Bench dog

A bench dog is an accessory used on a woodworking workbench to allow clamping of wooden items whilst being worked or as a planing stop. Dog in general is something which holds. At its most basic a bench dog is simply a peg which is installed in a corresponding dog hole in the top of a bench. The holes are arranged in a line perpendicular to the vise, perhaps three or four inches apart but certainly no further apart than the fully open distance between the vise's jaws.

There is a matching bench dog in the vise so that the woodworker can place a bench dog into a suitable dog hole and clamp a piece of timber between the bench dog in the bench and the bench dog in the vise. It is normal to have two rows of holes, with pairs of holes parallel to the vise so that one has four clamping points.

Benches that have a tail vise and a face vise might have two sets of bench dog holes so that it is possible to clamp in this way from either vise.

Bench dogs may be square or round. Round dog holes are easier to make as they are simply drilled into the bench using a suitably sized bit. However round dogs do not provide the best gripping surface. Some woodworkers use round dogs which have been flattened on one side to avoid this issue.

Dogū

Dogū (土偶)(meaning "clay figures") are small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period (14,000–400 BC) of prehistoric Japan. Dogū come exclusively from the Jōmon period. By the Yayoi period, which followed the Jōmon period, Dogū were no longer made. There are various styles of Dogū, depending on exhumation area and time period. According to the National Museum of Japanese History, the total number found throughout Japan is approximately 15,000. Dogū were made across all of Japan, except Okinawa. Most of the Dogū have been found in eastern Japan and it is rare to find one in western Japan. The purpose of the Dogū remains unknown and should not be confused with the clay haniwa funerary objects of the Kofun period (250 – 538).

Origins

Some scholars theorize the Dogū acted as effigies of people, that manifested some kind of sympathetic magic. For example, it may have been believed that illnesses could be transferred into the Dogū, then destroyed, clearing the illness, or any other misfortune.

Dog (zodiac)

The Dog (狗) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 戌. The character 狗 refers to the actual animal while 戌 refers to the zodiac animal.

Years and the Five Elements

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Dog", while also bearing the following elemental sign:

Basic astrology elements

See also

External links

References

Dog in Chinese mythology

Dogs are an important motif in Chinese mythology. These motifs include a particular dog which accompanies a hero, the dog as one of the twelve totem creatures for which years are named, a dog giving first provision of grain which allowed current agriculture, and claims of having a magical dog as an original ancestor in the case of certain ethnic groups.

Myth versus history

Chinese mythology is those myths found in the geographic area called China, which of course has evolved and changed throughout its history. These include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4)

In the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which tradition which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version.(Yang 2005: 12-13) This is also true of some accounts related to mythological dogs in China.

Bench

Bench or The Bench can refer to:

Furniture

Arts

Brands

Business

Geology

Law and politics

Bench language

Bench (Bencnon, Shenon or Mernon, formerly called Gimira ) is a Northern Omotic language of the "Gimojan" subgroup, spoken by about 174,000 people (in 1998) in the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, in southern Ethiopia, around the towns of Mizan Teferi and Shewa Gimira. It has three varieties: Benchnon, Shenon, and Mernon, which Blench (2006) considers to be distinct languages but which Rapold (2006) states are "...mutually intelligible...varieties of one and the same language".

In unusual variance from most of the other languages in Africa, Bench has retroflex consonant phonemes. The language is also noteworthy in that it has six phonemic tones, one of only a handful of languages in the world that have this many. Bench has a whistled form used primarily by male speakers, which permits communication over greater distances than spoken Bench. The whistle can be created using the lips or made from a hollow created with both hands. Additionally, this form of the language may be communicated via the 5-stringed krar.

Bench (furniture)

A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In American public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations, which may then be indicated on it, e.g. by a small plaque. Benches are used both outdoors and indoors.

Different types of benches

Often benches are simply named for the place they are used, regardless of whether this implies a specific design.