I use lots of wedges in my shop, sometimes as disposable clamp pads for tricky glue-ups or for general shimming chores. Sometimes they’re incorporated into a project, as when making wedged [...]
Most of the time, the end vise on my workbench is more than adequate to secure workpieces between bench dogs. Occasionally, though, I need to work with thin wood at the front edge of the bench [...]
I don’t have a lathe, so when I need to make a cylindrical part, I do it by hand. Using this holding device, I can easily turn a square piece into a round piece using a hand plane—and you can, …
Tool: Original Cabinet Hardware Jig Shop Now Manufacturer: True Position Tools MSRP: $199 Installing cabinet pulls can be a bit daunting. It’s usually one of the last steps in the process, [...]
I re-sharpen disposable planer blades a few times, using a shop-made jig, before tossing the blades away. I use a set of three diamond hones to sharpen the blade at an angle 5° higher than the [...]
Welcome to my home shop. It’s fairly small — about 14×24 and located in our finished basement. It houses my collection of hand tools, lathe, table saw, router table, drill press, band [...]
Simple to advanced methods for precisely duplicating parts. No other method for shaping is as fast or efficient as template routing. It works like this: the part to be shaped is fastened to the [...]
A few weeks ago I talked about the shop-built cross-cutting square that helps me achieve quality right angle cuts on solid lumber. This week I am going to show how I am using a few inexpensive [...]
Bottle Cap Jig Knobs I’m always trying to use up scraps and stuff that would otherwise end up in the trash. My latest devices are jig knobs made with plastic bottle caps, which have a grippy [...]
If you don’t own a big European style table saw or a large miter saw, and need to crosscut wide lumber at 90 degrees you will probably like my newly-built CCS (Cross-Cutting Square). This jig is [...]
To build the ultimate jig, use a tap. When I build a jig or fixture that needs to come apart, I don’t use wood screws, I use machine screws–and tap holes in the wood to receive them. It’s very [...]
This extra-long mortising fence helps you cut “blind” joints in your work. Cabinets and furniture often have “blind” joints − dados, grooves or rabbets that are stopped at one end so you can’t [...]