Tricks of the Trade

For small cabinets, I prefer to use small, discreet shelf pins that I make myself. I also make sleeves for the pins to fit into. Sleeves help hold the pins firmly in place. I make the pins from [...]

Flush-cutting dowels, corner keys or screw-hole plugs used to frustrate me because my saw’s teeth always left scratches on the project’s surface. Rather than buy a special flush-cutting saw, I [...]

I used to have three shooting boards for planing end grain: one for 90° cuts, one for 45° horizontal miters and one for 45° vertical miters. Now I’ve combined them all into one. The jig’s main [...]

An F-style clamp works well for getting into tight spaces, but how do you turn the handle? The answer: Just drill a couple of holes through it and insert a screwdriver. A 90° offset to the holes [...]

While staring at the pile of assorted hardware I just accidentally spilled onto my sawdust-covered floor, my thoughts quickly turned from banging my head against the wall to patting myself on the [...]

Vacuum attachments are a challenge to store. They come in so many shapes! I made this device to keep them all together, within easy reach. It’s just a long chain with shorter lengths of chain [...]

Sometimes it’s fun to build a gadget just because it’s a neat idea. There are many ways to draw a centerline, for example, but this method is very clever. It doesn’t require any measuring or [...]

Even though my shop is well-lit, sometimes I need more light right on my work area. Instead of rigging up additional lights, I attach a small clip-on LED light to my cap’s brim. It’s great for [...]

With all the high-tech, expensive tools in my shop, I still find a dozen uses for a simple, inexpensive hunk of paraffin wax. I use it anywhere I need lubrication to slide material: the tops of [...]

Shellac is a mainstay in my shop, both as a sealer and as a finish. I mix my shellac from flakes and usually go with a 1 lb. cut, which is ideal for brushing ultra-smooth coats. I used to measure [...]

 Here’s a trick for I use for removing a stubborn router bit from the collet. I cut 1/2″ wide slots in a few credit card-size pieces of laminate. I then slide as many cards as I can [...]

I buy glue in gallon jugs and, having tried about every glue bottle on the market, I thought I would never find the perfect one. My search ended while washing dishes with my wife one evening.  [...]