Techniques

For fast and accurate dadoes, this jig is hard to beat. The trick is to run the router against one guide, then back against the other. This allows you to use a 1/2-in. bit, for example, to cut a [...]

The face vise on my workbench didn't hold long boards rigidly enough until I added this adjustable "bench slave." And it only cost about $30. First I milled a board to attach to the [...]

            I came across some wonderful oak boards for a small table I wanted to build. The problem was the boards were too wide for my jointer and I didn’t want to [...]

    After years of wishing my old workbench had a tail vise, I realized I could make one of my new Jorgensen Cabinet Master bar clamps do the job. All I had to do was reverse the [...]

The next time you use your saber saw, forget about hauling out the sawhorses or cantilevering a hard-to-hold workpiece off your bench. Extruded polystyrene insulation board, the rigid pink sheets [...]

  My bench has only one vise, so it needs to be versatile. The jaws on my vise can be positioned to hold objects flat on the bench or cantilevered off the end. In addition, the clamp is [...]

  I use my biscuit joiner all the time to quickly make strong joints. With narrow boards like face frames, I used to spend a lot of time figuring out which biscuit size to use so the slots [...]

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 [...]

Make this handy little gem for less than $5. You’ll need one piece of hardwood for the beam and another for the fence. You’ll also need two 1/4-20 threaded inserts and a thumbscrew. [...]

The Virtues of No. 1 Common Save money by using boards that aren’t perfect. By Tim Johnson and Ed Krause Want to make your head spin? Just try to figure out how hardwood lumber is [...]

t's tricky to keep clamping pads positioned when gluing curved surfaces, so I came up with these flexible pads. To make them, cut multiple kerfs in a piece of plywood. Next rip the plywood [...]

Bar clamps are great tools, but sometimes it's tough to get a good grip on the small wood handle. To get extra torque, I drilled a hole in the handle and inserted a dowel. It gives me a lot [...]