Archives

Mortise Centering Jig With this jig I can rout mortises exactly centered on the workpiece— no measurement or layout necessary. First I drilled and tapped two holes in my router base plate [...]

A gentlemen, not much older that I (that means elderly), wrote me this week after seeing my American Woodworker SketchUp blog. He asked me if there was a good application out there for drawing in [...]

As woodworkers we know who great wood is. We also know who important wood is in the construction of our homes. But most of us are not aware that wood can also be used as the principal material [...]

Collapsible Work Table This shop solution was submitted by Michael and Christine Powell, Bellingham, Wash. Every shop needs a work table or two. In cramped shops, it’s great to have the [...]

Plywood Carrier You don't have to be built like an orangutan to carry plywood! This simple carrier extends your reach and turns an awkward job into an easy one. It's quick to build out of [...]

Extra-Large Bandsaw Fence By Jack Phillips I never throw anything away. Some day, I tell myself, the stuff in that neglected pile of junk will come in handy. I was right! I resurrected my old [...]

Chad’s Sawhorse Workbench Stacking sawhorses serve a dual purpose. By Chad Stanton I usually need a pair of sawhorses when I’m working outside the shop, but sometimes I also need a [...]

Precision Trimming Jig Make perfectly flush joints on large pieces of edged plywood with this portable jig. Glue on your edging so it’s anywhere from 1/16-in. to 1/8-in. proud of the [...]

A friend wrote me an email asking how to trim a conference table with the Follow-Me tool. The shape of his table was more than your usual basic shape. So I thought this would be a good teaching [...]

Q & A: Best Grinder for Woodworking Q: I’d like to buy a grinder that will handle a variety of maintenance projects and also be good for sharpening my woodworking tools.What should I [...]

Thickness Gauge I use this handy device constantly to check and compare thickness on a variety of projects. Slide the gauge over the edge of the stock, keeping the graduated edge flat on the [...]

Quickly Print to Scale in SketchUp Trimble released its new version of SketchUp and to no surprise they didn’t fix the problems with printing to scale which has plagued SketchUp users from day 1. [...]