Puppies as advertised in FWW

This day started as a sharpening project, I got together all my old chisels and whatever needed touching up. Then took a break for coffee and I came across this article in my latest copy of Fine Woodworking – it was exactly what I needed to put off the sharpening.
When I bought my work bench, the old cabinetmaker had two, so I bought a second one for a friend of mine, so decided I would make a set for him first (practice) and try them out.

Instructions were very easy to follow and the resulting dogs were great! I built two sets while cleaning a bit in the shop in an afternoon. My wife picked up the cork for me at Staples, it is very dense which is what works best here. Lots of leftovers, doesn’t use much.

One tip I would offer; enlarge the template from the magazine (I think I used 162%) to match the actual measurement he describes for the dogs, that way it’s an easy trace and cut without having to do any other scaling.

The second set (for myself) was a little less attractive, I was getting impatient, the glue set up a bit quicker than expected, the cork somehow was a bit shy on one face, etc.

I placed a piece of 4/4 rough cherry in between the dogs to try them out, tightened it just a bit, and it holds very solidly. Has room to hold a good thickness and works with any shape. If one was going to really reef on these things, it would be advisable to use a mechanical fastener instead of just glue – a dowel through the two pieces, maybe a Domino, etc.

This gives the tail vice on my old bench a whole lot more versatility and range, I am thankful that the article was available and I had the time and beech scraps to put them together.
They are finished only with a light coat of wax.

Hope you build some and can get some enjoyment out of them.

Fixed the photos… Thanks for looking!

-- Randy "You are judged as much by the questions you ask as the answers you give..."