Butterfly Inlay Make a perfect fit with a shop-made template. By Tom Caspar Don’t you just love it when something that looks extremely difficult turns out to be oh-so easy? Making butterfly inlay [...]
Working with Plastic Laminate Learn to use this durable, versatile material in your home and shop By David Radtke Most woodworkers probably have a natural aversion to working with plastic [...]
Making a change to my blog posts. Instead of posting old tips from the American Woodworker archives, I'll be posting a wide variety of stuff, including projects on which I'm working, new [...]
Cutting Multiple Parts One day my wife asked me if I would make her 58 shields for awards day at her school. Usually when I cut multiples on my scrollsaw I tape or screw the parts. This time I [...]
Precision Squares How to use our favorite setup tools By Richard Tendick Every woodworker falls in love with some favorite tools now and then. I count on my faithful set of precision squares [...]
Alright, this one's actually from our old Question & Answer department. Clean Up Squeeze Out Q. I saw one of those woodworking wizards on television the other day. As I watched the guy [...]
Retractable Chuck Key After losing three chuck keys I attached the fourth to a plain, old retractable key chain. Now I don't have to turn my shop inside out looking for my chuck key because [...]
Versatile Center Gauge I wanted to add accent dowel “dots” down the center of some slightly curved, tapered table legs. Sounds simple, but I nearly pulled my hair out trying to [...]
Make Quartersawn Picture Frame Stock If you’ve got some spare 8/4 (2-in.) lumber lying around your shop, it’s easy to transform it into stunning quartersawn wood for your picture [...]
No-Hassle Filter Cleaning My air filter works great and sure makes my shop a cleaner and healthier place to work. But cleaning the pleated filter was always a problem. Blowing or shaking it out [...]
Water-borne Pore Fillers The first step to a glass-smooth finish. By Michael Dresdner Some of our favorite woods have large, open pores on the surface. Mahogany, walnut, teak, koa, ash, oak, and [...]