to produce a pilot to guide your finish size drill.

 

[hrk]

i have been looking recently to do exactly the same thing (trying to copy the MFT top) and best method seems to be a 19mm spiral upcut bit for the router however I havent seen a cheap one yet!

Once I cut the holes i'm gonna get a set of rail dogs from qwas in America (http://www.qwasproducts.com/RailDogs.html)

 

[Paul Chapman]

Have a look at Matthew's blog. He used a drilling rig which seemed very effective http://workshopheaven.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... art-1.html

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[marcros]

you should be able to pick up something similar to that rig for peanuts on ebay. Cheaper than a spiral router bit.

 

[hrk]

you should be able to pick up something similar to that rig for peanuts on ebay. Cheaper than a spiral router bit.

Hi, yes you are correct, spiral cutter was around £60-70 whereas I have found a drill press for about 13!
e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Drill-Sta...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item3f130601fa

 

[madge]

Thank you all for the replies and especially Kevin for the offer of borrowing a brace! I reckon I'm going to have a go with a router and 19mm straight bit as then I've got all the gear I need already and then try a brace if it doesn't work out. cheers guys!

 

[matthewwh]

Putting the Forstner bit in a router works well.

 

[paulm]

Putting the Forstner bit in a router works well.

That's interesting Matthew, wouldn't have thought of that !

Cheers, Paul

 

[Ollie78]

I was thinking about this issue a while ago.
I have seen the ideal thing but have never found one for sale. I saw it on a random youtube video.
It as a Triton cordless drill with a built in spring loaded plunge fitting on it, just like a very small plunge router base. It appears that you can retract this when not in use. It seemed to me to be a great idea.
If anyone knows anything about this drill Please let me know, it is not shown on the Triton website.

Another alternative is a separate drill guide I have seen with multi angle positioning and a built in chuck , not too pricey.
I think I will use one of those.

Ollie