Techniques

Q & A: Best Grinder for Woodworking Q: I’d like to buy a grinder that will handle a variety of maintenance projects and also be good for sharpening my woodworking...

Thickness Gauge I use this handy device constantly to check and compare thickness on a variety of projects. Slide the gauge over the edge of the stock, keeping the graduated...

Quickly Print to Scale in SketchUp Trimble released its new version of SketchUp and to no surprise they didn’t fix the problems with printing to scale which has plagued SketchUp...

My job is to post weekly, here on the American Woodworker Contributor's Blogs, on a SketchUp topic I think will be of interest to the readers. I would very much...

Q & A: Clean Bandsaw Tires   Q: My bandsaw tires have a buildup of pitch and sawdust that seems to be embedded right into the rubber. What’s the best...

Shown above is “Sunset,” an intricate segmented bowl by Hal Metlitzky. When I learned woodturning in the mid-1990s, my goal was simply to make bowls and platters with fair curves,...

Router Dado Jig In the course of my work as a contractor, I often need to build cabinets and bookshelves on site – without the luxury of shop tools. I...

One of the reasons I prefer to plan projects from SketchUp models is how easy it is to extract information from the model. In my earlier days I  prepared shop...

In Part 1 of this two part post I covered this subject in broad strokes. Now we are going to look a little deeper at my naming conventions for components,...

Q & A: One Step at a Time Q: ARGH! I cut all the parts according to the cutting list and my face-frame came up short! I worked out the...

Machine Floor Locks Anyone with a machine on wheels – especially a tablesaw or planer – understands the necessity of locking it in place before using it. I use a...

Plastic Stickers Don't Stain I use plastic conduit to make stickers for stacking and drying my wood. These stickers provide consistent spacing and excellent air circulation with minimal [...]