bywc Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Well I decided to buy a set of 4 from lowes and give them a try well needless to say all tho they looked "cool" and I had the urge to grab my hockey stick I fail to see the significant charge they would bring to my woodworking. I took them fresh out the tube and placed on a freshly dust blown off bench stuck a board on it and tried to push the board well with little effort I could move the board some what so I thought hmm... maybe they are just good with the downward pressure of a sander. so I grabbed my ROS and give it a try well it did stop the board from jumping all over the table but there was still movement but as soon as I placed my hand on the board it seemed pretty steady but then I thought well how much downward force in comparison am I using without these cookies so I removed them and applied the same amount of force and it was exactly the same. Well after doing a few more tests and thinking what other applications these cookies could have I decided there is no way in hell I would trust these to hold a piece while say routing and I did try with a block plane just trying to skim the surface well I wasn't impressed so I come to the conclusion that this addition to my workshop would add little to no change as far as speeding things up or making things safer or easier so I took the 5 minute drive back to lowes and returned it. I didnt intend this to be a rant more of a Am I a one off woodworker who found these to be a pretty worthless investment? Thanks all in advance for your comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenMinshall Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 The only thing I like to use them for is to set a finish-quality workpiece on the bench without worrying about marring it from whatever gritty stuff might be on the benchtop. Other than that they get pretty slippery once coated with dust and are pretty much no different than any other spacer block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 haha, Ben and I do the same thing with them. I don't use them for anything else. Good thing you didn't spring for the "double batch with coffee mug" promo they had over Christmas! Double the inutility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlingenfelter Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I haven't used the Bench Dog ones they have Lowe's, but the ones I got at Rockler work well. I'm not saying they are perfect, but they seem to stay in place when sanding and routing. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnjack2 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 HA! For Christmas, I gave a set of my own Bench Brownies to my brother-in-law (square blocks with drawer liner hot-glued to them, painted brown on the sides). He said, "What are these?" After an explanation, he just looked at them and said, "Oh..." Easy enough to make. So my creative daughters suggested I make a set of Brownies (squares) and Turnovers (triangular) for my own shop. I also find them about as helpful as you guys. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I use mine all the time for sanding and minor routing operations. I don't really ask much more of them than that. I also use them to prop a finish sanded piece up for finishing. Overall I am happy with them. But I think you can make something pretty similar with shop materials and be perfectly happy with it. Personally, any heavy duty routing should be clamped down anyway. I never really trust something to grip the workpiece for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhack Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Though they look similar, the Bench Dog's don't hold nearly as well as the the Bench Cookies. Don't ask me why but I still use the Cookies and the Dog's are at the bottom of the tool chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 I also have Rocklers cookies and I like tham. I use them likee Marc said, for sanding and light routing. I haven't tried them on any heavier routing, guess I'm too chicken. Never would have guessed that there would be a difference between the brands. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWC Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I have some from Rockler. They work "fine", but I don't rely on them 100% to keep things from moving either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonerdg Posted April 6, 2011 Report Share Posted April 6, 2011 I too have a set of the ones from Rockler and I'm very happy with them. I've never used any from Lowe's. I use mine for all types of sanding and routing. I recently built a set of adirondack chairs for my mom and I used the bench cookies while routing the round over on all of the pieces. I never had any trouble and it saved me a ton of time by not having to clamp and unclamp each piece to route them. I was building them on site so didn't have access to my router table. For me, they're worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw1 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I actually have both. I got the Rockler ones and I really liked them. I was at Lowe's one day and saw the bench dog ones and orange is my favorite color so in the cart they went. I am not sure why but they do not grip as well. I have used the rockler ones with my big 6" rigid sander and a 60 grit disc to flatten a cutting board. I must say I was impressed, they did move a bit but not as much as I expected. I previously used non slip mats, and they worked ok but left marks on the wood. I do use the bench dog ones for finishing now, as I dont give a crap if they get stuff on them. