No matter what your style of woodworking, you need a basic set of hand tools. Here’s where to begin. When I came to America, I had a lovely wife, two suitcases and 50 bucks. Oh man, where do I …
This sandpaper storage system is about as simple as it gets. It’s just a stack of folded envelopes bound with a big rubber band. Each envelope is marked with a grit number. A thin piece of wood [...]
Tool: The Original OmniSquare Shop Now Manufacturer: Omni Tool Works MSRP: $29.95 This clever and inexpensive milled aluminum square functions as a try square, miter square, bevel square, [...]
Some years back, when the company I worked for relocated out of state, I lost my job. While hunting for a new position and feeling a bit down, I visited a shop that sold used woodworking [...]
Tool: Glue Pot & Tabletop Warmer Shop Now Manufacturer: Powermatic MSRP: $39.50 This stainless steel replica of a late 19th-century double-boiler cast iron glue pot from Landers, Frary [...]
Tool: Sure-Foot F-Style Clamp Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $19.99+ There are few tools that couldn’t use an improvement or two—even the humble bar clamp. Rockler thought of a few [...]
Sometimes a little talking-to (and video surveillance) is all it takes. I have noticed three things about tools and kids. Kids can find tools even if it requires tunneling under the garage wall. [...]
Tool: Detail Rabbet Plane Shop Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $72.50 Years ago, I bought my first rabbet plane, a Clifton 410, to get me out of a jam. My bread and butter work was [...]
It sure is cute – but is it useful? Few tools spark the affection of so many as the Stanley No. 1 size bench plane. Regardless of one’s interest, the small plane has a way of catching everyone’s [...]
Should an anvil be among the first tools to be recommended to new woodworkers? The answer is probably no. But as our shop grows and with the diversification of our work I can wholeheartedly [...]
A nice scraper burnisher can be made quickly for little or no cost. All you need is a cheap wooden file handle (available at hardware stores) and an old drill bit. You simply drill into the [...]
Tool: Leg-Up Shop Now Manufacturer: Gorilla Gripper MSRP: $54.90 Most of us know all too well the hassles of working with large sheets of plywood. You get home from the lumberyard, drag [...]
