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I decided to organize my router bits by making a tray from a scrap block of wood. But I soon discovered that my 1/2-in. shank bits wouldn't fit into 1/2-in.-dia. holes – the holes needed to be slightly larger. Unfortunately, I didn't have a larger bit.

After learning that a 33/64-in. bit was going to cost $15, I did a bit of head-scratching. It occurred to me that shimming my 1/2-in. bit would make it spin slightly off center, thus creating a larger hole. After experimenting, I settled on folding a piece of notebook paper into six layers and holding it against one of the jaws when I tightened the chuck. This offset worked perfectly for drilling the 1-1/4-in.-deep holes. Now my bits slip in and out easily.

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