Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
@woodburnbobgeorgianow,
I used the search function on WoodCentral. It seems a little restrictive and only turned up the phrase "bench dog" when used in posts about bench dogs.
Search: "bench dog" rockler
I used to be WoodburnBob in the old days of WoodCentral after Badger Pond closed shop, when the WoodCentral site was more, what, aesthetically pleasing to me. To wit: I'm still alive and ventured back to the forum for a single purpose and to try out an old habit. Took me awhile to get a new sign-in and name, but I managed to sign-in a new name.
My purpose today was to see what people were saying in the hand tool forum about the Rockler planes called "Bench Dog". I stumbled into the Rockler site unintentionally and happened to see these planes.
I would think comments on WoodCentral might be entertaining reading. I used the search function on WoodCentral. It seems a little restrictive and only turned up the phrase "bench dog" when used in posts about bench dogs. I didn't see a way to sort the search by date. I didn't want to read through all the posts since 2005 about using a bench dog and gave up. So it goes.
A sad day
James Watriss
I found out this morning (via Wilbur's blog) that Woodcraft has acquired Japan woodworker.
I've watched what I feel is an ongoing decline in what Woodcraft carries, and I'm really not convinced that they're equipped to take on JWW and keep the quality up. When I checked their site a few years ago, the VP for new product development wrote clearly that she wasn't a woodworker, used to run a bicycle shop.
I watched them allow General Finishes take over the entire finishing section, wiping out brands like Bartley's, that were solid, and had a good reputation.
I watched them run CMT out of the store at Freud's request. (Like Rockler did with Amana)
When Bench Dog went bankrupt in 2007, I watched them let the pitch go by, as they let Rockler pick up the brand. (It's no longer what it was)
I watched them drive Lie-Nielsen out, with their own line of Chinese tools.
I'm really worried that those yokels are going to see a catalog of $100 chisels and decide to ruin it.
This really bums me out. I get it, business owners retire. Still...
Re: Fine Shavings
James Watriss
>I can appreciate the argument. I don't think they were necessarily "duped," though. I think he was trying to say that they weren't, and that the master craftsmen of the day turned to the used tool market of their day to find what they wanted or needed, if it wasn't being sold anymore. Hence the overabundance of double iron planes that are still around. Wooden planes aren't like iron planes, they get used up and worn out with use. And the ones that got used the most aren't in evidence anymore... the only trace they left was in the work they helped to produce.
Larry does have a valid argument though. Tool makers are known for coming up with new gimmicks. Some gimmicks work, some don't. But in a saturated tool market, it takes a new gimmick to sell something new to a crowd of craftsmen who already think they have what they need. Whether it's a laser line on a circular saw, or a level in a cordless drill, or something more elaborate than those simple examples... today, circ saws and drills are a dime a dozen on the used tool market, so tool makers have to come up with new gimmicks and niche products to keep their manufacturing company afloat. It doesn't help anymore to manufacture lasting quality, if it means that those tools will be around for long enough to dent your new tool sales later on. In a world where wooden planes had been around for a while, maybe something new helped sell some more new planes. I wasn't there, I don't know personally, I can only extrapolate based on what I've seen myself in recent times.
I've seen for myself as the guy across the counter, that many people will buy what they're offered, and try to make do. The persistence of Groz planes, soft aluminum "precision" straight edges, and any number of other poorly thought out widgets are proof positive that people still buy bad tools. It's not always reflective of the level of craftsmanship, though. Marples used to be a premium tool, and while they're still good, they're not what they were, thanks to being bought out by Irwin, which is a subsidiary of Rubbermaid. They work, but they're not Lie-Nielsen. Still, they sell very well, and I've seen people do great things with them. The genius is not in the tool, it's in the hands using it.
I've seen people do miraculous work with some really, really bad tools. And I've seen (and unfortunately sold) a lot of really bad tools. And I've seen some really obnoxious, pushy sales pitches on the part of the tool manufacturers. For instance:
Freud is currently insisting that the stores that carry their product only display Freud, and remove CMT bits and blades from their stores. I understand they did a similar job on Amana bits over at Rockler. It's not that CMT or Amana make bad products. Quite the contrary, they make very good stuff. But Freud is more aggressive about their marketing, and bumping out the competition.
