Still Learning

A while back, I drilled an array of holes in my bench’s top to accommodate some Kreg bench dogs and various clamps. I thought that I should make more use of the holes, so I made myself these large wooden bench dogs.

As they rotate in their holes, I can use them to stop a mandolin’s body (for example) from moving around whilst I’m working on it. You can see what I mean in the photos of the new Standard mandolin below. 

As instruments are relatively fragile and an irregular shape, holding them firmly can be an issue. When I do tasks, such as cleaning up the binding, I use one hand to hold the mandolin firmly against the dogs and the other to hold a plane.

I recently bought this Rider apron plane and it fits perfectly in one hand. So, the new plane and bench dogs make life so much easier. And yet again I ask myself, “Why didn’t I think of that before!”

Something else that you’ll notice in some photos, is that I’ve started using cardboard between the bench and my work piece. In the past I’ve used various mats, but the card seems to work great at protecting the wood from being scuffed or damaged by the bench and unlike mats, it doesn’t harbour dust or chippings.