Finally got around to figuring out something for this. My small workbench has a very short overhang on the ends, so I could not put in an end vise with a screw that was inline with the front dog holes. However, I still want to be able to use them for clamping workpieces along the front top of the bench. I wanted a solution that could pack the entire opening of the jaw (roughly 6-1/4") if necessary, that would also not tend to fall on the floor or need much fiddling with to adjust.
I ended up making a pair of special dogs, one of which has a thin dowel fixed in it at a right angle and one of which has a clearance hole in it. The one with the integral dowel goes in the moving vise jaw. They both have collars so they don't fall through the dog holes. The thin dowel supports U shaped shims. The thick shims (~1") I made myself, the thinner shims I had cut by SendCutSend as I am basically running out of time to do woodworking before I have to wait until 2023 -- and I was low on time and sheet stock. They are made of BB ply for the 1/2" ones and polycarbonate for the 1/4" and 1/8".
The 1" shims (spacers?) are scrap yellow pine and I had to put a cross-grain oak dowel through the top because the wishbone shape makes them prone to snapping if they fall on the floor.
I do not have an organization system down so they do kind of end up all over the bench, but it is very easy to adjust. I would say the main things I have learned are that I should have done different colors for the polycarbonate for the 1/4" and 1/8" shims so I could tell them apart more easily, it just cost more.
All in all it may not be the most elegant thing in the world but it does make the front row of dogs holes finally functional the way they were meant to be.
I ended up making a pair of special dogs, one of which has a thin dowel fixed in it at a right angle and one of which has a clearance hole in it. The one with the integral dowel goes in the moving vise jaw. They both have collars so they don't fall through the dog holes. The thin dowel supports U shaped shims. The thick shims (~1") I made myself, the thinner shims I had cut by SendCutSend as I am basically running out of time to do woodworking before I have to wait until 2023 -- and I was low on time and sheet stock. They are made of BB ply for the 1/2" ones and polycarbonate for the 1/4" and 1/8".
The 1" shims (spacers?) are scrap yellow pine and I had to put a cross-grain oak dowel through the top because the wishbone shape makes them prone to snapping if they fall on the floor.
I do not have an organization system down so they do kind of end up all over the bench, but it is very easy to adjust. I would say the main things I have learned are that I should have done different colors for the polycarbonate for the 1/4" and 1/8" shims so I could tell them apart more easily, it just cost more.
All in all it may not be the most elegant thing in the world but it does make the front row of dogs holes finally functional the way they were meant to be.
