Illustrated here are several uses of the system of holes, Pups, Anchors, and stops described in the previous post. The simplicity of the layout engenders versatility. If it was tailored too narrowly to specific tasks, much of the creative range of the system would be sacrificed. As it is, introducing a piece of scrap wood here and there can effect solutions to the continually evolving work-holding demands of new woodworking projects.

On the left side of the bench, a nice piece of scrap wood acts as a planing stop. It is secured to the bench with countersunk 1/2-13 flat head blots that go into the removable Anchors positioned in holes in the bench top. I prefer the recessed bolts because I am uneasy with protruding metal in the vicinity of a moving hand plane.

Note that the “nice scrap” has an extra pair of holes that allow it to be used in a pair of holes parallel to the length of the bench with Anchors in them. The two pairs of holes in the nice scrap serve as permanent templates for producing other Anchor accessory pieces as needed. This kind of stop is also useful for work with the Domino joiner.

The photo below shows a board blocked on three sides using the stops on the left side of the bench, Pups in the vise chop, and a piece of scrap bolted into Anchors. Note that the pair of holes in the scrap are offset to one side, giving two effective projection widths from the Anchor points. Think of these scraps as extended dogs.

The photo below shows a drawer held in position with creative use of Pups, Anchors, and scrap wood. In this arrangement the top edges of the front and two sides can be planed without the work budging.

On the right side of the bench in the photo below, the regular bench dog and tail vise system is used in conjunction with two Pups in their holes (prairie dogs?) that prevent lateral shifting of the work. This is an alternative to the setup on the left side of the bench and it can also accommodate options with Anchors. This three-sided blocking of the work piece is handy, for example, when scrub planing diagonally across the board, which might be necessary for this piece since it is too wide for my  machine jointer. These systems are also especially handy for planing door frames which inevitably involves frequent changes in direction of attack with the plane.

The main point is that there are surely undiscovered variations and creative adaptations of this system that will evolve as the work demands. With a minimum of hardware and alteration to the workbench, its foundation is simple and easy - the way I like it.

Holding short, wide boards or intermediate assemblies such as drawers and cabinet doors can be awkward on traditional-style workbenches. Attempting to solve these problems, I have been gradually altering my bench to incorporate two helpful products made by Veritas: Bench Pups and Bench Anchors. This involves drilling 3/4″ holes in the bench top with considerable forethought. As with any redesign of a basic tool, true success can be declared only after a long time of use encountering a wide variety of jobs. So, I have tried to research and anticipate well and, so far, so good.

A Bench Pup is a 2 3/8″ long, round, brass bench dog that fits in a 3/4″ hole. A Bench Anchor is essentially a portable 1/2-13 threaded insert that is secured in a 3/4″ hole by means of an expansion system. While the function of the Pup is simple and obvious, the Anchors allow an unlimited variety of stops, boards, and accessories to be secured to bench surfaces. I also added two shop-made dogs on the side of my bench.

Let’s start at the left side of the bench. I wanted a planing stop but not the typical wide slide-up stop at the left end of the bench. The problem for me with that design is that the front vise gets in the way of my left hip when planing. Furthermore, the vise handle is at just the right height to bump into parts that I’d rather not have bumped. This causes me to crane over the work piece, creating lower back stress. So, the first two holes were placed in the bench top near the right end of the front vise. There the Anchors can be placed and a ½” board with countersunk holes can be secured into them with flat head bolts.

The next step is to permit those two holes to do double duty working with the front vise. Two more holes are placed in the bench top, each equidistant from the vise face with one of the first two holes. Then two more holes are placed in the vise chop, equidistant from the face and each in line with one of the pairs in the bench top.

I wanted the holes in the bench top to go fully through to allow access to the Pups and especially the Anchors from underneath. Now, it would have been nifty to arrange the four holes in the top at the corners of a perfect square which would allow one hole spacing to be used in auxiliary boards, but the constraints of my bench and vise hardware did not allow this.

Two shop-made slide-up dogs were added to the left end of the bench. These are secured with 1/4-20 finger bolts that enter threaded inserts planted in the side of the bench.

Now to the right side of the bench. Two holes were placed parallel to the row of square bench dog holes, one slightly to the right of the closing point of the tail vise, and the other about 7″ to the left of the first.

With these alterations to the workbench, I tried to make each hole contribute as much versatility as possible. The next post will show a few of the possibilities for holding work with this system.

The reason I titled this “More workbench upgrades” is to reference an article that I wrote for Popular Woodworking magazine, November 2007 (#165), pages 57-61, “Upgrade Your Workbench,” which readers may find helpful for more ideas on the most important tool in the shop. Back issues are available on the PW site and a short video relating to the article is also on the site.

