Easy Chisel Sharpening Jig
If you’ve had trouble grinding a straight edge on a chisel or plane iron, try using your disc sander. All you need is a guide that slides in your sander’s...
WGM ToolWorks Helical Cutter Head Review
Tool: Helical Cutter Head Shop Now Manufacturer: WGM ToolWorks MSRP: $340 (varies) In the last issue, you may have seen a photo of my helical cutter head for the large,...
Wax Paper Lubrication
An old-timer showed me this trick years ago and I’ve used it ever since. Plain old waxed paper is great for lubricating my tools’ cast iron tables and miter gauge...
Cheap Blade Protectors
Here’s a dirt cheap way to store your saw blades and keep their carbide teeth from knocking into each other. Slip the blades onto a 3/8″ dia. landscape nail, using...
Sharpening FAQ
Additional reading: Check out Michael Dunbar’s Sharpening Method Here are some general thoughts and advice on sharpening, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions. Every shop [...]
Sharpening Hand Tools
Michael Dunbar distills three decades of sharpening into a simple, inexpensive and do-able system. This is a subversive article. Woodworking gurus and companies that make expensive sharpening [...]
Understanding Cordless Tools
Demystifying volts, amp hours, and types of cordless tool motors. More and more, cordless tools are becoming everyday fixtures in the woodworking shop. The most common of these is the...
Lathe Maintenance 101
Regular attention to a few simple procedures will keep you turning smoothly. A lathe, like any other piece of woodworking equipment, is exposed to wood shavings, dust and other substances...
Labor of Love
After 50 years of woodworking, I’ve got a confession to make. I enjoy fixing up an old machine or rearranging my shop more than woodworking itself. A few years ago...
Brush Care 101
How to choose, condition, and clean a finishing brush. It’s really tempting to buy an inexpensive brush for finishing. Say you spend $4 on a standard paint brush and throw...
Faster Cleaning
Here’s a quick way to get all the dust out of your machine’s nooks and crannies. Most shop vacuums have one port for vacuuming and a second port for blowing....
Use Glass to Set Jointer Knives
A piece of thick plate glass is dead flat and it’s easy to use to align standard jointer knives that have gib screws. A couple of rare-earth magnets secured to...
