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…

This honing stone setup is part of my dedicated sharpening station. It consists of a plastic tray mounted in a plywood carrier box that also provides solid footing for a…

A micro-Adjust fence is the perfect accessory for making grooves, mortises, or other milling operations using a hand-held router. It allows you to precisely adjust the distance between the bit…

I make my own zero-clearance throat plates for my table saw to minimize exit tear-out on workpieces and to prevent narrow pieces from dropping into the saw. When raising the…

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…

I like to augment tabletops and drawer fronts with decorative banding, inlaying it around the perimeter. The problem has always been the fussy trimming of the mitered corners. It’s hard…

Crouching to operate my compressor’s drain valve was no big deal until my football-ravaged knees started acting up. To keep from grimacing in the sawdust, I devised a more civilized…

I got tired of jury-rigging extra light for finishing, so I built this light stand from a 4‘ length of 2“ x 2“ and 1/4“ plywood. The 6“ x 17“…

A router can be one of the most versatile tools in your shop. We’ve brought together a few of our favorite tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your router.

I hated the black hole that appeared when I installed corner bifold doors in my kitchen cabinets. To get rid of this annoying gap, I decided to make the main…

My workbench is beautiful and I want to keep it that way, so I cover the top with builder’s paper whenever I’m gluing or staining. But the heavy roll was…

Six great ideas for space-challenged woodworkers to get more out of their small shops.

Here’s a no-frills, adjustable block for making stopped cuts. Cut three pieces of 3/4″ plywood sized to fit your tablesaw’s rip fence. Install a T-nut in one of the side…

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

I frequently need an outfeed table or work support for long pieces, so I built this T-shaped assembly to use in conjunction with my Black & Decker Workmate. The table…

Understanding the Why is just as important as the How. Hand tools are a pleasure to use — if they’re sharp. Once you have a sharp tool in your hands,…

Every woodworker I know uses water-borne polyurethane. Of all the ways I’ve seen to get a silk-smooth finish, abrasive, steel-wool substitute pads are by far the best. The coarseness of…

A workpiece ALWAYS SLIPS when placed vertically in my vise, because the vise racks. To solve the problem, I made a vise spacer from a 1”x 2”x 6” hardwood block, a…

While on the job site and installing cabinets, I was preparing to scribe a face frame to fit against an irregular wall when I realized I forgot to bring my…

For thorough mixing, a powered paddle is the way to go. Here’s an easy way to make one from a 3/8″ dowel rod. First, cut a slot in the end…

I ran short of clamps in the heat of making a set of panel doors, so I quickly made more from stuff I had in my shop. These clamps are…

Attaching a triangular jig to your miter gauge enables you to safely cut shallow angles, or any angle beyond the normal range of the miter gauge. The jig is just…

Make a habit of applying finish to end grain first. Why? It’s all about avoiding drip shadows.    Sounds creepy, doesn’t it? Here’s the deal: let’s say you’re finishing a…

  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…

I have a couple tools from which I frequently remove the dust collector hoses. I got tired of getting out my screwdriver and cranking out the adjustment bolt every time….

In order to keep my bench clear for working, yet have the tools I need close at hand, I came up with this stowable mounting system. Each of my bench…

I cut dados for a tight fit. When I make them too tight, I use a jig that I call a Dado Tuner. The sole is 1⁄2” Baltic birch plywood,…

I’ve acquired a bunch of routers over the years—enough so that I can afford to keep a few permanently mounted in these mini router tables. For lots of jobs, you…

When used as an undercoat or sealer, brushable epoxy greatly reduces expansion and contraction in wood. Coat all parts prior to assembly and make sure epoxy gets down into the…

Is there any doubt that magnets positively rule? I’ve never welded anything in my life, but found a great woodworking use for something familiar to metalworkers. And it’s no wonder…

Perfection doesn’t exist. But you can come close. One of the first things any beginning woodworker must do is set up a workshop. Like so many other things a novice…

I’ve found that my new digital angle gauge is a great tool for setting an accurate angle on a miter gauge. To set the desired angle, first stand the miter…

You want your projects to look good, so what’s better than a set of grooming tools? I’m a big fan of cheap, disposable tools. The kinds of things you don’t really…