The little hole drilled into the face of the Bench Pup allows one to lever it up with a small screwdriver or hex key. Thanks to Alejandro Balbis! - who contributed this tip to the December 2009 Popular Woodworking.

What if there was a way to adjust your work setups in controlled increments of a few thousandths of a inch? And what if this technology would cost next to nothing? Consider the underappreciated shim.

There has been a proliferation of adjusting gadgetry in the woodworking market over the past decade or so. Rip fences, miter gauges, router lifts, thickness planers, and so forth, can be souped up with micrometer adjusters and digital readouts that seem to promise precision in the end product. These devices might add convenience and accuracy to woodworking but only if they are used thoughtfully. The craftsman must be cognizant of the different levels of accuracy required for various tasks and, just as important, of the consequences of inaccuracy on each side of a target. If used mindlessly, these gadgets can easily make a woodworker lose sight of the logic of the construction process.

I usually prefer simpler, more intuitive methods that often involve using shims. For example, if a groove cut on the router table needs to be bit wider, a strip of tape applied to the edge of the workpiece or the fence will widen the groove on a second pass by .004″. When I made the fence for the router table, despite doing “everything right,” it required a piece of .002″ plastic shim at each end to make it straight against the Starrett, and some blue tape on the bottom to make it square to the table. It’s just as good as if it came out perfect on the first try.

This is not cheating! This is “microadjusting”.

Shims can also be used to “measure” intentional gaps, such as in fitting a door or drawer. Wood shims are non-marring and can be made to whatever thicknesses you want, which allows you to make and confirm these small measurements according to your artful eye’s desire.

So maybe you made the hinge mortise a bit too deep; you know what to do. Sure, we try to be accurate but we work in the real world and it helps to have a Plan B.

I keep on hand in the shop all sorts of shims, including brass sheets, a book of plastic shim stock, a leaf gauge set, blue tape, paper, and, of course, slices of wood. When, by chance, some good candidates for shims come off the table saw or bandsaw, I toss them in my box o’ blocks. Sometimes I take out dial calipers and measure and mark them.

Remember: it’s OK, it’s microadjusting.

The fence for the router tableuses a removable face with a T groove in its back. Four T bolts penetrate the vertical piece of the base fence, and the heads slide in the groove. The face is secured using knob nuts on the bolts.

The base fence is constructed from two pieces of 4″ x 28″ MDF, glued and reinforced with 90 degree MDF braces set in with epoxy glue. At the center is a cutout, about 1″ high x 1 ½” wide x 1 3/8″ deep, in the horizontal and vertical components to allow dust to escape. Surrounding the cutout, on the back side of the fence, are two MDF 90 degree triangles with a 1/4″ plywood cover. The cover has a large hole, around which is attached a plastic face plate with a dust port. Attached to this is an adapter to fit a 4″ dust collection hose.

The removable fence has a smaller trapeziodal cutout, 1 1/8″ at its base and 7/8″ high. This accommodates most of the bits I use. Among the advantages of the removable fence face is the option to create additional facings with larger or zero-clearance cutouts. Another option is a split fence facing where the halves can be separated to make room for taller/wider bits. The outfeed half can be also be shimmed for edge jointing. Rockler carries all the fittings required to construct this fence.

When building this fence I tried hard to make it flat and square, knowing, however, that I could later tune it to tolerances of at least .002″, with a “highly sophisticated” microadjustment device: shims. The squareness of the fence can be tuned by placing tape shims under the base fence. The straightness can be tuned by placing plastic or brass shims between the facing and the base fence.

The fence is held to the table with an F clamp at each end. I don’t miss having a fancy microadjuster on the fence. I learned woodworking using hand tools and this has fostered habits of working as directly as possible, using consistency, not dead-on absolute measurements, to make parts fit. I prefer to bring the part to which I am fitting right up to the bit and fence and set them from that. Often this involves using test pieces and incrementally approaching a good fit.

In some cases, if the trial is off a bit and I want to correct it by a measured amount, I might measure the trial cut with a dial calipers, and make the fence adjustment with a leaf gauge and a block. Tiny changes can be made by pivoting the fence at one end and measuring at the other, resulting in a movement at the bit location of half the measured amount.

The important thing is not to mistake this low-tech shimming and matching for sloppiness. This is an intuitive, simple, but highly accurate way to work. Furthermore, you can feel the level of accuracy to which you are working, in much the same way as sawing to a line when cutting joints by hand.

Yup, simple, and it works. Complicated can be so boring.

