A clamp trick with bench dog holes

 So there you are.  You have a worktable or bench that has plenty of 3/4 inch holes for bench dogs. Bench dogs are great.  They keep things blocked in and provide support or resistance when you need to push on a tool or piece of material.

Bench dogs are a great support.

Bench dog holes are usually about 3/4th inch diameter and usually form a complete grid on a worktable or section of a table.  This makes using bench dogs able to support a wide variety of shapes and sizes of materials while you work on them.

A bench dog hole is usually 3/4" and goes all the way through.


But sometimes you need more than a brace or support for your material.  Sometimes you need a clamp.  Now, you can buy horizontal clamps that fit into bench dog holes.  If you got the money anyway because these are not the least expensive things you'll find.

But, you still want a clamp that can be used inside the space of the table and not just at the edges.  I have a trick that works great and is much less expensive.

It just so happens that most decent ratchet bar clamps have a bar that is about 3/4 of an inch.  Wild right!  Those bars fit snugly into and through the bench dog holes and can be used to clamp materials anywhere within the area of the table.

The trick is, you should use ratchet clamps that do double duty as spreaders. That way, one end can be removed.

The combo clamp and spreader is handier than you might think.

To switch to spread, the end comes off.  PERFECT!



Slip the open end through a hole in the table and re-attach the end piece again.  That's it.  Instant bench dog table clamp.

The bar slides all the way through to re-attach to the clamp end.



It's a great addition to your work table or bench's capabilities.  You can clamp things down on the interior of the table.  Deal with odd sizes or angles in a way that clamping from the edge won't let you do.  Even use it in conjunction with regular bench dogs.

Odd angles to cut are no longer a problem.

Using both the clamp and bench dog works terrifically


Make sure to get at least a pair of clamps/spreaders so that you can have greater flexibility and options.  This six inch set came from Amazon for like $20.00.  They are rated pretty high and I've always gotten good service from this brand of clamps.

I hope this was a handy trick you can use.  And remember, like Red Green always said, "If you can't be handsome, you should at least be handy."


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