Popping Plugs

After cutting out plugs on the drill press, I used to saw them from their blank using the table saw. Unfortunately, this would often send the freed plugs flying across...

Exterior Oil Finishes

Easy to use and maintain, they keep outdoor wood furniture looking like new. You’ve spent the winter building a set of cedar Adirondack chairs; or maybe you’ve purchased a teak...

A Wedge-cutting Jig for the Table Saw

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...

Feeds & Speeds for CNC Routers

Understanding the importance of chip load calculations. If you have spent time using handheld routers then you have developed an intuitive sense for what is the ideal feed rate and...

Patching Woodworking Mistakes

A long-time carpenter shares a repair trick to hide the mistakes made by ham-handed apprentices. For more than 30 years I was a traveling carpenter foreman in charge of installation...

Build Stronger, Sag-Proof Shelves

Designing sag-proof shelves. Have you ever heard a shelf groan? Well, maybe not, but some shelves look like they would if they could. So much stuff gets piled on them...

Small Tool Cases

Old glasses cases are great for protecting, containing and organizing small tools, scrapers and plane irons. I label the outside so I can see at a glance what’s inside each...

Woodcarving Basics

Learn techniques for ‘shallow relief’ and ‘applied’ carvings. Have you ever been involved in something where you get completely absorbed in it? Where hours go by without realizing it? Those...

Auxiliary Band Saw Table

When I rough out work on the band saw, I often find little pieces getting stuck in the throat insert or the split in the table. Also, I find that...