No drop in plate, no router lift, no storage cabinets, no micrometer fence adjuster. So what does this router table have going for it? It’s simple and it works. You cannot buy this one from a catalog. Really, I have nothing against all those gizmos, and maybe they’re right for you, but I don’t think using them will produce better woodwork from my shop.

Overall dimensions are 28″ wide x 20″ deep x 33″ high. The frame is constructed from straight, dry 2x4s joined with half-laps, glue, and 3″ screws. Steel “L” brackets hold the two casters just a bit above the floor when table is planted, so the wheels can engage when the table is slightly lifted from the opposite side to move it about. One leg has a leveler. An electrical switch is located at the upper left of the frame. Most of my bits are stored in the box which I slide out of its cradle before using the router table.

Looking from underneath, you can see two cross supports half-lapped in place to form additional support for the top. After constructing the frame, I used a hand plane, straightedge, winding sticks, and a fair dose of patience to ensure the top edges of the frame composed an accurately flat plane upon which to attach the top.

The top is 3/4″ MDF, toughened with a few coats of oil-varnish mix, screwed to the base. An extra Bosch 1617EVS base always stays screwed underneath. In this decade I haven’t found use for a bit too big for the 1 5/8″ hole which is centered in the top. (Maybe I’m just boring.) The top is ridiculously flat and never sags. (Which keeps me happy.) There is a small hole near the bit opening for a rarely used starter pin.

Yes, I must squat to put the router motor in the base – it’s ok. While down there, it is easy get a good angle of view to set the bit height with a rule, a reference block, or most likely, a previously made part of a project. The Bosch base has a simple micro-adjuster with 1/256″ (about .004″) gradations allowing precise readjustments after running/measuring a test piece. The same Bosch motor is used in a second base for hand held work.

So far we’ve got an inexpensive, extremely stable, accurate table. I credit router expert Pat Warner for this general philosophy of the router table, with modifications. My fence, however, is much simpler than his and will be discussed in an upcoming post.

Shooting has no equal for producing an accurately square (or angled) end on a board while incrementally removing minute thicknesses of wood to make a component fit just right. This shooting board has seen many years of use because it meets my preference for jigs to be simple and adjustable for tolerance.

It is easily constructed using a 9″ x 26″ x 3/4″ piece of MDF for the base. Plane the working side of a dressed quartersawn mahogany board, 6″ x 3/4″, straight and square. Attach it to the MDF with screws, leaving a 3″ track on which the side of the plane will ride.

The track is covered with adhesive-backed 1/32″ thick UHMW slick plastic which makes the plane ride like a sled on ice. Screw a short grain fence, about 7/8″ thick, a few inches in from the end. To attach the fence, use oversize clearance holes and adjust the squareness until you’re satisfied.

Break in the new jig by taking a few shavings off the side of the mahogany to create a miniscule rabbet. The outermost part of the plane’s sole will ride on the uncut straight edge while the tiny blade projection will nest in the rabbet.

In use, don’t worry if the woodworking gremlins confound your attempts to produce a square end on a board even though the fence is “perfectly” set. Just use a piece of tape or a shaving judiciously placed on the face of the fence to produce the squareness you seek. The same goes for squareness across the end of the board – use shims logically placed on the shooting board surface to get the desired result. This is microadjustability under your control!

A thicker fence can be attached for thicker workpieces or to stack workpieces to distribute blade wear. I seem never to use miters in my work but a fence could be attached at any angle. The scale of this shooting board is more for drawer making but I have used it to shoot carcase boards by using an adjustable support alongside the workbench. Remember, the shooting board also works great for long grain edges on small pieces.

A low angle, bevel up plane is ideal for shooting. I like the compact mass of the Lie-Nielsen “iron miter plane”. Don’t even think about shooting without a very sharp blade.

It is almost impossible to do good woodworking if the work piece is not properly held. Securing partly assembled work poses more challenges; drawers are a good example. After the drawer is glued up but before the bottom is installed, the joints must be cleaned up and the assembly incrementally fitted to its opening in the case.

Some drawers can be maneuvered into some workbench front vises, perhaps gaining additional support with a board. However, I find it is awkward to get the drawer in and out of the vise. Furthermore, to grip the back piece in the vise, as when planing the sides toward the rear of the drawer, a shim is required since the back is shorter than the front

I use the drawer board pictured here, hardly original, made in a few minutes. The notches allow the drawer to slip in and rest on its front, back, or side with nearly 100% support of the surface being planed. The leading face of the drawer butts against the stop while the front edge of the bench provides lateral control. The work is repositioned quickly and easily, an important feature for me. A drawer board without notches would catch the drawer on a trailing surface which doesn’t give me a good feel for planing, and the front and back are not afforded the same length of support as the sides.

