Sunk Bench Stop / Bench hook

[Christophe Mineau]

Hi,
I eventually made the traditional bench stop I've been needing for a long time and that I never took time to make so far...
It's old style, a sturdy vertical square post that goes through a mortise traversing the bench top.

My addition to the tradition is, instead of making the claws with an array of pointed nails, to use a scrap piece of band saw, screwed at the end of the post. I re-filed someawhat the teeth in order to get more grip.
I also cut a rabbet at the end of the post to insert the blade, so that it is backed by wood for supporting the planing strokes.

The mortise was made with the router and a simple template temporary nailed on the top of the bench.
I made a low profile extension to the mortise just to sink the teeth of the blade, when not used.
The post is made of beech wood.