Smart Connect Bench Dogs

[reible]

I don't know how many here follow Ron Paulk on his youtube channel and I don't know how many have embraced the 20mm holes on 96mm centers and if you liked the cantilevered turn that have occurred of late. If that does interest you then set a spell and check out this post.

TSO have produced a "Smart Connect Bench Dog". This was based on what Ron was hoping to use to cantilever some additions to his smart benches. TSO made a batch but they sold out right away so I missed out on that run. They contacted me when the next batch came in and I was able to get some to try out.

Rather then regurgitating here is the link to the TSO site with the low down on them.

https://tsoproducts.com/accessories/ben ... dogs-pair/

For those that follow my posts you know I have gotten on board with the MFT type tops and have a version that mounts on the end of my shopsmith and pretty much lives there. I have though about making a larger version but it hasn't happened yet. I also have a version the mounts on the shopsmith using the table rails. That works well but requires me to set up with the two fixed extension tables or main table/extension to mount it, which is more work to do.

What would be nice is a way to use the end table and add to it. Well these dogs would provide a method of doing that and add even more flexibility to my shopsmith work bench.

Here is a first look at this. The basic idea is to have my end MFT stay on then set an additional table on top and held in place by these dogs. It looks like this:

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The table first pictured has already had the holes prepared so I dug out one that has not so I can show how this works.

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As you can see the dog has a chamfered lip so in order to get it to fit flush you need to get the holes ready to except the dog. You want them to look like this when inserted

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You can do this by several means, for me since I have the one from Axminster I used that. It looks like this:

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You put it in the hole and turn and you get this:

cant7.jpg (185.12 KiB) Viewed 7977 times

The next part you need is a knob that pulls it all together. I have a collection of these M8 knobs so I didn't buy the matched set from TSO.

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What makes the work is the fact the dog is longer then the work top so it fits in a hole in the lower MFT surface. Here is a shot showing how much longer:

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You don't have to do all the holes for this if you wish, just do the hole that you plan to use. Here is a shot with two holes ready and the rest not, I will more then likely do them all but at some later date.

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I actually used this today for a place to do some sanding. I was sanding a Christmas Tree. It is going to work great.

Ed

[reible]

So you may not be able to picture me sanding a Christmas Tree so here is a picture so you know it happened. BTW this is after the initial sanding, you can tell by all the saw dust laying around.

sanding tree.jpg (230.93 KiB) Viewed 7971 times

Ed

[bainin]

oh i like that hole chamfer tool.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Ed, do you have any problem with those “dogs” wanting to turn in the hole as you tighten the clamp knob? Aside from some friction at the little chamfer flange, I can’t see what would prevent it.

[reible]

They are going through one top and into the next so they seem to fit tight enough not to turn. I have not tried them every where so it is possible that some "looser" holes might turn out to be a problem but even then I thing pushing down with a finger will be enough to prevent the turning??

Ed

[BuckeyeDennis]

Well, a Morse taper certainly has plenty of holding power. But those have a much steeper contact angle than the dog “lip” that mates with the hole chamfer (45 degrees, I presume). Aside from the lip, the dog is basically a just cylindrical nut, and I was curious as to how well it works without wrench flats or spanner holes.

[reible]

After a couple of days using my new set up I noticed that the dogs set just proud of the top. It isn't much but it can be felt and when sliding some material into it you can notice it. It would appear that either the design or physical product has a problem. Since TSO sells the UJK chamfer tool that the dogs would have been designed to work with the tool. Maybe my expectation of it being flat or recessed was incorrect????

I have contacted TSO and waiting on an answer. This is the second time I have found a problem with one of there new products, the first one they fixed but did offer me new parts when they fixed the issue. I had to buy the new one but that wasn't so bad, but I hope they do better on this.

Ed

[RFGuy]

Ed,

Thanks for this post because it is timely for me as I just got my crosscut fence today for my custom MFT that I built and I think these will work better for mounting it. Have to wait for these to come in stock again to order them. I found this CAD drawing of these and it looks like the lip at the top is 1.1mm in height including the chamfer. Do you think that maybe your dog holes in your MFT are a bit shallow for the chamfer you cut, causing these dogs to sit proud of the work surface? Or, could it be that the top part of the Smart Connect Bench Dogs are taller than this 1.1mm, i.e. they are taller than spec? Just curious on your thoughts on why they don't sit flush. The only good alternative to these that I have found are the Benchdogs Mini Guide Rail Dogs (https://benchdogs.co.uk/products/mini-g ... ita-triton) or the Fine Toolworks Dogs (https://www.ultimatetools.ca/products/qwas-dogs), but I think the Smart Connect Bench Dogs may be preferred for my application.

SmartConnectBenchDogs.jpg (18.49 KiB) Viewed 4557 times

[reible]

Yea not sure what is happening. The UJK chamfer tool creates the chamfer until the wider part of the tool hits the table top. I got this for use with other dogs that want or rather need that. Ron P used a router to do his chamfer so it is possible that they never tested these with the UKJ tool.

Not sure what your application will be but these the intention of these is to go though the top hole and into the hole of the material below and then have a knob pull the two parts together. They really need the two thickness to work right. Versions that are designed for being held into the top from below are shorter on the lower end.

The ones you are looking at attach to the rails and are not designed to be fixed, ie they move up and down with the rail. They typically use a stop collar to get the rail to table adjustment right. I personally don't love that design but maybe you will.

If you do with benchdogs stuff then make sure you use one of the discounts given by various youtubers, only 5% but better then nothing. I have an order in with them now, waiting for it to leave GB. Postage is a killer $17.70 on my order. Should have shopped around to see if I could have found the parts here in the US but hey maybe next time.

Ed

[sehast]

Just a heads up. If your are considering rail dogs this source is much less expensive.

https://precisiondogs.us/collections/fr ... -rail-dogs

I actually have two pair of them so I can fix one of my guide rails as a fence 90 degrees to my cutting rail. Since they don't have the typical 25mm base the second pair can also be used in conjunction with the ones holding the cutting rail to hold the work piece perpendicular for cuts. I find them to be much better than rail clips with standard dogs in holding the guide rail. They are long enough to hold two MFTs together, one on top of the other, but might require some kind of additional clamp depending on the application. They fit fairly tight but will not be totally solid.