Techniques

Glue Squeegee I stack-laminate boards to create turning blanks. Each blank contains numerous laminations, so I have to work fast during assembly. To spread glue quickly and evenly, I use a [...]

Wedged Mortise and Tenon This joint will never loosen! By Tom Caspar   Tap, tap, tap. The wedges go home, the glue squeezes out and a big smile lights up your face. “This joint [...]

Dovetailer’s Dream Vise Treat yourself to the secure, even grip that’s essential for precision work. By Brad Holden Cutting dovetails by hand is satisfying and rewarding work, but [...]

Q: I make my own guards and router bases from plastic. How can I drill clean holes without the bit grabbing the plastic? A: A simple solution is to file a flat edge on a regular twist bit’s [...]

Soup Up Your Router Table By Dave Munkittrick Your router table will really sing with these great accessories. Like all good tools, our accessories will increase safety and improve results. Even [...]

Desktop File Holder   A desktop file holder is a great office accessory. It provides easy and immediate access to the files you’re currently working with so you don’t wear a path between [...]

Stuck Gib Nut Q: I managed to round-over a gib nut on my planer’s blade holder. I’ve tried everything to free that nut. Any suggestions? A: AYou can free a stuck nut by striking it with a center [...]

Restore a Chest of Drawers Make broken-down drawers fit and work like new By Tim Johnson At first glance, the broken-down chest of drawers looks like a lost cause—a wreck even by garage-sale [...]

Photo Album By Dave Munkittrick   Do you have a pile of photos waiting to be put in an album? We all do. That’s why you can’t go wrong making these distinctive photo albums for [...]

Woodworkers ask me a lot of questions on routing wood, and many of the questions are similar, so here’s a short list of FAQs and answers to help you. Question #1 – I just purchased/inherited a [...]

Shop-Made Sanding Blocks   Q: Commercial sanding blocks all have some kind of padded bottom. Do my shop-made blocks need to be padded, too?   A: Yes they do. Padded blocks have two [...]

Air-Drying Lumber It’s the low-cost, low-tech way to dry lumber. Here’s how to do it right. By Dave Munkittrick Want a truly cheap and easy way to dry lumber? Consider air drying. [...]