Tricks of the Trade

A can of lubricant is very useful around the shop, and so is the little red straw… if you can find it after the first use! I figured out that...

Applying putty with your finger works great, but it’s messy. Instead of using my finger, I just stick a blob of putty on a pencil eraser. It works great, and...

While doing the dishes the other night, I looked at the drying rack and thought, “Wow! I need one of these in my shop.” First I drilled centered 5/8″ diameter...

This jig makes it easy to set up the bit for routing flutes and dadoes. I simply drop the appropriate depth gauge into the channel, set my router on top...

Trimming miters used to drive me crazy, because I couldn’t hold the piece I was trimming securely enough against the miter gauge. The piece would always slide away from the...

Accurate Inside Measurement 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....

A zero-clearance throat plate is a must-have for every tablesaw. It prevents small offcuts and thin strips from dropping down alongside the blade which is really annoying. Some manufacturers sell...

A computer in the shop is becoming increasingly common. I use my tablet in the shop all the time; it’s where I keep project plans, cutting lists, etc. I also...

Pegboard isn’t just for walls—it’s perfect for organizing stuff wherever you need to store it. I’ve bolted a piece of perfboard to the end of my table saw’s extension table...

When making repetitive cuts, I found that my stop block would shift. With a hardwood cutoff, a leftover piece of T-track, a 1/4–20 hex head bolt and a jig knob,...

Have you ever closed an inset door in a cabinet you were building and found that you couldn’t open it, because you hadn’t added the knob yet? Well, I have....

My father showed me this “bird’s mouth” jig almost 60 years ago. It securely clamps 1/4- to 3″thick boards on edge. It’s so useful that I’ve never bothered to add...