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.
Mobile Outfeed Tables Upgrade your tablesaw and save precious shop space with a pair of outfeed tables. By George Vondriska A tablesaw is a lot safer and easier to use when it’s equipped [...]
Q & A: Router Table Miter Joints Q: I plan to build some jewelry boxes with mitered corners, but my contractor’s saw does a poor job of cutting miters. Can I use my router table [...]
Tackle Box Storage This is my all-time favorite way to store screws, small hardware and router bits. Fishing tackle boxes come in a variety of sizes and shapes but I picked this one because the [...]
In Part 4 we cut three more holes in the seat and copied three more legs into position, even though it was only temporary. We created two rungs, each different in length, but the second being a [...]
Making a change to my blog posts. Instead of posting old tips from the American Woodworker archives, I'll be posting a wide variety of stuff, including projects on which I'm working, new [...]
SketchUp Make and Pro 2014 brought with it many improvements including the upgrade from Ruby 1.8.7 to Ruby 2.0 for its Ruby API and Plugins. Like most improvements, there are some casualties and [...]
Q & A: Avoiding Swirl Marks Q: I just stained a tabletop and found it covered with tiny swirl marks from my random-orbital sander.What did I do wrong? A: Swirl marks are inevitable. [...]
Tablesaw Tool Drawer It seems like I’m always misplacing my push sticks, blade wrench, featherboards and other small tablesaw accessories.To solve my problem I added a shallow drawer under [...]
In Part 3 we trimmed the leg with a compound cut so that it sat flat on the floor and was flat with the seat. We also modeled the seat and put one hole, for one leg in it. Today …
Cutting Multiple Parts One day my wife asked me if I would make her 58 shields for awards day at her school. Usually when I cut multiples on my scrollsaw I tape or screw the parts. This time I [...]
Q & A: Cordless Impact Drivers Q: What’s the difference between a cordless drill and a cordless impact driver? A: An impact driver is specifically designed to drive threaded fasteners. [...]
Precision Squares How to use our favorite setup tools By Richard Tendick Every woodworker falls in love with some favorite tools now and then. I count on my faithful set of precision squares [...]