Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best. Bench Cookies Work Grippers, recently introduced by Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, would most certainly fit the bill. If you are at all handy with home D-I-Y projects, when you hold one of these rubber-padded pucks in your hand, then you will surely shake your head and say, "Why didn't I think of this?" Indeed. Bench Cookies are just that simple, and they perform just that well.
The woodworking crowd has been singing their praises ever since their debut, so we wanted to let you in on this great problem-solving invention. On the market just a few months, Bench Cookies are one-inch thick, translucent blue, polycarbonate disks that are sold in sets of four – one for each corner of a project. They have textured rubber pads attached to both faces to offer a friction grip between the work surface and the project. The holding power of the friction is so great that a woodworker is not only able to use a power sander on a board or panel, but he or she can router the edge without it shifting.
Bench Cookies do three things that woodworkers and do-it-yourselfers love: they elevate the project, they prevent sideways movement so there's no need to clamp, and their spongy, textured rubber pads don't leave any marks on bare wood – or on any other material, for that matter. In fact, many woodworkers comment in the blogosphere that the rubber sanding mats they had used before DID leave a pattern, a problem they no longer face since they have begun to use Bench Cookies.
Position these blue beauties on your work surface, place a board or wood panel on top, and it will not move side-to-side. Sand it, router it, stain it, paint it, it doesn't matter. Your project won't budge. There is virtually no set up.
If you are sanding a wood project, the effectiveness of the textured rubber surfaces will not be unduly compromised by sawdust. Users find that they work just fine by simply knocking off excess sawdust, as demonstrated in one woodworking expert's online Bench Cookie Video.
Bench Cookies really are the size of hockey pucks – 3 inches across and 1 inch thick – but the textured rubber gripping surface is spongy-soft for maximum friction and gripping power. (Watch out: it's so spongy, squeezing it for distraction may be habit-forming!)
According to Steve Krohmer, Vice President of Product Development, the Rockler managers all suspected they were going to have a hit on their hands with the Bench Cookies even before the product hit the pages of their catalog and website because of the excitement and anticipation among their own employees as they waited for the arrival of the newly manufactured Cookies. They were anxious to buy them. He says he can't remember when a new product introduction caused such a stir.
Bench Cookies were the brainchild of the in-house product development team, and they don't deny that hockey pucks served as an inspiration: the 3-inch diameter is a puck's regulation size, which, coincidentally, is perfect for comfortable handling. The Rockler design team settled on a distinctive deep blue translucent polycarbonate to help the Cookies stand out visually on your workbench.
Funny thing is, they seem to stand out everywhere. When the company reps first introduced the Bench Cookies at the AWFS woodworking suppliers' trade show last year, they could have sold many, many times the number they took with them. In fact, one of their salesmen almost sold every last one, the Cookies were just that big of a hit. The editor of FineWoodworking proclaimed Rockler's "humble little rubber-coated pucks" to be the biggest news of the show.
Rockler's Catalog has long been a big name in woodworking supplies, but the company also has numerous brick-and-mortar retail outlets for hands-on shopping. Priced at just $12 for the set of four, Bench Cookies make a great gift for the do-it-yourselfer or woodworker who may be too ingrained with making due with router mats or blocks of wood. For lifting D-I-Y projects to be painted, sanded, or drilled up off the workbench or floor, you wouldn't go wrong with a set of Bench Cookies. You may even want two sets, with a storage rack as well.
