Archives

Q & A: Board Feet Calculation   Q: I used to buy planed and jointed lumber (S4S) at a home center where it was sold by the lineal foot.Now that I have a planer and jointer, I want to buy [...]

Q & A: Rusty Router Collets Q: Returning to my shop after working outside this summer, I noticed a rusty film on my router collets and bits.What’s the best way to remove the rust [...]

At-Hand Tool Storage By Bob Ungar I hate fumbling around in drawers or digging into cabinets for tools.That’s why I love perf-board. It displays my hand tools out in the open [...]

Q & A: Truing a Framing Square   Q: I just inherited my grandpa’s framing square. It’s big and heavy and I’d like to use it but it isn’t square! How on earth can [...]

Q & A: Rub-Joint Gluing   Q: My panel glue ups drive me nuts because the boards slide around whenever I clamp them together. Then I end up beating them back into position. What’s [...]

Q & A: Final Rubout   Q: I always have problems getting a smooth finish. I sand the wood with 220 paper,wipe it with a tack cloth, apply three coats of high-quality varnish, and still [...]

Q & A: Jointing Thick Wood with a Router Q: I have a very small shop and don’t have the space for large machines like jointers and planers. I need to make thick table legs from three 3/4-in. [...]

Q & A: Pencil Mark Cleanup Q: How do I get the pencil marks off my oak plywood bookcase? I tried using an eraser, but that didn’t get down into the open grain.When I tried sanding it out I [...]

Q & A: Cupped Door Panels Q: Recently I glued up some 1⁄4-in. panels for cabinet doors.My other life kept me out of the shop for a week and when I returned the panels had a [...]

Q & A: Veneered-Plywood Tear-Out Q: I have some planks with a pronounced crook.The grain is beautiful and I would like to make use of the crook in a desktop design. How can I edge join the [...]

  Q & A: Keep the Crook Q: I have some planks with a pronounced crook.The grain is beautiful and I would like to make use of the crook in a desktop design. How can I edge join the boards [...]

Q & A: Router Bit Slipping Q: Is there any reason why my router bits are suddenly slipping? I have had this router for years without any trouble. A: Because you haven’t had trouble with [...]