Truth be told, I’m happy if you drill an array of 1” holdfast holes on 3/4” centers on your workbench, but I get asked a lot about where my holes are.

So here is my theoretical theory on this.

I bore eight holdfast holes that help me deal with common sawing, planing and mortising chores. Each hole has a particular job to do. Now, I’m no Joel Moskowitz, but I did my best to sketch out the holes in the drawing above (click on it and it will expand).

1. A Hole for a Bench Hook and Mortising
The first hole I bore is 7-1/2” from the front edge of the benchtop and a few inches forward of the face vise. This hole has two jobs. It allows me to hold my work down with a bench hook, which is of a fairly standard size. The key thing is that…