Tricks of the Trade
If there’s one thing a woodworker loves as much as a new tool, it’s a new trick! There’s nothing like discovering a slick new maneuver or a cool jig that makes life sweeter in the shop. Fortunately, Popular Woodworking Magazine readers are a clever bunch, and happy to share their bright ideas.
In every “Tricks of the Trade” column, you’ll find a cornucopia of great ideas submitted by your fellow readers. They cover everything from hand tool tips, machine jigs, and clever shop accessories to great advice for better finishing, joinery, layout, and sharpening, among other time-saving, skill-building tricks. To read some of our recent “Tricks of the Trade” and to watch our “Tricks-in-Action” videos, scroll down below.
To learn how to submit an idea to Tricks of the Trade, click here.
Your Guide to Router Collets
How a Collet Works • A collet is the steel sleeve that holds a router bit in a router. The collet works with the router shaft (connected directly to the motor) and the collet nut. • Collets are machined to perfectly mate with the tapered recess in the end of the shaft and to Continue reading»
Woodworking 101: Basic Sharpening
Sharpen a Plane Blade There are many ways to sharpen plane blades, and woodworkers have strong opinions on the best technique. Here is a simple, reliable method to achieve a sharp edge. It takes just three waterstones, an inexpensive jig and a few minutes. 1. Get a flat back. While some blades come with a Continue reading»
Add Accuracy to a Miter Gauge
Attach a 3/4″ x 2-1/2″ x 28″ board to your miter gauge (not an original idea), then put a piece of masking tape on the table saw in front of the blade insert. Then cut partway into a board using the miter hold down. Shut the saw off and slowly pull the board back until Continue reading»
Crosscut Short Pieces Without Making Missiles
A stop block provides the most accurate and efficient way to crosscut multiple workpieces to the same length on a miter saw. For safety, the “keeper” section of the workpiece is normally held firmly against the stop block and fence, with the “offcut” unrestricted on the opposite side of the blade. However, it’s unsafe to Continue reading»
A Double-duty Disc Sander
I make a lot of wooden toys and find my disc sander indispensable for both shaping and smoothing small parts. Unfortunately, this calls for the use of both coarse and fine discs, and I have only one disc sander. My solution is to mount both #80-grit and #150-grit paper to the disc at the same Continue reading»
A Bit of a Marking Knife
If you enjoy making your own woodworking tools, as I do, here’s a good-quality marking knife you can create from a humble used-up spade bit and a small scrap of wood. To make the knife, begin by grinding a 3⁄4″ spade bit to a V-shaped tip as shown, then grind the bevels on one face Continue reading»
Shop-made Mortise Cleaning Tool
When mortising I found it difficult to remove waste left at the bottom of the mortise by my hollow-chisel mortising bit. Prying it out with a bench chisel often damaged the shoulder of the mortise and was not kind to the cutting edge of the chisel. I needed a tool with a right-angle cutting edge Continue reading»
