Archives

Pattern-Cut Finials The traditional way to make a square finial on a bandsaw is to mark and cut the pattern on one side of the blank, then tape the offcut back on to the blank in order to guide [...]

Staple Set Pneumatic staplers don’t always set 1/4” crown staples flush.  Driving them the rest of the way with a hammer causes the staples to kink,  so I designed this easy-to-make tool, which I [...]

Being an impatient sort, waiting for glue to reach the bottle’s spout became a pet peeve of mine. To put an end to this, I made a stand with a hole in the top matching the diameter of the [...]

There’s never enough storage space in a shop, is there? When I recycled some old kitchen cabinets to use in my shop, I added one more drawer to each one—in the toe-kick space.

Years ago, I made a corner cupboard from black walnut. I thought the wood was magnificent, but a can of rusty cut nails I used in building it proved to be far more important, taking me on an [...]

To make a quick and easy drying rack, or to raise a project off your bench while applying a finish, use blocks of rigid foam insulation and drywall screws. For stability, the screws should be no [...]

The thought of emptying my dust collector’s plastic bag used to make me cringe. Many times I’d go through my entire repertoire of colorful language two or three times, and that darn bag still [...]

To Get the most from my limited shop space, I built a two-sided “mobile tool wall” to park in front of my overhead garage door. The wall is just basic carpentry construction, with a 3/4″ [...]

Carrying plywood by yourself is a pain. This caddy allows you to roll it around instead. Just clamp this caddy to the board’s edge, tip the sheet down onto the wheels and off you go.

Tool: The Dust Deputy – Designed for Festool [Buy Now]  & Festool 574930 CT [Buy Now] MSRP: $299.95 (Dust Deputy) $740 (Festool CT 26) Pair an Oneida mini-cyclone with a Festool vac and [...]

Plastic bins are excellent for storing hardware and other small items. After purchasing all the types and sizes of bins I needed, including some complete cabinets, I made this shelf unit to [...]

Tool: Miter-Tight Picture Fram Clamp [Buy Now]  Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $99.99 If you’d like to make picture frames—particularly with pre-made moldings—be warned: Aligning those miters can [...]