My beam compass is perfect for drawing huge arcs. It’s super easy to make, and I can adjust it quickly without using screws or clamps. To change the arc’s radius, I just slide a [...]
As hard as I try to avoid it, every now and then I need to mill a small part on the router table. I’ve learned the hard way that you should never hold that part by hand, for three good …
How to make strong mortise and tenon joints with a plunge router and a tablesaw. Imagine turning the clock back 500 years and visiting a fellow woodworker in any large European town. You could [...]
Achieving exact thickness is really important when making splines to reinforce box corners. The splines have to fit perfectly in the saw kerfs—a few thousandths of an inch one way or the other [...]
Drawer knobs that work loose and spin around drive me crazy. So instead of drilling a hole through the drawer front and screwing the knobs on from the back, I fasten them to a post that’s [...]
Learn traditional methods with a veneer hammer and hot hide glue. Veneering has been practiced for thousands of years. It’s a way to take some of the world’s most spectacular but unstable woods, [...]
As a guitar maker, I rip a lot of very narrow wood strips, which can be difficult and dangerous to cut on a table saw. Instead, I cut them on the band saw using a low-profile fence, which allows [...]
Now that we’ve uncovered the reasons behind plain-sawn boards’ tendency to cup and explored methods to rectify their misalignment, let’s delve into addressing cupping in [...]
To save space, my trash can doubles as a work support. I made a dolly with locking casters to fit the can’s bottom, so I can roll the unit to wherever it’s needed. The work support is adjustable [...]
I use lots of Phillips-head sheetrock screws, which are made of hardened steel. They’re tough on bits. A worn-out bit can’t be re-sharpened, so I reshape it to fit a slotted screw [...]
An easy way to fix cupped boards. After our discussion last week on why plain-sawn lumber tends to cup as it dries, I’m eager to share a solution for reforming cupped boards, like the old [...]
Hoses and dustports come in so many different diameters that you can go crazy trying to match them up. Sometimes, you can find a hose or adapter that will fit inside a dustport, but its smaller [...]