General finishes managed to push both Rockler and Woodcraft into allowing them to come in as a primary vendor for all things finishing, which pushed Bartley's into a corner, and they had a hard time, and recently got bought out.
Freud is a worthy product, despite their sales scheme. General Finishes, on the other hand, was not as good as the companies they pushed off of the shelves.
And that's something to keep in mind... the tool making companies didn't necessarily have to sell to the craftsmen. They had to sell to the companies who sold tools to craftsmen. And those middle men didn't/don't necessarily know as much about tools. If you look around their website, you'll find that Woodcraft's current team of new product managers include a woman who ran a bike shop, and is a confessed novice, a guy who restores motorcycles, and a career retail man. No real woodworkers to be found, and not much experience in actually using these tools... but they're the people who decide what tools and products to put on the shelves. And, in turn, that will affect what makes its way into the workshop. Craftsmen work with what they have available, and they don't always have time to hunt around when they need something.
A craftsman doesn't have to be duped at all... he just has to select from what's being offered by the tool monger. From rumors I've heard from friends of mine, if you watch Woodcraft, you'll soon see some of the well known premium brands get phased out, including Bench Dog, Tormek, CMT (thanks, Freud) and who knows what's next. I wasn't duped, and neither were any of you. But our tool suppliers were.
I can't say that this was why tool sellers 200 years ago decided to switch to cap irons on their planes. But a saturated market does weird things to manufacturing and supply companies, and cap irons may very well have been just what the doctor ordered to help bring a little more cash flow into the tool industry's pockets. Iron planes are another good example... I love my old Stanleys, don't get me wrong, but the popularity of wooden planes kept their production going in Europe (as I understand it, and I could be wrong) up until the 1960s. The superiority of iron bodied planes may not have been as obvious to other woodworkers, but it's clear that their sellability certainly appealed to the tool companies and their distributors.
Re: Workmate stops *LINK*
John Meikrantz
>Rockler sells a pack of plastic bench dogs. Much like the Workmate dogs, but a little lower profile. They work well in my bench. I also found the Workmate dogs were a little "oversized".
Plastic dogs.....
Bryan in Broad Ripple, IN
>Rockler carries plastic bench dogs that are esentially the same ones as the Workmate's. I think that thye are $5 for 4.
-Bryan
Re: Finished my workbench (mostly)
John Meikrantz
>I had no trouble mounting the twin screw vise. After reading several horror stories about the difficulty of installation, I was a bit nervous about it. But, I just followed the directions, didn't do anything to be "extra careful", and the vise installed without any trouble. Don't really see a big issue with the rear jaw sagging at full extension, but then again I haven't used it fully extended very much.
In the picture, there are no dog holes. As of last night, there is a row of round dog holes extending the length of the bench. Round, because it's too hard to make square holes after a bench is built, and I don't think squares would do too well in particleboard. I have some Veritas bench pups, as well as some Rockler made bench dogs that fit in a 3/4" hole. The Rockler dogs are a great deal for the money. They are like the "dogs" that come with a Workmutt.
As far as building stuff goes, having a bench has already made a huge difference in being able to use hand tools! A large, flat, stable surface with the ability to hold stuff down sure makes work a lot easier!
John
Re: Several suggestions
William Duffield
Instead of sanding them to thickness, I install four small FHWSs in the bottom of the insert, to rest on the tabs machined into the saw table, and adjust them until the top of the insert is flush with the top of the saw.
Woodcraft (and I assume also Highland Woodworking, Rockler, etc.) carry zero clearance insert blanks to fit most common table saws. If you make your own from plywood, the blade, even fully retracted might contact the bottom of the insert when you go to cut the kerf, which makes the saw very difficult to start. 
If so, an additional step in the process of making several blanks is to install your dado set and cut a relief slot part way through the inserts. Manufactured zero clearance insert blanks already have the relief cut.
Once you have fitted one insert, use it with double sided tape and a router pattern bit to make several exactly the same size.
If you make or buy insert blanks made from phenolic, use a blade ready to go to the sharpening service to cut the kerf. The phenolic is very abrasive on saw blades, even carbide tipped.
