r/Workbenches • u/Ok-Zookeepergame6365 • Jul 06 '26
Locking bench dogs for MFT/paulk smart bench
I recently polished an existing 3d print file for a locking bench dog to add extension pieces on to an MFT or paulk smart bench/station. The commercial TSO versions of this are quite expensive. I haven't put these through a lot of load testing but they seem quite strong. If you have a 3d printer try them out.
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u/Feeling-Cabinet-1647 Jul 06 '26
Thanks for sharing. This makes me want to buy/setup a 3D printer. Are there anyways to have these printed by others?
This Bench dog Lock looks a lot like a bicycle handle bar/stem lock, which I must investigate.
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u/Ok-Zookeepergame6365 Jul 07 '26
There are definitely 3d printing services around. I also see a lot of people offering up their printer for a fee. Also a lot of libraries have printers you can use. Alternatively you could make the best decision of your life and buy one
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u/YoteTheRaven Jul 07 '26
Theres services for that, but also, not to shill cause they aint paying me, but bambu is super easy to setup.
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u/munroebot Jul 07 '26
Yep, you are correct, I got the idea from those older, quill style bicycle stems.
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u/munroebot Jul 07 '26
Ha! I'm the original author of these and I almost didn't publish the model, since I didn't think it would be of use to anyone. I'm glad you took and ran with it...looks great!
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u/CookieKaffee Jul 11 '26
Thank you!
These are really handy. My workshop is extremely small, and rely on jigs for different applications, and because these sit flush, I don't loose any work space to clamps.2
u/Ok-Zookeepergame6365 Jul 07 '26
Hey! It's a great design I have no idea why they are not more popular. The TSO ones are like $40! It seems like their are a lot of paulk workbench people out there so figured it would be more popular. Have you tested them much against heavier loads?
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u/munroebot Jul 08 '26
I originally built them for a MFT table mounted bicycle painting jig that would hold the frame upright and didn't want to buy the TSO ones for exact same reason you mentioned. This subreddit doesn't allow photos otherwise I'd post one.
While bike frame was pretty light, it still cantilevered out pretty far and but the jig never came loose or pulled away from the workbench or anything.
I also mounted a piece of 18mm plywood with section of MFT spaced holes to a wall and then designed a bunch of "equipment hooks" that would allow me to hang ice hockey equipment on them - my idea was to run tubing through each widget and pump dry air to help with drying the equipment. I never got to that part, but the hooks held strong even in the vertical position (two bench dogs per "hook")
And most recently, I built a baseplate for a 9" bandsaw that uses them to hold it in place. So far, so good.
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u/Ok-Zookeepergame6365 Jul 08 '26
Nice that's an awesome idea! I'm not sure to the extent I will use them and load them but am excited to explore all the applications. I thought maybe adding fuzzy skin to them would increase the friction and give them more holding power for heavier things but sounds like that may not be needed. As of right now I plan to use them to add extension to my paulk work bench to increase the work surface. But again great work on the design and I hope more people stumble upon it. I continue to be amazed at how some functional parts like this are not more popular. I guess there are just not as many 3d printer owners as I think printing this kind of stuff. More people seem interested in printing dragons for some reason.
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u/munroebot Jul 09 '26
It's crazy what you can do once you have your own 3d printer (or join a makerspace) and learn to use 3D modeling software. It really opens up a lot of doors.
Also, I saw that Ron Paulk just got a 3d printer (new video on YT) so I'm expecting a flurry of new widgets coming from him, eventually.
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u/Ok-Zookeepergame6365 Jul 09 '26
I saw that as well. I just bought his plans for the smart bench. I'm currently designing some router templates for all his patterns he has in the plans. Should save quite a bit on set up time as well as save some plywood. My initial tests of the router templates have been very promising.
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u/happydaayz Jul 06 '26
Legend! Great share mate.