dogs

[NMFP]

I am in the process of rebuilding an 01c frick mill and in the process, i was thinking about the dogs.  Has anyone ever used the factory knees and head blocks from a hand set mill and added some type of automatic dogging system to them?  Air, hydrauilc, spring loaded or anything?  I have a few ideas but looking to what others have done or what suggestions people have.  The conversion from wood to steel is slow and expensive, but well worth the wait I am sure.  Hopefully I can then somehow find a way to make or adapt an automatic set works in place of the handsetworks some day and hopefully progress to an automatic mill over time.  Any suggestions?

[beenthere]

Think it has been done, but getting the air or hyd. to them is necessary. A pantograph type rigging would likely be in order.

What are your ideas?

[NMFP]

for the dogs, I was thinking of using small hydraulic cylinders mounted vertically that would allow the dogs to go up and down, with a pressure control regulator that the dogs would all go down the same pressure then entire length of the log and at each head block.  As far as in and out movement of the dogs, I was thinking a set shaft that would allow all of them to go in and out at the same distance controlled by a set shaft that would either be controlled by a haydraulic motor or an electric motor. 

Sounds like a lot of work to modify a manual carriage though so maybe I would be better off using it as manual for a while and then purchase an automatic carriage and modify it to fit the width of my rails.

Any thoughts?