I recently made a couple of recipe boxes with finger joints. I didn’t have enough regular clamps to glue both boxes at once, so I decided to use band clamps. During my dry run, I discovered that [...]
Tool: Carcas Saw Buy Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $89+ Unplug the machines, relax and get ready for a good time with one of the oldest woodworking tools around: the handsaw. It’s [...]
I’m making and installing approx. 5000-bd.ft. of hard maple trim. Keeping track of what I’ve already sanded is difficult, so before sanding, I rub artists non-oil pastel chalks (also available at [...]
I’ve made over 600 screwdrivers. Does that get me into the Tool Nut club? It all started with a handle I turned for a file. I enjoyed this work so much that I started making handles for other [...]
I have read with envy about spacious shops with room for many dedicated stationary tools. But alas, my shop is confined to a 200 sq. ft. corner of my basement. After tinkering with layout plans, [...]
Now that arthritis has a grip on me, I have trouble getting a good grip on clamp handles. My solution is easy and costs nothing. I carve grooves lengthwise on the handles using a medium-sized [...]
Kitchen Kalamity The cherry salad tongs I’d made needed repairs. They were steam-bent, so they would “spring” when you squeezed them together. But the top portion where the two arms attached was [...]
Tool: Groove Center Buy Now Manufacturer: Prazi MSRP: $149 A lock miter is an excellent joint for building boxes and small cases. It creates lots of surface area for glue and a tight [...]
Floor Sweep Dust Port My router table is probably the most-used tool in my shop. I have dust collector ports on the fence, but when I rout with a bearing-guided bit, it still makes a huge mess. [...]
Tool: Festool MFT/3 Multifunction Table Buy Now Manufacturer: Festool MSRP: $735 If you work in a small space, on a jobsite, or must stow all your tools when you’re done, check out the [...]
My oscillating spindle sander’s auxiliary table makes quick work of edge sanding short boards and forming perfect circles. Make the table from melamine or a laminate-covered material and fasten [...]
I devised a new way to fit a shelf into a dado. I use my router to make a tiny adjustment to the shelf’s thickness instead of fine-tuning my dado set with shims to match the plywood’s thickness. [...]