Micro fiber cloth picks up tiny dust particles as well as, if not better than, a tack cloth. Unlike a tack cloth, micro fiber cloths are washable and reusable. Rockler sells Norton’s micro [...]
There’s no single surface in my shop that’s the ideal height for every job. With my adjustable-height sawhorses, I can quickly set up an outfeed table, drawing table, or assembly table at [...]
Occasionally I need to drill a hole into the end of a rail or other workpiece using the drill press. I’ve found that a metal shelf bracket makes a handy support, keeping the workpiece square to [...]
Discover a bit about clean, accurate boring. There are many tools in modern woodworking you can use to bore holes: powered drills (both corded and cordless), drill presses, hand-powered eggbeater [...]
Tools and techniques for general metalwork in the shop. While the woodshop may be where I’m most comfortable, I’ve been fascinated by metalwork for some time. I’m always watching for tips and [...]
I’ve always had bad luck with really small drill bits–if I don’t break them, I lose them. I’ve stopped buying new ones, and now clip the heads off finish nails and use the nails [...]
I like to use carpenter’s pencils until they’re worn down to stubs. Stubs aren’t very handy, though–they’re hard to dig out of a pocket. To solve this problem, I gathered up all [...]
My tablesaw’s top often does double duty as an assembly table. It’s a guaranteed-flat surface. When I glue or screw together a project, it won’t come out twisted. Sometimes I use the saw’s fence [...]
A system as elegant as the joint itself. Compound-angle dovetails are some of the most beguiling joints in all woodworking. But, as John Lennon once suggested, they can be as difficult to make as [...]
This traditional glue takes a little bit of preparation and planning, but is still a valuable asset in today’s shop. “Ought a turn you to glue.” It was a saying that I heard my great-grandfather [...]
I made some half-overlay frame-and-panel doors recently, installing the panel a bit proud of the rails and stiles on the front, which recessed the panel on the back side. This isn’t an aesthetic [...]
How do you support an uneven piece on the drill press? Make something that’s the opposite shape, of course. After making 60 of these knobs, I realized that the directions didn’t include any [...]