By William Sampson, wsampson@wattnet.net
Rockler and Woodworker’s Supply offer two new entrants in the growing field of benchtop work-holding devices.
Two new entrants in the growing category of bench work-holding aids are Rockler’s Bench Cookies Plus, left, and the Wolf Bench Paws from Woodworker’s Supply.
When Rockler introduced their Bench Cookies work-holding devices, nearly everyone remarked what a clever idea it was. The plastic disks with neoprene pads took on a life of their own and not just limited to the workshop. Now Rockler is expanding their franchise with the new Bench Cookies Plus. And there’s competition clawing in from Wolf Bench Paws by Woodworker’s Supply.
The Bench Cookie phenomenon
Bench Cookies create a work-holding platform without clamps. Put four of the cookies on top of your workbench, put a workpiece on top of them, and you’ve got a pretty secure setup for basic routing and sanding chores. But that was just the beginning.
Rockler relays reports of people doing creative things with Bench Cookies and not only in the shop. For example, some people took the cookies into the kitchen to secure cutting boards. I confess I use a set to elevate a laptop computer for more cooling air.
New features added
As stable as the Bench Cookies are, some people were looking for even more stability and perhaps more elevation, too. Rockler has addressed both of those issues with the new Bench Cookies Plus. Now black instead of blue, the new devices have a threaded insert on one side to take screw-in posts.
Wolf Bench Paws, left, can be used with sharpened wood dowels to make a good finishing platform. Bench Cookies Plus accept threaded posts that mount into holes drilled in a workbench or other fixture.
A short post by itself can be used in conjunction with a ¾-inch hole in your workbench or saw horse to hold the cookie more securely than by the friction of its neoprene pad alone. A longer post with a ridge can be used to do the same thing but also elevate the cookie to an altitude equal to two or three cookie thicknesses.
Competition paws through the door
Woodworker’s Supply didn’t want to be left out of the action, so they came up with the cute and clever Wolf Bench Paws. These yellow paw-shaped plastic devices have an overmolded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) in the shape of a wolf paw print. Being a firmer material than the neoprene used on the Bench Cookies, these Wolf Bench Paws create a more rigid platform but still seem to grip solidly.
In addition, a center hole in each paw accepts either a wooden dowel or a wood screw. That makes it easy to screw the paws down to any wood surface for a really secure setup or you can sharpen dowels to a point to be used as painters points to support work for finishing. There’s even a storage compartment to keep the screw and dowel handy in each paw.
So, what’s next? Cat’s paws with retractable grippers? Bench cakes with larger surface area? We don’t know but we love using all of them. Learn more at www.rockler.com and www.woodworker.com.
Updated: Nov 28, 2011
This article appeared in CabinetMakerFDM, January 2011. ©Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved.