A tenon should be one-third the thickness of a rail—at least, that’s what an old rule of thumb recommends. A 3/4″ board should have 1/4″ tenons, for example. But what about a [...]
Zero clearance inserts are wonderful for eliminating tear out, but unfortunately, they also eliminate dust collection. To give my collection system an opening to pull sawdust through, I cut a [...]
While I was gluing up the pedestals for an oak desk, I realized I needed a way to hold the sides parallel at the front. Three Quick-Grip clamps and a scrap wood spacer did the trick. They [...]
My flush-trimming setup allows trimming veneer and solid wood edging up to 7/8-in. thick. It consists of a router with a 1/2-in. straight bit, a table and a perpendicular fence. A 1″-thick [...]
I’ve found that padding my vise faces with cork prevents them from marring many surfaces, especially softer woods or finished workpieces. I use 1⁄4“-thick cork, which is available by the [...]
I use a piece of painter’s tape to mark dadoes when I assemble cabinets. Then I know exactly where to shoot nails or install screws and there aren’t any pencil lines to sand off when I’m [...]
I felt like I won the storage-space lottery when I came up with this bench design for my shop. I wanted a way to store lumber and my benchtop tools. The backbones of this bench are the 2 x 4 …
When my bench’s tool tray fills up with sawdust and hardware, I’ve found that the easiest way to clean it is to use a vacuum. To keep the hardware from going into the vacuum, I cover [...]
If you use a cyclone dust collector, you’ve no doubt struggled with emptying the barrel. When it’s filled with dust, it’s really heavy, not to mention the face full of dust you [...]
Establishing Depth Reference A recent project required making a series of small wooden panels with shallow concave faces. For efficiency and accuracy, I decided to make a series of preliminary [...]
Large plastic boxes, the kind that restaurants use for bussing dishes, are perfect for shop drawers. They’re strong, durable and lightweight, plus they have built-in handles. They’re perfect for [...]
I don’t use my machinist’s vise often enough to dedicate any of my limited bench space to it. Instead, I keep it tucked under a nearby cabinet for occasional use. I bolted the vise to a board [...]
