Archives

A straight mortise-and-tenon joint requires each tenon cheek to be flat, of consistent thickness and parallel to the body of the workpiece. If a cheek is twisted or angled relative to the faces [...]

Tool: Precision Router Table Setup Bars Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $69.99 Accurate tool setup is half the battle of doing good work. Kreg’s Precision Router Table Setup Bars make the battle a [...]

Affordable line lasers and a simple setup make for perfect angled drilling. I’m a 21st-century Windsor chairmaker. I build chairs using mostly hand tools: froes, drawknives, spokeshaves, [...]

A few shop-made appliances allow you to add stunning face-grain inlay to your work. Geometric bandings and inlay patterns, or parquetry, are widely used, from Japan to Egypt to Spain. I developed [...]

Tool: iGaging AccuMarking Digital Wheel Marking Gauge Manufacturer: iGaging MSRP: $39 A digital marking gauge? Really? Well, why not, right? The iGaging Digital Marking Gauge still does [...]

Tool: Micro Plunge Base Manufacturer: Micro Fence Price: $300 The term “precision” tends to be thrown around with impunity, but in this case, it’s warranted. Imagine [...]

Tool: Precision Strait Edge Manufacturer: iGaging Price: $36 (24″) A precision ruler is just one of those tools that every shop should have. Let’s face it; not everything can be done [...]

Tool: MicroJig Tapering Jig Manufacturer: MicroJig Price: $109 Some jigs get stuck in a design rut—they never seem to change. Take a typical double-armed tapering jig, for example. It’s [...]

Tool: 08350 Dowelling Jig Master Kit Manufacturer: JessEm Price: $195 Dowel joints are a strong, simple and low-cost method of building furniture. All you need is a jig and a drill. Decent jigs [...]

Cutting precisely to a line on a miter saw isn’t easy. Usually, you have to make multiple cuts and sneak up to it. My solution is to use this universal gauge block; one cut is all [...]

Part One: Precision Read: Part 2 • Part 3 There are two sides to this story. The first is obvious. The other not so much. First, digital woodworking is all about numbers. Very small numbers. That [...]

In this series, I’ve covered tools for standardization, tools for measuring and tools for precision. Now, it’s time to bring it all together with a few recommendations for different kinds of [...]