When you cut the kerfs, make sure you clearly label the insert with the angle of the kerf. If you mismatch the insert and blade angle, you have to start over, because on most saws the blade angle makes a big difference to where the blade exits the top of the insert. If you have a SawStop, this is much less of a problem, because the geometry of the trunnions is such that the axis of rotation is just at the surface of the saw table. Their standard insert provides a very narrow kerf (at least the top of the kerf) for all blade angles. However, it is not narrow enough for ripping 3/16" mouldings.
I would rip all the moulding pieces between the blade and the fence instead of trying to deal with the small but annoying differences in width that I would get if I tried to adjust the fence for each cut and rip the moulding off the outside of the stock. I use a sacrificial push shoe, as I described in this post:
Make sure a nearly complete project, or your bench dog, is not sitting down range while you are ripping these, because if you are reusing a push shoe that you had used for a different fence setting, an essential part of it could disappear with your first cut of this moulding, and the moulding ejected. Since the push shoe continues to hold it against the table, at least it will not be violently kicked up and back, but I've had them ejected fast enough to go a few feet, where they could have put a ding in a finished project surface, or seriously hurt a dog if it hit it in the face.
If you are using a router table to shape the moulding, it will save you some time to route both edges in one trip to the router table, and then cut off two strips at the table saw.
Re: New Router Cabinet
Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana
Nice job! I built a somewhat similar table a few years ago, based on an article Ellis published in, as I recall American Woodworker. I did install 2 aluminum miter slots on the table (one toward the back and one in front). The only use I have made of them is to attach fingerboards to press against workpieces when running long material. I lucked out and ran into a excellent brand new Bench Dog fence at an Estate auction - paid around $20! I have a Porter Cable 7539 router with the router raiser on the table with a Rockler plate. I did hinge my top so it is easier to change bits.
Re: Router table lift experiences
John in NM
I can't help with lifts for any of those routers, but a lift in general is a huge help. I used to just use my old Makita plunge router screwed to a piece of plywood as a temporary top in my great workbench project that has stalled for a decade.
It worked great as a "need it right now" sort of set up. Once I was using the router for semi-production work, it became such a pain that shelling out for a top end lift and 3 hp motor to go with it was no big deal. There is no comparison for ease of use in my opinion, just in $$$ -- the question becomes which is worth more to you, a few extra $$$ or a little aggravation using a kind of mickey mouse set up. For me that had an easy answer at one point, it may not for everyone.
Now the only trouble is that I wish I'd bought the lift when it first came out in the late 1990's -- its the heavy Bench Dog one, and back then it was a better product. Still plenty fine, but Rockler has made some compromises to keep the price down where it was when it was first introduced. Still, I couldn't afford it then, so there's no point in wishing I'd bought it 
One reason I went with that one is that it accepts that big PC router motor. Nothing more complicated than inserting the motor in the ring and tightening. I figure PC will make that motor for a while yet, and it will be available second hand for a while longer - that is a very common router.
I also like the simple height mechanism. Just a lead screw with a tensioner so there's no backlash. The other mechanisms might work fine too, probably they do, but I like simple and this struck me as the most simple. But I'm not really trying to sell you on that set up specifically, as I don't think it works with those routers - just getting the conversation rolling
Re: Connection between Rockler and Bench Dog?
Jerry Samsen
Yep, I was just at Rockler. They confirmed that Rockler bought Bench Dog. Gives them a channel into the big box stores.
Re: Connection between Rockler and Bench Dog?
Jon Weisenbach
Yup, I am pretty sure your richt about them buying Bench Dog. I bought a set of their casters from from their web site and and had a question and called BD's customer service and the call rolled over to Rockler's cs
Re: Connection between Rockler and Bench Dog?
Dick Coers
Pretty sure Rockler bought them. For some reason you don't see Bench Dog at Woodcraft any longer!
Connection between Rockler and Bench Dog?
Jerry Samsen
In an Amazon spam email today I noticed that Amazon is carrying Bench Dog Bench Cookies -- just like Rockler's except orange. It is the same thing so I was wondering if Bench Dog and Rocker were connected some how or if the manufacturer of these just did independent deals with Bench Dog and Rockler.