While lounging at the pool one afternoon, I had an inspiration. I “borrowed” one of my kids’ floating pool noodles, cut it into sections and used the pieces as universal…

Here’s a simple, invisible repair for an all too common mistake. Say you’re flush-trimming a board and, for whatever reason, your router’s bearing dips into a dent and makes an…

My sharpening procedures involve a lot of buffing with compound. On one side of my buffer I’ve mounted a hard felt wheel, and on the other a paper wheel shaped…

Over the years, I have often clamped stops on my drill-press fence to register hole locations in workpieces. Unfortunately, I always seemed to lose the stops. Flip stops always seemed…

Many of us are familiar with the technique of using a razor blade to scrape away drips from varnish and other film finishes. It’s a great way to level defects,…

I find my stock band saw table too small to support many workpieces, so I outfitted it with a larger, auxiliary table. However, I wanted to be able to remove…

To create a planing stop on my workbench, I decided to go the simple route. I installed and countersunk a short row of #12 brass flathead screws near the edge…

Woodworking is sweet when everything fits right. Here are 10 ways to ensure your mortise-and-tenon, dado, dovetail, and edge joints close up tightly. 1. Cauls distribute pressure It’s not easy…

I’ve combined the working parts of two quick-action clamps to make a good tool even better. A two-headed clamp allows me to quickly make an adjustable-height table for my drill…

When gluing plastic laminate to a substrate, lots of folks use sticks or dowels to support the laminate. Supports allow you to perfectly position the laminate, since it can’t be…

When I clean my HVLP spray gun, this shop-made container captures the liquid solvent and fumes. When the gun is clean, I simply pour the waste into a storage container…

If you do a lot of spray painting and finishing, but don’t have room for a permanent finishing bench, give this turntable a spin. It’s surprisingly sturdy and because it…

  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…

For a quick and simple bench stop, I mounted a sliding bolt taken from an old door to the end of my workbench. In the locked position, the bolt stays…

The biggest benefit: less sanding. Big Slice, Big Blade When you’re cutting the back off a big box, your best bet is to use a 1/2″ 4 TPI (Teeth Per…

I needed a 1/4″ zero-clearance throat plate for cutting dados the other day, but my throat plate only had a 3/4″ slot in it. I didn’t want to interrupt my…

I’ve bandsawn hundreds of puzzle pieces using very small blades. I gave up on the steel guide blocks that came with my saw because when those little blades come in…

I make a lot of drawers in my shop and got tired of fiddling with squares and pinch rods to square up the boxes during assembly. I decided to build…

Like any table saw rip fence, mine needs occasional realignment to the blade. Because my miter gauge slots are aligned parallel to the blade, I just set my fence parallel…

Micro fiber cloth picks up tiny dust particles as well as, if not better than, a tack cloth. Unlike a tack cloth, micro fiber cloths are washable and reusable. Rockler…

There’s no single surface in my shop that’s the ideal height for every job. With my adjustable-height sawhorses, I can quickly set up an outfeed table, drawing table, or assembly…

Occasionally I need to drill a hole into the end of a rail or other workpiece using the drill press. I’ve found that a metal shelf bracket makes a handy…

I’ve always had bad luck with really small drill bits–if I don’t break them, I lose them. I’ve stopped buying new ones, and now clip the heads off finish nails…

I like to use carpenter’s pencils until they’re worn down to stubs. Stubs aren’t very handy, though–they’re hard to dig out of a pocket. To solve this problem, I gathered…

My tablesaw’s top often does double duty as an assembly table. It’s a guaranteed-flat surface. When I glue or screw together a project, it won’t come out twisted. Sometimes I…

I love the convenience of mobile bases, but I hate it when they wobble on the floor even when they’re locked down. I got my chock block idea at the…

I made some half-overlay frame-and-panel doors recently, installing the panel a bit proud of the rails and stiles on the front, which recessed the panel on the back side. This…

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…

How do you support an uneven piece on the drill press? Make something that’s the opposite shape, of course. After making 60 of these knobs, I realized that the directions…

Here’s a surefire method to ensure flat glue-ups. Use cauls, top and bottom, made from Unistrut. This steel channel is used for light-duty structural support in electrical and plumbing work….

