WORKBENCH Size? Round or Square Dogs?

[bogydave]

I'm building a new workbench
Plans are still in my head rattling.

Work bench books advise for the bench to not be too wide that you can't reach across it. 36 " seems about right to me 8' long. With vise on the end (36" veritas twin screw) and a smaller one on the front.
Most comercial (store bought) benches have round dogs. Is this because it's easy to drill a 3/4 hole. To me, the square (actually rectangle) seems to be a better chioce. Since I'm starting from scratch. my BIG questions is
What is the size of the square dogs
(I was going to make them 3/4" X 1" with 3 deg angle toward the vise).
Since square dogs in the bench are more work, is it woth it for the long run?
ANY Pros & cons of round vs square dogs & how far apart ideas apriciated

[jcclark]

I like the round myself, they can self adjust to an off
angle better.
I use the plastic ones that came with my Workmate bench,
And i got some steel ones somewhere, that work pretty good.
And they all interchange with each other-I like that.:)

[mmwood_1]

The width of the bench can be dependent on what you build. I build a lot of cabinets and anything LESS than 36" is useless. Mine tend to be 40"-42" x 84", and if I have to assemble larger pieces, I lay them out on the floor. As for dogs, in 14 years I've never had them. Been a few times I could've used them, but never enough to justify putting them in. Different working styles, I guess. Good luck on it.

[Don]

Hey, Bogy. You are getting good suggestions. As MMwood allowed, I have never had a situation that I couldn't quickly overcome with some simple clamps. But, I guess I would have used them more if they were there. Since you are building the bench, my vote would be for rectangular; reason being that scrap or special dogs are only a tablesaw away. If you use round, at some point you will be hunting dowels for scrap dogs, not to mention chasing dogs that want to roll away.

Let us know what you decide.

My two cents.

dawjr

[bogydave]

Decided on rectangular dogs that can be pushed up or down flush with bench top
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj269/bogydave/dogboard.jpg[/IMG]