While staring at the pile of assorted hardware I just accidentally spilled onto my sawdust-covered floor, my thoughts quickly turned from banging my head against the wall to patting myself on the back. Here’s why. I grabbed my MagSwitch featherboard, turned on its two magnets and picked up all the hardware—minus the sawdust—in one fell…

Vacuum attachments are a challenge to store. They come in so many shapes! I made this device to keep them all together, within easy reach. It’s just a long chain with shorter lengths of chain branching out from it. Each branch has a 3″ to 4″ length of 1/2″ dowel fastened to its end. The…

Sometimes it’s fun to build a gadget just because it’s a neat idea. There are many ways to draw a centerline, for example, but this method is very clever. It doesn’t require any measuring or trial-and-error adjustments. To build the marker, you’ll need two hardwood bars 3/4″ x 1″ x 12″, two Plexiglas links 1/4″…

Even though my shop is well-lit, sometimes I need more light right on my work area. Instead of rigging up additional lights, I attach a small clip-on LED light to my cap’s brim. It’s great for working inside cabinets or doing close work of any kind. The light shines right where you’re looking. You can buy…

With all the high-tech, expensive tools in my shop, I still find a dozen uses for a simple, inexpensive hunk of paraffin wax. I use it anywhere I need lubrication to slide material: the tops of my tablesaw, router table and jointer, the sides of my miter gauge, the bottom of my router base plates,…

Shellac is a mainstay in my shop, both as a sealer and as a finish. I mix my shellac from flakes and usually go with a 1 lb. cut, which is ideal for brushing ultra-smooth coats. I used to measure out the flakes each time I made a new batch, but here’s an easier way….

 Here’s a trick for I use for removing a stubborn router bit from the collet. I cut 1/2″ wide slots in a few credit card-size pieces of laminate. I then slide as many cards as I can fit between the collet and the bottom of the bit. As I unscrew the collet, it pushes against…

I buy glue in gallon jugs and, having tried about every glue bottle on the market, I thought I would never find the perfect one. My search ended while washing dishes with my wife one evening.  The dish-soap bottle was empty so I rinsed it out thoroughly and filled it with glue. Just the ticket! —Phillip…

Frustrated with my vise’s inability to hold odd-shaped pieces, I tried many solutions: v-notched face plates, cork, bubble wrap, leather, etc., but to no avail. One day I pulled an old mop out of the trash. I peeled off its bottom pad, cut it in half and fastened both pieces to the faces of my…

Like most people, I keep lots of different screws, bolts, nails, washers, and other small parts in bins. Instead of paper labels, I hot glue a sample of the actual part on the outside of the bin. It’s much easier to locate what I need by eye than by name. If I ever run out of parts,…

Having grown tired of bending and tearing sheet sandpaper again and again to get the size I need, I finally decided to employ the time-honored trick of cutting it with a hacksaw blade screwed to a plywood panel. The jig is very quick to make, and it allows you to simply slip a sheet of…

Can you assume that a board is straight, just because you’ve jointed its full length? Nope. It can still be as bowed as ever. You really should check it before moving on to the next piece. Rather than pull out a long straightedge, I just place the board against the jointer’s fence and look for…