When drilling mortises for chair arms, such as those in a ladderback chair, it can be difficult to accurately center your bit. But wrap a string around the rear post...
Every door needs a hinge – Nancy Hiller shows you which hinges to use, the advantages of each type, and how to install them. Wherever there’s a door, there must...
An Exercise in Mastering the Skew Do you like a challenge? Want to develop your woodturning skills? Can you learn from mistakes? If your answer is “yes”, you’re ready to...
I got tired of jury-rigging extra light for finishing, so I built this light stand from a 4-ft. length of 2×2 and 1/4-in. plywood. The 6-in. by 17-in. legs include...
When I bought my expensive 24″ machinist’s straightedge, I wasn’t sure where to store it. It didn’t include a hole for hanging, and I was reluctant to drill into the...
I made a go-anywhere task light by retrofitting an old, broken fixture with a new, battery-powered LED light. First, I removed the cord and inner workings from the task light....
Destroying 10 joints taught us surprising lessons about joint design, wood failure and the tenacity of modern glue. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the December 2005 [...]
Our staff offers simple, strong and fast ways to make this important furniture component. In woodworking magazines, books and plans there’s almost always an omission that’s big enough to drive...
Some high-end combination squares have a built-in lip or tab for the purpose of resting the tool hands-free on a piece of wood. But because most common combination squares lack...
After ruining four $90 sheets of plywood by storing them on a damp floor, I came up with a simple fix: PVC feet. Cut several 12″ sections of 2″ dia....
For years, I sanded and hand planed panel edges by laying them flat on my workbench. I could never quite squeeze a bench vise into my woodworking budget, so I...
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...
