Kevmc Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I have a few questions about the dog blocks. The plan calls for blocks that at 15/16 inch thick ant the way it looked from the video is that they were a very close fit. My dog holes are 1 inch thick. Should I make the blocks to the plan or make them wider for a slightly closer fit Also on the springs. I made them out of soft maple and notice that it takes a fair amount of pressure to move them. One one of the blocks I made the spring cracked a little from the screw And that one is a lot easier to move because the tension is a bit less. Do you think I should use a different wood like ash or possible make the spring thinner than 1/8 in Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 ==> Should I make the blocks to the plan or make them wider for a slightly closer fit make dogs to fit dogholes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 honestly, the width doesnt matter all that much. if they are too tight, they wont be fun to use when the humidity goes up. but going 1/16" under is a good bet. i may have to thin mine out a little in the summer. As for the spring, you might want to thin yours out a bit. Mine are a little firm too using soft maple, but no cracking so far. You might even try a softer species to see the flex improves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 ==> they wont be fun to use when the humidity goes up good point. i keep forgetting i'm in a basement shop where the humidity changes by < 10% throughout the year... so keep forgetting about shop fixtures. Now furniture is another matter... I have the opposite problem... go from a constant 45% to whatever in no time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 The springs may develop a permanent set after some time. I checked out a bench built by jameel that is in the atlanta woodcraft and I noticed that the ash springs for the dogs were permanently bent. It's probably about a year old. The bent springs gave just the right feel. You might want to wait it out before thinning yours down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFPtrader Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Today I milled up some soft maple stock so I could do some Dog breeding for the Roubo. After the dog and spring parts were fabricated, I assembled them using #6 x 5/8 brass wood screws. I stayed with the plan dimensions after reading the above posts concerning humidity changes and I kind of like the side to side loose fit. But I also noticed the springs had some tension to them. Two of the dogs had a problem going all of the way down flush with the bench top while the others were fine. The last 1/4" - 3/8" was really tough when flushing the dog with the bench top. When I took a closer look, I noticed that the end of the spring was hitting the angle of the dog notch. Once I shortened the spring to clear the notch, everything was good. A couple of the other dogs had to be adjusted a slight bit and I realized a noticeable difference. I agree with Aaron that after a little time the springs will kick back and relax a bit. As far as the soft maple cracking, I didn't have any problems. I countersunk the screw holes and that worked out well. It might not hurt to check and make sure you have clearance between the spring end and dog notch. It's one of those nuances when breeding dogs, lol. Art K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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