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…

Whether displaying everyday china or an heirloom collection, this handsome rack does the job with Arts and Crafts style. Like original pieces of that era, this rack features mortise-and-tenon joinery…

My Uncle Bob was a butcher—not the woodworking kind people joke about, but the real thing. In his off hours, he used to switch blades and put his meat-cutting bandsaw…

This quick project is finished before you start. How’s that? Well, bear with me: You put finish on all of the parts before you actually cut any joints. It’s as…

“How does it come apart?” You’ll be asked this question each time you hand one of these cubes to a friend. You’ll answer, “Well, you just hold it like this,…

Clean lines and graceful curves are just the beginning. This jewelry box also features mitered corners, decorative keys, a textured panel and a distinctive brass handle. Inside, sliding trays with…

Rare earth magnets set in a steel cup are perfect for all sorts of uses around the shop, but have you ever had to remove one? Once they’re in the…

What’s a spill plane? Well, it’s a little-known specialty plane that creates a shaving – called a spill – that’s tightly curled on itself and tapered to a point. In…

These waffle-patterned trivets are perfect for the last minute “shopper”. All you need to crank them out by the dozen is a dado set or router table and a plywood…

Precise height adjustments on router bits and saw blades can be tricky because it’s really hard to see or measure small changes. This 1:8 tapered gauge “magnifies” them. Each mark…

Cutting wooden plugs used to be frustrating. I like to keep the bit going, but each time I would cut a new plug the previous one would be pushed out…

Tool: MicroJig Tapering Jig Manufacturer: MicroJig Price: $109 Some jigs get stuck in a design rut—they never seem to change. Take a typical double-armed tapering jig, for example. It’s awkward to…

A push pad is essential for jointing, routing or ripping because it keeps your fingers away from the danger zone. I’m always on the lookout for a pad that’s larger…

Wood Filler Fiasco In order to fill some tiny gaps in a box I was making, I decided to make my own wood filler. I dumped fine sawdust from my sander’s filter…

I live in Sun City, a retirement community of about 6000 homes located north of Austin Texas. It can seem as if we also have over 6000 golf carts, as…

Clogged sandpaper is really a pain, rendering useless your sandpaper and your effort. I was mindlessly sanding a project a while ago when I looked at my pile of discarded…

A storage tray is a useful addition to any stationary tool. After adding this one to my tablesaw, I don’t know how I ever did without it. I made the…

According to conventional wisdom, plywood has something to hide: unsightly edges. But as you can see, this handsome tray turns that convention on its ear. The key to its cool…

Tool: Diamond Sharpening Plates Manufacturer: Atoma Price: $63 Diamond sharpening stones have enjoyed a steady increase in popularity because they cut fast, never need flattening and last a long time. Here’s a…

While visiting with chairmaker Bob Erickson (pictured above with his son Tor), it seems appropriate to ask, “What chair are you sitting in right now?” He explains it’s an unfinished…

A large bridle joint requires an open-ended mortise that may be too deep to cut with a 10″ tablesaw. I encountered this problem when I used my saw to make…

Tool: Thick Kerf Flat-Top Saw Blade Manufacturer: Infinity Price: $130 Saw blades come in two basic varieties: thin kerf and standard kerf. For wider cuts, you use a dado set, right?…

Here’s a simple turning project that makes a thoughtful gift. The process is similar to pen turning—you drill holes through a pair of blanks, turn them using a mandrel and…

“Scary sharp”—sharpening on sandpaper adhered to glass—works really well, but one thing has always bothered me. I’ve tried spray adhesives as well as PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) backed sandpaper. In…

Initially lining up the edges of two boards for gluing up a jig is pretty easy. But when you add clamps or screws, one board often shifts out of place….

Tool: 08350 Dowelling Jig Master Kit Manufacturer: JessEm Price: $195 Dowel joints are a strong, simple and low-cost method of building furniture. All you need is a jig and a drill….

Is an eight-sided box twice as complicated as one with four sides? Not this one. As far as measuring goes, the OctaBox is easier to build than a rectangular box….

Tool: AutoMaxx clamps Manufacturer: Kreg Price: $24-$29 Are you a pocket-screw fan? If so, you know that locking clamps are extremely handy for holding parts together during assembly. In fact, they’re almost…

If you like giving gifts that actually get used, a cutting board is the perfect choice; I use one almost every day. But not only will this cutting board get…

Cutting precisely to a line on a miter saw isn’t easy. Usually, you have to make multiple cuts and sneak up to it. My solution is to use this universal…

Tool: Makita VC4710 Manufacturer: Makita Price: $529 Dust collection is a higher priority than ever before for most woodworkers. It’s not just about keeping the shop clean, of course. It’s about our…

Video Make The Enigma Cube (“Enigma Cube,” page 32) Video What’s A Spill Plane? (“Spill Plane,” page 49) Video Surfacing Jig (“Micro-Lam Serving Tray,” page 46) Video JessEm Dowelling Jig…