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My pneumatic nailer makes quick work of assembling cabinets, but if a nail blows out the side, it can be a real mess. Those power-driven nails often bend or break if you try to pound them back [...]

Subtract color to add life. There are four types of bleach that woodworkers commonly use: chlorine, two-part wood bleach, oxalic acid and peroxide. Two-part bleach changes the actual color of [...]

The traditional way to make a square finial on a bandsaw is to mark and cut the pattern on one side of the blank, then tape the offcut back on in order to guide the cuts on the adjacent side. …

After our last family birthday party I spent an hour scraping big globs of candle wax from several tables and our wood mantel. The next day, in response to my complaining, a coworker told me to [...]

Countersink first, drill the pilot hole second. That may sound backward, but it’s the easiest way to ensure a perfect countersink.

We’ve pulled together some router tips that will help you move beyond the roundover and make the most of this versatile tool.

I made this quick-release sanding block from four pieces of 1/2″-thick birch plywood. The top three pieces are glued together. Wrap a quarter sheet of sandpaper around the bottom piece and [...]

Need to glue metal to wood? The answer is easy — epoxy! Epoxy bonds many kinds of materials to one another, including wood, metal, fiberglass, masonry, tile, concrete, and plaster. It will not, [...]

Have you ever tried to use varnish from a skinned-over, half-used can? Even if you remove the skin carefully, lumps of dried finish get mixed in with the remaining varnish and eventually end up [...]

  These furniture maker’s symbols are an international language. They have been used for generations because they’re easy to make and easy to understand. A board’s working face and edge are [...]

  Faced with cutting hundreds of plugs for a big project, I came up with this idea: I cut the plugs a little deeper than needed. Then I ran strips of masking tape down the faces of the [...]

I recently built a chest of drawers with sliding-dovetail joinery. During assembly, I found that the fit was just a little too snug. Rather than trying to realign my router jig, I looked around [...]