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I actually have both. I got the Rockler ones and I really liked them. I was at Lowe's one day and saw the bench dog ones and orange is my favorite color so in the cart they went. I am not sure why but they do not grip as well. I have used the rockler ones with my big 6" rigid sander and a 60 grit disc to flatten a cutting board. I must say I was impressed, they did move a bit but not as much as I expected. I previously used non slip mats, and they worked ok but left marks on the wood. I do use the bench dog ones for finishing now, as I dont give a crap if they get stuff on them. Shawn Shawn, that's a little spooky. I too have a set of bench cookies which I was given and find useful for some ROS tasks. Then I too saw the orange bench dogs and liked the orange color so I bought them. But I had the same experience. The dogs weren't as good as the cookies. I wouldn't say either of them are revolutionary, but they hold stuff up off the bench so they come in handy sometimes. As far as revolutionary ideas, I'll take the magnetic feather board over the bench dog/cookie any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOneHandedHandyMan Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 This is interesting, thank you for sharing. I actually use the rubber non skid matting that you can get at Walmart in rolls. It works really well. Just stick it to a piece of square scrap and poof, you have a bench cookie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@FineWoodworking Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I'm glad to read this thread. I got some of the orange ones for Christmas and have been very disappointed. All of the videos that I saw for the rockler ones impressed me and I thought how could they be that different. I guess they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Speyerer Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I place Bench Cookies® under my Easter ham to keep it from sliding as I slice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben@FineWoodworking Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 I place Bench Cookies® under my Easter ham to keep it from sliding as I slice. I contemplated putting a hole in the dining room table to use a holdfast last Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I've got the orange ones from Rockler too....I think they're made by Benchdog, but regardless, I like them. If they were $50, I'd feel a little ripped off, but for $11 I'm happy. I don't think they replace a real bench dog and a vice when needed, but I use them a fair amount for various tasks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhell Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 I use the ones from Rockler. They work fine for me. Like others I use them for sanding and routing. If the bench is covered in dust and wood chips they don't work so well but even with a little bit of dust they seem to work alright... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 I picked up a set of the orange bench dog ones at Sears the other day for $8 so I thought I'd give them a shot. They say on the container that they are made by Rockler. Haven't tried to use them for anything yet but they seem fairly light duty to me in a quick test. I think a belt sander would launch the workpiece across the room but a ROS would probably be OK. Fo $8 they are OK, I'd be a little annoyed if I spent more then that... -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkdiamond Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 I have the orange set of bench cookies that I bought from Sears and for me they work as advertised. I used them this past weekend for sanding and routing my cutting board. I was able to use them with my ROS and putting a quarter round with my router without the workpiece moving at all. I think that the weight of the cutting board helped to keep the work-piece in place, I wouldn't use the bench cookies to hold a 3/4" x 3" piece of wood with the router, nor would I use it with a belt sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Brown Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 I'm with TheOneHandedHandyMan on this. I like to use the rubber grip for sanding big, flat pieces sometimes and stuff like that, but I just get the rubber kitchen shelf liner stuff from wherever I find the cheapest. The biggest problem with all of them (including my fancy grrripper system) is that once any dust at all gets on the rubber, it won't stick anymore, so cheap, disposable is good. Plus, with the sheets, I can cover my whole bench if I'm doing something like a large panel. That way the panel stays flat and I don't have to worry about clamps getting in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick LoDico Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 I guess pretty much everything has been covered here. I can add a little maybe. The Rockler ones work fine as long as the surface isn't too smooth like melamine. It also helps if you push down hard on your workpiece atop the cookies. At any rate, I don't use mine any more. I glue a large piece of sandpaper onto a piece of plywood and clamp that down. Even small pieces don't move too much when sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 As far as the cheap shelf stuff, when I was first really getting involved in woodworking I did the same and I will never do that again. I had laid the roll out just like you do with a router mat and started to round the edge over on a piece of stock when the light weight shelf liner must have lifted up from the force of the air from the bit, caught the bit and wrapped around it until it couldn't anymore, ripped the router right out of my hand and cut the power cord. Well after I cleaned my shorts out I went and bought an actual router mat. Granted this was about 14yrs ago and I have never even looked at a shelf liner since but I don't think they have changed enough to be safe so just a word of advice here, I never got hurt (except my pride and underwear) but I was extremely lucky. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Brown Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Ooh, good point! I have to admit I never thought of that. I was only thinking about sanding situations, and even there I mostly do that by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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