If I had a bigger piece of MDF handy, I might have made the board wide enough to be clamped at the back of the bench, but the metal bench dogs adequately hold this version. In this situation, I wish I had a Bob Lang style bench with a space in the middle of the top.

By the way, planing a drawer to fit the case rates, for me, as one of the fine quality experiences in woodworking. A simple jig like this makes the work even more of a pleasure.

I like Einstein’s saying, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Marking out dovetails goes much easier with these handy helpers. Held in place hooked over the end of the board, they allow penciling a squared line across the end grain and the tail slope line down the side grain with one setting. By contrast, it is tedious and less accurate to mark the tail slopes by setting a sliding bevel and aligning it with lines that you’ve squared across the end grain with a square. If you do pins first, a similar dilemma arises.

There are commercially available versions of these markers. Lie-Nielsen sells an excellent one with 6:1 and 7:1 slopes on opposite sides of a single tool. This may lead to errors. Lee Valley sells separate aluminum gauges with 8:1, 6:1, and 14 degree slopes. The problem with the Lee Valley gauges, in my opinion, is the relief machined in the inside corner of the tool which is supposed to allow clearance for saw whiskers on the corner of the board. This feature causes an annoying discontinuity in the penciled line, right where you need a clean line to start the saw cut. Furthermore, it is unnecessary since boards that are being prepared for dovetail joinery have ends that are sawed or shot clean and square.

I made these markers from riftsawn bubinga. Outside dimensions are 1 ½” tall, 1 3/8″ deep, and 1 1/4″ wide. The rabbet inside extends 1″ from the inside corner in each direction allowing use on boards up to 1″ thick. These dimensions are really larger than necessary but I was thinking that I wanted to make them only once and cover every conceivable use.

Here is a suggested construction method. This will yield markers with a 3/4″ capacity. Please use your judgement as to what you feel is safe for you. On the side edge of a dry, stable, dressed board without internal stresses, at least 18″ long, about 1 1/8″ thick, and at least several inches wide, make a 3/4″ x 3/4″ rabbet on the router table with a 1″ straight bit, proceeding incrementally since the rabbet is too large to make in one pass. At the table saw, rip away a 1 1/4″ strip containing the rabbet.

Now use the miter gauge to create the angled edges by holding the long length of the piece against the miter fence and crosscutting away a short length, about 1 1/2″, which will become the dovetail marker. (Please do not risk your fingers by holding a short piece against the miter fence and crosscutting it. Work by cutting short pieces off a long piece.) The angles could be created with one miter gauge setting, say 8.1 degrees for a 1:7 slope, by rotating the workpiece after each miter cut. Alternatively, the miter gauge could be reset after each cut to the same angle on the opposite side of 90 degrees. Test the accuracy of your creation with a square and sliding bevel.

Simple, works beautifully. (Yes, that is getting to be a theme here.)

The workbench gets my vote for the most important tool in the shop. Beyond its obvious function of holding the workpiece, it establishes a reference surface to work against and really forms the basis of a woodworker’s approach to hand tool woodworking. For this reason, a craftsmen personalizes his bench even after taking great care in selecting its style and features. This refinement is bound to continue as a worker’s repertoire evolves.

The beautiful board of curly red oak, above, is held both in the front vise and, with a supplementary device, at its right end. This system works for me far better than the traditional “deadman” supports because the right side of the board is not only supported from below but also secured laterally. This is done with a vertical support piece, held in the tail vise, inlaid with T-track which holds a sliding toggle clamp. I’ve detailed this workbench upgrade and many others in an article in the November 2007 issue of Popular Woodworking magazine. (Back issues are available in sets on CD or as individual downloads.) Each of the workbench add-ons in the article has stood the tests of time and practicality in my shop. Click here to view a short video demonstration of a few of the upgrades. I hope other woodworkers will benefit from them.

There are lots of ways to do this, written on seemingly everywhere. Here’s mine.

The jig is constructed from ½” MDF slabs with UHMW plastic runners snugly fitted in the miter slots and screwed from the top face. The left side carries the workpiece while the stationary right side prevents the cutoff from dropping. The fence is made from stable quartersawn mahogany with a handplaned straight working edge. It is secured with four flathead bolts inserted from the bottom, hand tightened with knob nuts. This allows the fence to be squared leisurely, after the initial cut of the MDF on its right side. I can get it very precisely square because it allows for retesting and readjusting. The three finger holes assist in retracting and carrying the jig.

Simple, easy, and works beautifully. That’s the way I like woodworking jigs to be.