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 in order to guide the cuts on the adjacent side. …

Online Extras December 2025 #286

Here are the online extras for the December 2025 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Interested in having the magazine delivered directly to your mailbox (physical or email) six times a year? [...]

Easy Mitered Banding

I like to augment tabletops and drawer fronts with decorative banding, inlaying it around the perimeter. The problem has always been the fussy trimming of the mitered corners. It’s hard to cut [...]

Sandpaper Saver

Sanding between coats of polyurethane is tough on sandpaper. And I make it tougher, because I never wait the recommended 72 hours before recoating. But if the finish isn’t bone-dry, the paper is [...]

Remove Spilled Candle Wax

After our last family birthday party I spent an hour scraping big globs of candle wax from several tables and our wood mantel. The next day, in response to my complaining, a coworker told me to [...]

Knee-Saving Compressor Drain

Crouching to operate my compressor’s drain valve was no big deal until my football-ravaged knees started acting up. To keep from grimacing in the sawdust, I devised a more civilized way to clear [...]

Ten-Minute Light Stand

I got tired of jury-rigging extra light for finishing, so I built this light stand from a 4‘ length of 2“ x 2“ and 1/4“ plywood. The 6“ x 17“ legs include …

Convenient Benchtop Protection

My workbench is beautiful and I want to keep it that way, so I cover the top with builder’s paper whenever I’m gluing or staining. But the heavy roll was hard to handle and a nuisance to store [...]