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This centuries-old device is effective in use and simple to make. In my early years as a woodworker I was prejudiced against veneer – but experience has mellowed my opinion; I’ve realized [...]

They’re the next best thing to a giant assembly table. Maybe better! The next time you need a sturdy, level work surface, I’ve got the perfect solution for you: sawhorses and a pair of torsion [...]

Crosscut sleds have been around for a long time, but few are ideal. Many are heavy and hard to store. Most develop an extra-wide saw cut in the fence and allow the blade to throw sawdust in your [...]

An 18th-century French workbench is quite possibly the most perfect design ever put to paper. In the 18th century it was common for the workrooms and living areas of a home to share the same [...]

After roughly shaping the awl’s handle (read the first part of the story here) on the bandsaw, I clamped it inside my Pattern Maker’s Carving Vise and began shaping the neck. This vise is [...]

Hardware-store parts do the trick. This simple leg vise is based on a traditional design still favored by many woodworkers. My version is built with inexpensive parts you can buy from any [...]

It is fun to make a tool for your own use. When that tool becomes one of the handiest tools in the shop, you’ll be delighted that you took up that challenge. On the many occasions you hold it in [...]

Based on watchmaker and spool cabinets, this project is a great way to hone your hand tool skills. Project #2213 • Skill Level: Advanced • Time: 7 Days • Cost: $300 One of my favorite ways to [...]

Make your own light-duty one-handed workholding wonders. Like most workshops, mine is well-populated with spring clamps, the ubiquitous tool for applying localized pressure with one hand while [...]

Most of us have used, at some point, a pegboard to organize our tools. In fact, a few years ago, I reclaimed a hanging pegboard toolbox (a colleague of mine discarded it) and have been using it [...]

Separate, sort, and see your collection With just five different parts to make, this easy-to-build caddy accommodates bits with both 1/2″ and 1/4″ shafts. It can be customized to [...]

I have two kinds of push sticks I use all the time. The first is the excellent Big Horn 10230 orange plastic push stick which is good for anything wider than ⅞” (otherwise, you’ll be risking [...]