Archives

Rare earth magnets set in a steel cup are perfect for all sorts of uses around the shop, but have you ever had to remove one? Once they’re in the cup, the magnets are practically impossible [...]

Monitoring the level of dust in your bin is a pain. You have to remove the lid and look, which isn’t easy. If you forget or put it off, dust will back up into the collector’s main [...]

Making equal divisions on parts isn’t always straightforward when it comes to dividing fractions. On a recent trip to my local office supply store, I found a drafting tool that has become a [...]

Featherboards are an important accessory, providing both accuracy and a measure of safety. Typically, a featherboard is just a board with thin fingers sawn into the end that act as springs to [...]

Resin build-up on saw blades makes them less effective. A clean blade runs cooler, doesn’t cause burning on your workpiece, stays sharp longer and cuts more accurately. Cleaning blades is a [...]

Carrying a cutting list with me to the saw is a habit I learned long ago. If I don’t, it’s way too easy to transpose measurements on the way from my bench to the saw. I used to carry a …

Bar clamps can wear out over time. Usually, it’s because the ridges on the bar get worn down. When this happens, the clamps lose their grip, rendering them useless. Even if it’s just [...]

Precise height adjustments on router bits and saw blades can be tricky because it’s really hard to see or measure small changes. This 1:8 tapered gauge “magnifies” them. Each [...]

Cutting wooden plugs used to be frustrating. I like to keep the bit going, but each time I would cut a new plug the previous one would be pushed out of the cutter and fly across the shop, landing [...]

A push pad is essential for jointing, routing or ripping because it keeps your fingers away from the danger zone. I’m always on the lookout for a pad that’s larger and grippier than [...]

Changing saw blades or router bits without unplugging your machine is an often overlooked “no-no”. The risk of bumping the switch and inadvertently turning the machine on is probably [...]

Equally-Spaced Dovetails Every Time When laying out dovetails, I always start by marking the centers of the pins so the distance between them is approximately the same. I came up with this trick [...]