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Inside Job While building kitchen cabinets, I purposefully chose straight-grained lumber for the doors’ stiles and rails and bought expensive, highly-figured boards to make the panels. In [...]

Tool: Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $39.99 Breaking down sheet goods into pieces of manageable size is never very easy—unless you’re lucky enough to have a panel saw, [...]

Universal Drawer Holder When I make dovetailed drawers, I usually plane the sides to even up the joints and fine-tune the drawer’s fit. Years ago, I found that you can’t accurately [...]

Tool: Universal Bench Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $145+ Every shop needs a bench. In fact, two or three is even better, as you’ll want an assembly table that’s a little lower than your [...]

Tool: Super Dust Deputy Manufacturer: Oneida MSRP: $169.95 Efficient dust collection is paramount to a healthy shop environment. If you currently have a single stage or two stage dust collector, [...]

Tool: 1221 VS Lathe Manufacturer: Jet MSRP: $849.99 A mid-size lathe is a good compromise between a mini lathe and a full size lathe. You get greater capacity and versatility than a mini-lathe, [...]

Tool: Toggle Clamp Plates Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $22.50 A hold-down can get you out of a tight spot. Sometimes an odd-shaped or small part doesn’t lend itself to being held by a [...]

1. Paraffin Lube When you rout a dovetail joint, your sense of feel is important. Your router should slide easily around the jig’s fingers, without hesitating, so you can tell which [...]

Tool: Silicone Glue Brush Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $4.99 The lowly glue brush has been elevated to “actual tool” status. It’ll still be one of the most neglected tools in [...]

Dust Bomb My neighbor has had a woodworking shop in his garage since I was a kid. Recently, when he discovered that mice and other furry critters were living in its cinder block foundation, he [...]

Tool: iGaging AccuMarking Digital Wheel Marking Gauge Manufacturer: iGaging MSRP: $39 A digital marking gauge? Really? Well, why not, right? The iGaging Digital Marking Gauge still does [...]

Tool: Micro Plunge Base Manufacturer: Micro Fence Price: $300 The term “precision” tends to be thrown around with impunity, but in this case, it’s warranted. Imagine [...]