Below you’ll find smart woodworking techniques including quick tips, advice for beginners and more advanced methods to improve your skills and allow you to get the most out of your workshop and tools. Whether you’re looking for traditional woodworking techniques using hand tools or power tools, finishing or sharpening advice, or just want to hone your woodworking basics, the advice below is from seasoned and trusted woodworkers and furniture makers working at the top of their field.
When I loosened my adjustable clamps to make minor adjustments, they frequently slipped all the way open. Sometimes my hand got whacked, sometimes the clamp fell and sometimes [...]
My spring clamps wouldn’t work on an acute-angle joint I needed to clamp. Even though their jaws had swiveling pads, the clamps just slipped off. Nothing worked [...]
I got tired of clamping a block to my miter saw fence every time I wanted to make a stop cut, so I made this adjustable quick-action stop. Unlike a spring [...]
Desktop Clock ???It tells the time, but keeps a secret. By Jock and Susan Holmen This clock holds a secret—a compartment for candy—and its construction involves a few secrets as well.Such as [...]
I’m passionate about cooking, but I don’t get excited about cooking equipment. I’ve got decent cookware, questionable Far East knives bought from an infomercial and (somehow) [...]
10 Tips for Perfect Miter Joints Make Micro Adjustments with a Disc Sander No tool can tweak a miter’s fit as easily as a disc sander can. You can shorten the workpiece a hair with a quick [...]
After shutting its doors in late 2007 because of a labor dispute, Auriou Toolworks is set to re-open its doors this month and start shipping a small range of rasps directly to consumers, [...]
I like to keep my fix-based routers handy and ready to go with my favorite bits. Of course the bits prevent me from storing the routers standing up. That's why I built this rack with cutouts [...]
My favorite woodworking projects are clocks—big ones or little ones. If it ticks, I’ll make it. My latest venture provided me with the challenge of flattening the face of some log sections [...]
To strengthen miter joints in narrow stock, use face frame biscuits. They're like standard biscuits but smaller (about 1-3/16 in. long), so you can use them in stock as narrow as 1 [...]
Dual-Grit Disc Sanding My disc sander is indispensable for both quick wood removal and final smoothing. I got tired of changing and wasting discs every time I needed a different grit, though, so [...]
Snag-Free Hose By Peter Natoli I love using dust collection with my orbital sander, but the hose always caught on the edge of my workbench. I fixed this problem by suspending the hose and cord [...]