[Beginner] Chamfering dog holes

[Orraloon]

Apart from a light rub round the rim with sandpaper I never chamfered the holes in my bench. The theory being that the dog or holdfast would be supported right up to the surface.
Regards
John

 

[rafezetter]

Just use a chisel, carefully riding the bevel. You'll learn about grain direction quickly.

If you want a clinical look use a roundover cutter in a small router.

Just make sure to grip the dog in a softjawed vice, they tend to wriggle.

 

[Jacob]

Hello all. This is my inaugural post on UKWorkshop!

I recently taken up woodwork, having moved from metalwork. I'm planning to drill a few 19mm dog holes in my newly built beech topped work bench for hold fasts amongst other things. The hold fast retailer recommended a little chamfer around the top of the hole greatly reduces the chance of breakout when I bang the holdfasts in.
...how can I achieve a consistent chamfer around the entire circumference?

Would this be a job for a router with special bit? Is there a manual tool to achieve the same result?

Just scrape around with a penknife if you feel you need to. Doesn't need to be precise or "consistent"

 

[Spectric]

Just use a chisel, carefully riding the bevel. You'll learn about grain direction quickly.

What in MDF !

 

[D_W]

What in MDF !

you can chisel and plane MDF, but I would ride a bevel and take light cuts.

Planing can be quite useful on a surface that swells before finish sanding and glue sizing or whatever will be done, but it'll require frequent sharpening.

that said, for dog holes, anything that's shaped like a cone with sandpaper around it would work well.

 

[G S Haydon]

What in MDF !

Read the OP's post. Beech top.
MDF would be easier to work, why the exclamation? Hardly shocking.

 

[Distinterior]

that said, for dog holes, anything that's shaped like a cone with sandpaper around it would work well.

....Not if you've got 288 holes to chamfer...!!! .....No matter whether its MDF or solid Beech..!!

 

[G S Haydon]

Hauling this back to the OP, it's just a "few holdfasts holes". Poor fellow, probably given up!

 

[Jacob]

I've only got one bench dog in my bench. Seems to be enough - 32mm square piece of beech to knock up when needed as a planing stop.
I've also got about 4no 3/4" holes through which I push up bolts with big wing nuts which work as various forms of hold-downs or stops, on their own or extended to form "beam clamps".
Who needs 288 holes? Seems like there's a bit of hole-mania going on. I bet the gadget salesmen are behind it!

 

[Distinterior]

....Who needs 288 holes? Seems like there's a bit of hole-mania going on. I bet the gadget salesmen are behind it!

I do,....And I use every one of them!
I love them gadget salesmen....

 

[Spectric]

@Distinterior thats what I call a well used top.

 

[Distinterior]

@Distinterior thats what I call a well used top.

I've certainly had my money's worth out of it.....I've still got the underside to use as yet,... that doesn't have a single cut in it.

 

[D_W]

I've certainly had my money's worth out of it.....I've still got the underside to use as yet,... that doesn't have a single cut in it.

It's refreshing to see benches and tools that are used.

You're right about that number of holes. I would've made a chamfering tool specifically for dog holes in that case.

Hopefully the nervous will look away - I drilled all of my bench dog holes with a spade bit and two visual references and I counterbored them from below with a wider one - which makes a messy underside, but I don't look at the underside. The dogs grab well now and their performance is predictable.

 

[mikej460]

I bought my mft tops from CNC Designs (who I totally recommend), they have 20mm holes and I bought an Axminster chamfer tool before I decided to use Quad Dogs from Benchdogs instead of UKJ Dogs, so I returned the chamfer tool but not before trying it out and it does indeed produce very neat chamfers with only a couple of turns. It was a lot easier to use than a router. I nearly kept it just because it was a quality tool.

 

[TRITON]

It's refreshing to see benches and tools that are used.

HEY ! Is that a slur ???

He's slagging us off....

 

[thikone]

I used countersink bit in cordless dril. This one that I have:

Famag 1775 Countersink, 1775.025, 25 mm.
https://www.famag.com/EN/Home/Products?pro=2676159b-2066-4c89-988c-3d9351e72310
It works way better than any cheap countersinks that I have. No chatter, no wavy chamfer in wood.

 

[Nelsun]

@Distinterior thats what I call a well used top.

Hold my I've been meaning to flip my two tops for way longer than I can remember.

This will be of little help to the OP (or anyone without holy MFTs) but Axminster sell not just the chamfering tool and a 20mm reamer... they've finally combined the two into a 20mm chamfering reamer. What a time to be alive

 

[Jacob]

Hold my I've been meaning to flip my two tops for way longer than I can remember.

They can flip my top when I'm dead

This will be of little help to the OP (or anyone without holy MFTs) but Axminster sell not just the chamfering tool and a 20mm reamer... they've finally combined the two into a 20mm chamfering reamer. What a time to be alive

Yep this is gadget world! Hang on to your wallets. I bet they dream of selling one per hole (288!)
They could sell more of everything if they could invent a need for different sized holes, or have they done that already?

 

[D_W]

HEY ! Is that a slur ???

He's slagging us off....

Well, it's certainly true that the hobby has a lot of people who focus on building the shop rather than putting a shop together to build other things. And, I have to be honest, I don't see anything wrong with that. I tried that end of the hobby first..."taking care of things", but found it difficult.

 

[Fergie 307]

I use the same carbide countersink that I use for metal. Much better quality than your typical woodworking one. More expensive too it has to be said, but in wood I suspect you would never need to buy another one.