dog hole spacing

2 to 3 inches on center is what I have seen recommended. But I would first try to figure out who/what soiled on your door ;)

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I made the mistake of laying out the dog holes on my workbench before I knew the distance I could cover with the vise. Make sure your dog spacing is less than the throw of your vise, or you will end up needing a spacer for part of your clamping needs. If your vise has a large opening (say 10-12”), you might want to consider about 1/2 the opening for dog locations

Hope the info helps, I know I’ll not make the same mistake on my next workbench.

gotmarko is exactly right. You will also want to take into consideration the location of your vise lead screw and any hardware attached to the top. I just finished what will probably be my last workbench. It has a twin screw vise that I am using as an end vise and hopefully that is the only vise I will be using. I also have a pair of hold fast that have a reach of 6 1/2 inches so that is the spacing I used for a few dog holes. In my opinion the fewer holes you have the better off you are. The spacings mostly depend on personal preference and what you use your bench for. Other than a few holes to get you started I say…..”Drill them as you need them.”

The Schwarz recommends 3in. He might know a thing or two about dog holes :)

Personally I think that is a bit too close. My vice has an 11in open capacity, so no issue there except racking. I plan to make mine in accordance with the reach of the Gramercy hold-downs. That will likely be in the 4-5in range.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama

What do you use to drill the dog holes? I was thinking of using fostner bit. However I want perfectly as possible tangent drill holes so a hand drill wouldn’t be great. I was thinking of a router but they run pretty fast for a fostner bit and I cant think of a simple jig for the spacing.

-- The wood slayer - Yes dear I did plan to make more kindling out of that wood I have been drying for the last year - honest!

I used a Woodcraft #03K53 Onsrud HSS Bit, 3/4” Cutting Dia., 3-1/4” Overall Length, 1-1/4” Cutting Length, 1/2” Shank at https://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=1396&ProductID=03K53. And made a guide/frame for my plunge router to make evenly spaced holes.
And here is a video to show how it is done.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

I used 8” roughly for my twinscrew. My bench has to do double duty as and assembly table and even a finishing table so I didnt want a swiss cheese top. After using it for a while I kind of wish I done 6” but Mr. Schwartz 3” sounds pretty extreme to me, even on a bench dedicated to hand tool use. Lee Valley has a 3/4” 6” bradpoint that powered right through mine.

-- Use the fence Luke

Thanks for comments. I did drill holes and they did turn out out to not be a problem.

i when old school 3/4 spiral bit in a low rpm drill. i found that if i took two 2×4 blocks and fasten them to make a 90, this would give me a good start to making a strait hole. After the screw from the bit was in and the bit started cutting it was a matter of holding on. the long spiral shaft seemed to keep it strait. Foster bits are real good for shallow holes with a drill press not a deep hole by hand. We need to give credit back to old school bits. It was faster, safer and did not the burn wood or bit.
p.s use backup board and a sharp bit….

-- Do it right the first time. Becuase fixing it is a wast of time.