"Mike in Mystic" wrote in message
om...

The reason you need accurate dog hole spacing is that there are a lot of
bench jigs that use two of the dog holes to hold the jig in place (I'm
thinking mainly of bench stops). So, if you have a stop that has 3/4"
dowel
pegs on 12" centers and your dog holes are 11 7/8" or 12 1/8" apart,
instead
of 12" then you're screwed. It might seem that you could just build the
jig
to your particular bench, but if you use a full grid of dog holes then you
will likely only be able to use the jig on the two specific holes you used
to set up the jig - that's pretty limiting.

That is a good reason why, which is what I asked. I haven't needed such
jigs, but I can see where they could be useful. BTW, you may underestimate
my accuracy with a tape measure.


Aside from the practical reasons I've mentioned here, why not be accurate?
It isn't that hard at all, and I think Silvan came up with a reasonably
good
way to get it pretty good. Seems silly to forgo maybe 20-30 minutes extra
effort which will get you a better laid-out doghole grid for no good
reason.

Of course, no reason not to.


That's not a bad idea, but it seems pretty laborious (the bench I'm making
now, modeled after Sam Allen's joiners bench has 40+ dog holes in the
top).
I'm using a right-angle drill guide and it works great and doesn't weigh
75
lbs.

I'm sure that works too, although I don't ever plan to own a drill guide. I
guess they work but driving a forstner bit through 3" of hard maple with a
hand drill, guided or not does not sound accurate or fun. I'm glad it
worked for you. BTW, it doesn't have to be a benchtop DP, any that will
slide down the column would work, but yes it is heavy. Me used to be strong
like bull :-)

--
Bill Pounds
http://www.bill.pounds.net/woodshop