Archives

A sharp pencil is a must for accurate work, but having a pencil sharpener permanently mounted in one place isn’t always ideal. The further away I am from my pencil sharpener, the less [...]

Planing stock to fit standard dados is much easier than trying to find the right chipper and shim combination to fit the dado to your stock. I cut five grooves in a scrap of plywood, using only [...]

This light-duty clamp is ideal for small parts-and easy to make by the dozen. All you need are a couple wood scraps, a rubber band, and a short piece of dowel rod. You can vary the pressure by [...]

The dust collection port on my sliding miter saw missed a lot of sawdust, so I added an additional port mounted directly behind the blade. The port is a piece of 3-in. ABS pipe that’s cut at 45 [...]

They’re cheap! All you need is some PVC and plastic laminate. A central dust collection system is a big improvement to any shop, but the cost can really add up. With commercial gates going from [...]

I needed a way to lift pieces off the surface of my bench for finishing, so I made some 3/4″ x 2″ x 3″ blocks and inserted 1/4″ x 1-1/4″ dowels into them. [...]

A nice scraper burnisher can be made quickly for little or no cost. All you need is a cheap wooden file handle (available at hardware stores) and an old drill bit. You simply drill into the [...]

In my work I often need to draw large-radii curves, for which I use this long beam compass. Built from scrap wood and a dowel center, it’s cheap and easy to make in any length. It can be quickly [...]

When working on small projects, I often need to glue odd-shaped mouldings and tiny trim to box sides and other pieces. Not much pressure is required to hold these small pieces in place, and I [...]

Clamping cauls are indispensable for gluing up casework. A caul is simply a stiff piece of wood used to apply pressure where a clamp can’t reach. Sooner or later, you’re going to run [...]

You needn’t rely on ready-made patterns to design good-looking gams. Legs with engaging, flowing three-dimensional curves can add immeasurably to the aesthetic success of such pieces as tables, [...]

Like most woodworkers, I never have enough clamps. Adding to a clamp collection is expensive, so when I needed some deep reach clamps, I made these auxiliary hardwood jaws. The jaws are mortised [...]