A holdfast or hold fast is a form of temporary clamp used to hold a workpiece firmly to the top or side of a wooden workbench or the top of an anvil.
A carpenter using a holdfast
Roman workbench with a holdfast, based on a 1st Century AD fresco from the ruins of Herculaneum
A bench dog is a removable stop used in a woodworking workbench to hold a piece of wood. It is characteristically used in concert with an adjustable dog on a bench vise, allowing an item compressed be
Holdfast (tool)
…or hold fast is a form of temporary clamp used to hold a workpiece firmly to the top or side of a wooden workbench or the top of an anvil. A form of bench dog, a traditional holdfast has either a curved or flat top. Its shank is slid loosely into a “dog” hole in the bench or anvil until the tip of its hook…
Two metal and one plastic bench dog
A woodworker's tail vise with its dog extended, holding (without using the dog) a wooden bench dog being worked
A bench dog in use. Notice that the dog can be lowered below the edge of the item being worked to keep clear of an action such as planing