Tricks of the Trade

Trailing along a power cord when I’m routing can really be awkward. All too often, my cord hangs up on a corner of the project or gets tangled around my...

When drilling mortises for chair arms, such as those in a ladderback chair, it can be difficult to accurately center your bit. But wrap a string around the rear post...

I got tired of jury-rigging extra light for finishing, so I built this light stand from a 4-ft. length of 2×2 and 1/4-in. plywood. The 6-in. by 17-in. legs include...

When I bought my expensive 24″ machinist’s straightedge, I wasn’t sure where to store it. It didn’t include a hole for hanging, and I was reluctant to drill into the...

I made a go-anywhere task light by retrofitting an old, broken fixture with a new, battery-powered LED light. First, I removed the cord and inner workings from the task light....

Some high-end combination squares have a built-in lip or tab for the purpose of resting the tool hands-free on a piece of wood. But because most common combination squares lack...

Drilling in melamine, plastic laminate, particleboard, or other abrasive materials dulls a steel countersink very quickly. So why not make it out of carbide? Thankfully, Amana did just that—they say...

After ruining four $90 sheets of plywood by storing them on a damp floor, I came up with a simple fix: PVC feet. Cut several 12″ sections of 2″ dia....

For years, I sanded and hand planed panel edges by laying them flat on my workbench.  I could never quite squeeze a bench vise into my woodworking budget, so I...

Here’s a dirt-simple but effective accessory for your miter saw. It eliminates tear-out, allows you to make precision cuts by aligning a pencil mark with the kerf, and provides room...

Crawling around under the basement stairs to find what may or may not be in this box or that was a pain. However, leaving the space empty was not an...

To set the height of a router bit—within .001″, if necessary—I made this simple stand for my caliper. It works on a router table or a hand-held router. Two screws...