DeWALT is recalling nearly 1.4 million miter saws for a potential safety issue. According to the CSPC “The miter saw’s rear safety guard can break or detach, posing an injury hazard due to projectiles that can strike the user and bystanders and a laceration hazard to the user who could come into direct contact with…

Sometimes a little talking-to (and video surveillance) is all it takes. I have noticed three things about tools and kids. Kids can find tools even if it requires tunneling under the garage wall. Kids can claim complete innocence when asked why tools are missing. Two days after the tools go missing the same kids manage…

A single cable provides 120-volt and 240V service. Every article I’ve seen describing the wiring of a shop for both 120 volts and 240V uses separate cables for each voltage, which is a significant waste of time, effort and cable. Here I describe how a single cable can be used to provide both 120V and…

They’re cheap! All you need is some PVC and plastic laminate. A central dust collection system is a big improvement to any shop, but the cost can really add up. With commercial gates going from $4 to over $50 each, building your own can help lower the bill. I make my own gates from a…

Safety is the #1 goal in woodworking. June is national safety month, so we’re covering some shop safety best practices. Learn about avoiding hazards while woodworking, as well as the essential equipment to protect yourself. Sponsored by RZMask: https://rzmask.com/

Here’s a simple way to protect your chisels from getting nicked and rusty rattling around in your toolbox. Just cut the fingers off some old leather work gloves. Poke holes with an awl at the open end, and thread a drawstring through them. Slide the chisel’s blade into the finger and close it tight with…

Sometimes a little talking-to (and video surveillance) is all it takes. I have noticed three things about tools and kids. Kids can find tools even if it requires tunneling under the garage wall. Kids can claim complete innocence when asked why tools are missing. Two days after the tools go missing the same kids manage…

Shocking Taste I turned on my shop vac to clean up the pile of sawdust that had accumulated while I ripped some pine boards for a cabinet. I live in Colorado, where the air is always dry, and my shop vac isn’t high tech, so occasionally I get zapped by a static-discharge shock. This time…

Runaway Router My first router, a 1968 Stanley, was a heavy, single-speed machine. I remember it well because of what happened the very first time I used it. I chucked up a Roman ogee bit and made my very first pass. As I marveled, spellbound, at the professional-looking profile I’d just created, I switched off…

Shavings Shower Last spring I reorganized my shop and moved my planer near the garage door so it could spew its shavings harmlessly onto the driveway. Now that it’s colder, I work with the garage door closed. One night recently I planed a bunch of boards for a new project. Chips and shavings piled high…

Disc Break Back when I bought my radial arm saw, onboard braking systems didn’t exist. But I’m a gadget freak, so I bought an electronic brake and mounted it on top of the saw. The brake worked by converting the AC input to DC, essentially turning the saw motor into a big magnet to stop…

Hammered Cat The handle on my favorite hammer needed to be refinished, so I sanded it, sprayed on a coat of polyurethane and hung it over the edge of the picnic table to dry. A moment later I heard a blood-curdling yowl, and looked around to see my big fuzzy yellow cat sailing across the…