Tricks of the Trade

Close your eyes and picture it: your entire shop organized, a place for every tool, never struggling to find your cardscraper when you need it, and a stress-free day of...

Some objects aren’t easy to hold for drilling. When I run into a situation like this, I use a wooden-jawed handscrew that has sandpaper glued to one side of it,...

When your hands aren’t strong or large enough to put the last squeeze on a big clamp, try clamping the clamp. My ingenious wife, who has very small hands, invented...

Think of it almost like a DIY track saw. Crosscutting a full sheet of plywood on a tablesaw is pretty difficult, particularly when you don’t have any help. I use...

Every little bit helps when trying to keep your shop and tools clean. That’s why we’ve compiled some of our favorite tips all in one place. Mobile Suction My dust...

When using a sharpening stone to hone the flat side of handplane irons or scraper plane blades, it can be difficult to grip the metal. Take an old knob off...

Sanding is nobody’s favorite task, but if you use these tricks, you might find it just a little more bearable. Flexible Sanding Tool A complex moulding can be difficult to...

I had to crosscut narrow strips to make a cutting board. The boards were too wide for my miter saw, so I decided to use my tablesaw’s crosscut sled. I...

An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf. Typically, most people...

Face jointing boards requires some safety precautions to keep your fingers out of the danger zone. I made this simple push plate with a cleat on the back end. Two handles...

Making through-slots without a router may sound tricky, but it couldn’t be easier. In the days before I could afford a router, I made through-slots by gluing up scraps instead....

PVC spring clamps aren’t new. I like using them, but thought they could use some improvement. Here’s what I came up with. First, I added two dowels installed 90° from...