Close your eyes and picture it: your entire shop organized, a place for every tool, never struggling to find your cardscraper when you need it, and a stress-free day of…

An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf. Typically, most people…

For more than 30 years my workshop consisted of a workbench and my Shopsmith tucked into a corner of the garage. I either had to set up and tear down…

Featherboards are an important accessory, providing both accuracy and a measure of safety. Typically, a featherboard is just a board with thin fingers sawn into the end that act as…

Resin build-up on saw blades makes them less effective. A clean blade runs cooler, doesn’t cause burning on your workpiece, stays sharp longer and cuts more accurately. Cleaning blades is…

Unsatisfactory bandsaw fence? This simple shop-made fence and track system could be the answer. The tracks are formed by gluing up three pieces of hardwood. A slotted fence provides adjustment…

The handles on hand-wheels are uncomfortable. The one on my lathe, for example, was difficult to turn when drilling into hard wood with a Forstner bit. Using a chunk of…

Applying contact cement with a roller is my preferred method, as opposed to spraying it on. There’s not as much clean-up, and I don’t have to deal with overspray. There…

In bowl turning, good craftsmanship requires that the bottom show no evidence of how the bowl was mounted. It’s also important to learn how to keep the chuck from dictating…

Tool: Festool Carvex Manufacturer: Festool’s Price: $390 The jigsaw is a tool that I’m glad to see folks are still striving to make better. It’s an indispensable shop staple as is,…

Tool: CRB7 MKIII Manufacturer: M.Power Price: $83 A router base can be nothing more than just that; a base. Or, as in the case of the CRB7 MKIII kit from M.Power,…

Tool: Powermatic PM1000 Manufacturer: Powermatic Price: $2400 (50″ fence) The list of 110 volt cabinet saws continues to grow. That’s great news, as it puts a great many of the benefits…

Kamikaze Tailstock I often wax finished projects as they spin on my lathe, so it’s natural to wax the lathe’s bed at the same time. Waxing the bed prevents rust…

Tool: Keter Folding Work Table Manufacturer: Keter Price: $89 Here’s a really fresh take on an old idea. The Keter Folding Work Table is a real boon for guys with limited…

Tool: Veritas Butt Chisels Manufacturer: Veritas Price: Starting at $70 Butt chisels have shorter blades than bench chisels and are generally made in wider sizes. They’re typically used for efficiently wasting out…

Tool: O’Keefe’s Working Hands Manufacturer: O’Keefe’s Price: $7.29 (3.4oz) Dry, cracked hands are the bane of many woodworkers, particularly during the cold, dry months in northern climates. If this sounds…

Store and use key benchtop tools on a single mobile unit. Innovative features such as a lever-operated mobile base and dual-height pullout tool platforms give this bench a five-star rating,…

Tool: Kreg K5 Manufacturer: Kreg Price: $129 Pocket hole joinery has been synonymous with the name Kreg for years. Kreg’s jigs have always been affordable and user-friendly. With the new K5…

Hose-Free Nailer Editor’s Pick Tool: Ryobi P320 Airstrike 18 Volt One+ Manufacturer: Ryobi Price: $99 (bare tool) No hose? No compressor? Now that’s an idea I can get behind. The new…

I often start a leisurely day in the shop with a breakfast of toast and a soft-boiled egg. Of course, as a hard-core woodworker, I’ve always wanted to make a…

Modern design and Tinkertoy construction team up to make this eye-catching rack fun and sophisticated at the same time. A great addition to any kitchen, it displays your favorite dishes…

Extra-large finger joints add a distinctive touch to any project. Every woodworker is going to ask, “How did you do that?” Most finger joints are pretty small in scale and…

Curved-front drawers add a touch of grace and liveliness to a cabinet. But if you’re not set up to re-saw wide stock into thin, uniform laminations, you’re sunk, right? Wrong….

Mark the End Grain When you’re jointing, mark each board’s grain direction by drawing a line on its end. The line means “Start here.” A mark on a board’s face…

“What kind of wood is this?” In my work as a furniture restorer and conservator, I often hear this question. Red alder is especially hard to identify because it can…

This project looks pretty simple, doesn’t it? It’s just a box with two sides and a few shelves. It’s got a curved drawer, too—which isn’t so simple—but let’s skip that…

My wife, who loves to cook, is also an inveterate recipe collector. Every one she clips or copies goes in her “recipe” drawer. But as this drawer is stuffed chock-a-block…

Accurate Inside Measurement An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf….

Tool-Free Rotary Tool Dremel’s EZ Change mechanism lets you quickly change between the seemingly endless array of bits and accessories without the use of any special tools. With the new…

Video Chad’s squaring blocks (“Bow Front Corner Cabinet,” page 37)   Video Chad’s thin-ripping jig Plans for the thin-ripping jig (“Bow Front Corner Cabinet,” page 41)   Video Power-tool workbench…