I like those plastic benchdogs that stick up just 1/2 in. from my workbench. For workpieces even thinner than that, however, I designed my own low-profile dogs. They were simple to make. I drilled 3/4-in.-dia. holes in a 1/4-in.-thick hardwood board, cut a 3/4-in. dowel into 1-1/2-in. lengths, and glued the dowels into the holes. Then I sawed the hardwood plate into 1-1/2-in. squares, with the dowels centered in them.
—DAVE FREEDMAN, Highland Park, Ill.
Drawings by Dan Thornton
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