Archives

Two-Part Bookcase Here’s a big bookcase that you can build in a small shop. By Tom Caspar Building a tall bookcase can stretch the limits of a small shop.We all know that big boards can be a bear [...]

Saber-Saw Cushion The next time you use your saber saw, forget about hauling out the sawhorses or cantilevering a hard-to-hold workpiece off your bench. Extruded polystyrene insulation board, the [...]

Sink Cabinet Shelf It’s easy to customize this catchall shelf to fit your cabinet doors. Measure the opening of your cabinet (not the door!) and plug your numbers into the Cutting List [...]

Loose Tenon Joinery Rout 4 variations of these super-strong joints with a versatile shop made jig. By Bill Hylton I’ve used a number of different methods to create mortise and tenon joints, [...]

Birthing chair? Until a week ago I never heard of such a thing.  In the spirit of, "you learn something new everyday," I learned about birthing chairs when my friend and fellow [...]

You Want Me To Help You Make a What? If you have kids in school, you’re well aware of the fact that you’ll be pressed into service to help make art projects countless times. For me, [...]

Precision 3-Wall Scribes A simple template guarantees a perfect fit. By Brad Holden Fitting a countertop between two side walls and a back wall is one of the most challenging installations you [...]

Rip Fence for Plastic Laminate I used to work in a cabinet shop that churned out countertops by the truckload. We used this simple jig to keep plastic laminate from lifting during the cut or from [...]

Q: I am really puzzled as to how the tail vise actually works as I have only used a front vise. A: A tail vise’s main purpose is to hold a board flat on the bench for planing, routing, [...]

Ultimate Tool Stand An easy-to-use space saver with more functions than a Swiss army knife. By Dave Munkittrick For those of us who share shop space with a car or a washer and dryer, elbowroom is [...]

A Little Bit of Buried Treasure   A friend of mine had an old two-seater Adirondack chair that she figured was rotting and ready for the landfill. But she liked it so much, that she asked me [...]

Laminated Pedestal Table Curved legs make this table strong, practical and attractive. By Fred Matlack After knocking my knee on the leg of our kitchen table and spilling the gravy for the [...]