Hardwood bench dog with small bullet catch mechanism
 

                                              Somehow the idea of hardwood bench dogs appeals to me more than metal ones, although I can
                                           use both interchangeably; above is a solid hardwood bench dog made from 3/4 inch dowel stock.
                                           If you also use round bench dogs in your bench, select dowel stock which is round and not slightly
                                           oblong or elliptical , this to ensure that the bench dog fits the bench holes well. In my case, I have
                                           selected birch dowel rod. The spring-loaded bullet catch is press fit into a 1/4 in. hole. The catch
                                           has a flange which is approx. 9/32 inch in diameter, the catch assembly is then pressed into the 
                                           hole making for a solid fit with no need for glue. It is important to ensure the wider flange is not proud
                                           of the dowel rod, but instead forms a flush fit. This prevents any rubbing of the flange against the
                                           bench hole. 

                                           You can either recess the bullet catch completely or file the edges of the bullet catch flange a little.
                                           The length of the bench dog is variable and dependant on the thickness of your bench. Bullet catch
                                           placement is approx. 3/4 in. below the notch. To ensure positive locking of thinner stock, a raked
                                           flat notch was band sawed and then tuned with a chisel to provide a small angled rake, again this
                                           can be variable to suit your needs and thickness of your boards. I was reasonably surprised as to 
                                           how well this works and I have since made a few of these. The 1/4 in. bullet catch is available from
                                           any fine woodworking hardware retailer, Lee Valley Tools in this case.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                             
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