Protect Your Hands From Chisel Lands
Many new chisels, especially most premium-quality chisels, have sharp lands (the beveled side edges). Some people wear cotton gloves to protect their hands when using these, but I don’t like the [...]
Elegant Tabletop Fasteners
On my best work, I want the bottom of my project to look as good as the top. That’s when I make an old-fashioned set of wooden tabletop fasteners, or “buttons,” rather than use the modern [...]
Dust Collection for Ports of All Sizes
I made this adapter to hook up dust collection to the odd-size fitting (2″) on my oscillating sander. Start with a hardwood block that is (in my case) is 3″ x 4″ x 1 1⁄4” [...]
Gas-powered Plane-till Lid
I have a meager collection of handplanes made up of mostly dog-meat users. I like using planes that have history because it’s fun to think about what each might have made during the last 100 [...]
An Easy Way to Draw Any Ellipse
On my most recent project I needed an elliptical arc. Although my arc conforms to the Golden Ratio (1:1.62), the method I use works for an ellipse of any proportion. Determine the overall size of [...]
Keep Your Saws Sorted & Accessible
Whenever I work on a project, I end up with my handsaws scattered about the shop. I thought about storing them under my bench, but my bad back keeps me from being able to easily bend down, so it [...]
A Table for Your Trim Router
I was looking for a safer way to use my trim router for everyday chores around the shop. My solution was to build a router table that hangs off the end of my bench on a French cleat. When I’m …
Plywood Cutting Guide
Think of it almost like a DIY track saw. Crosscutting a full sheet of plywood on a tablesaw is pretty difficult, particularly when you don’t have any help. I use a circular saw and this [...]
Get a Grip
When using a sharpening stone to hone the flat side of handplane irons or scraper plane blades, it can be difficult to grip the metal. Take an old knob off a handplane and glue or epoxy a rare [...]
5 Great Sanding Tricks
Sanding is nobody’s favorite task, but if you use these tricks, you might find it just a little more bearable. Flexible Sanding Tool A complex moulding can be difficult to sand. Softening [...]
Crosscut Sled Stop & Hold Down
I had to crosscut narrow strips to make a cutting board. The boards were too wide for my miter saw, so I decided to use my tablesaw’s crosscut sled. I tried a standard stop, but after a few [...]
Accurate Inside Measurement
An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf. Typically, most people would [...]
