Woodworking Mistakes

Disc Break Back when I bought my radial arm saw, onboard braking systems didn’t exist. But I’m a gadget freak, so I bought an electronic brake and mounted it on top of the saw. The [...]

Hammered Cat The handle on my favorite hammer needed to be refinished, so I sanded it, sprayed on a coat of polyurethane and hung it over the edge of the picnic table to dry. A moment later I [...]

The Ol’ 1–2 I volunteered to drill the holes for the halogen light fixtures in the 6′ tall display cabinet that my cohorts and I were building at the architectural millwork company where we [...]

Bee Gone  So, I’m using a wire brush chucked in a drill to clean the rust off of some old metal brackets that I’m planning to use in my new lumber rack. I’ve got a bracket in one hand and …

Rear Ended After cutting a piece of wood with my ancient radial arm saw, I turned to retrieve the pencil that I’d used to mark the cut—the saw’s vibration had caused it to roll off the table and [...]

FRAMED The old family photograph that needed a new frame was an odd size, 10-5/8 in. by 11-3/8 in., so I knew I couldn’t buy a frame to fit. Starting with a length of straight-grained oak, I used [...]

Blowin’ in the Wind My wife and I ran out of plywood as we were adding shelves to the garage, so we headed to the home center for another sheet. We hadn’t noticed how windy it was until we came [...]

Kick the Can When I was a boy, my dad taught me a great way to re-seal a can of stain. He would place the open can on the floor with the loose lid in position on the can, …

SURE SHOT When I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child, I decided to make a cradle. Nine months seemed like plenty of time, but naturally, I finished building the cradle with only a [...]

Snake Surprise While I was visiting my brother in Florida, he showed me his latest toy, a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill. A huge hickory log was mounted on the cutting platform. Sawdust puffed as [...]

SUPER GLUED After making a small repair with super glue, I put the tube in my pocket and forgot about it. Later, when I saw the tube’s cap sitting on my workbench, I instinctively reached into my [...]

Backside Out After dabbling with woodworking for a couple of years, I finally got up the courage to build some kitchen cabinets, starting with an 8′ long upper unit. I composed a detailed [...]