Thin boards glued edge to edge have a tendency to spring out of place when pressure is applied to the bar clamps. A simple solution is to use short, notched…

I really like bright-colored speed squares because they’re easy to locate on the job, but I find them difficult to read. To solve this problem, I spray-painted my speed squares…

I use a hand plane to remove milling marks, even on pieces that are 1/8″ thick or less. To hold the work, I made a stop whose top is only…

Assembling furniture with dozens of Allen-head fasteners is no fun if all you have is a standard Allen key. Faced with one of these jobs, I sped up the process…

Hacksaw blades ganged together make a really useful file, one that can be as wide or narrow as you wish. The blades may be full length or half-length. (Use a…

Finishing the plugs for covering screw holes is a pain. When you run a brush or rag over them after they’re installed, they’ll probably cause the finish to run or…

I’ve had trouble making square and smooth edges on face frame parts, but this planer jig solved all my problems. It produces accurate and consistent results. For the jig’s base,…

Ironing edge-banding that has hot-melt glue backing is familiar to most woodworkers. But what if you don’t have any on hand, or it’s not available in the species you’re using?…

Biscuit joinery is great, but without an octopus for a shop assistant, how do you hold all the parts? These simple little stands can help. Made of 3/4“ melamine and…

To keep stock from slipping when using my miter gauge, I rely on this simple jig. Screw a 3/4″ x 2″ fence to your miter gauge. Make it whatever length…

My finishing turntable is perfect for spraying large parts or projects. To make the device, I mounted five fixed 3-1/2” casters on a plywood panel. They’re equally spaced in a…

I’ve been noticing a lot of new tools these days that come equipped with on-board task lighting. Then while recently perusing my local home-improvement center, I noticed these small battery-operated…

A quick guide to the pros and cons of how to make the difficult part of a classic joint. Many pieces of old handmade furniture owe their long life to…

Trimming small parts on a table saw using a miter gauge can be a little nerve wracking. In order to trim small parts safely, I mounted a handscrew to a…

My lathe tool rack is based on a fishing rod rack that I made some time ago. Made from 3/4-in.-thick walnut, it measures 3-1/8-in. by 10-in. by 30- in. I…

My bandsaw’s blade-tensioning system used to be wobbly and difficult to turn. Instead of shelling out for a quick-release lever, I came up with this simple, inexpensive fix. To stabilize…

Adding a hold-down to my shop-made crosscut sled makes the sled easier and safer to use. My parts don’t slip and my fingers are far from the blade because I…

When I needed to mix two different paint colors to create a new one, I came up with the idea of removing the rod from my broken caulking gun and…

Finding a felt-tip marker or touch-up stick that actually matches the color of your project is a real crapshoot. What if you could make your own, using your own stain?…

Here’s an easy way to cut bowl blanks from half log sections. Cut a round guide disc from 1/4″ thick material the size you want your blank to be, and…

I really like my round Veritas bench dogs because they’re so versatile and easy to install. The only problem I have with them is raising the less accessible ones when…

Over the years I have used about every type of marking gauge made. I prefer the newer wheel gauges because they’re easy to adjust and tighten, but I think they’re…

Using a tablesaw to cut rabbets on the end of a board is nothing new.  If you’ve only got a couple to make, it’s hardly worth the time it takes…

A mobile workbench is handy in a small shop, until you want it to stand still! After outfitting my bench with casters, I found that their locks didn’t prevent the…

I love my dovetail jig except for one thing: If I forget to hold the router flat, it can tip backward off the front of the jig and ruin the…

Here’s a great space-saving tip. I first made “floor drawers” like these for under-the-bed storage. They worked so well I decided to use them in the shop. Floor drawers work…

Flattening the back of a spokeshave’s blade on sandpaper is a pain. The blade is so small that it’s hard to get a grip on it. A 1-1/2″ thick MDF…

Tool: Quick-Release Pock-It Hole Clamp Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $25.99 Pocket hole joints are quick and easy to make. For some applications, such as face frames, they’re perfect. But…

Sooner or later, the wooden runners of your tablesaw jigs will wear and become sloppy, resulting in inaccurate cuts. Having just replaced my kitchen floor, I’ve made new runners using…

I needed a sacrificial fence for cutting rabbets with my tablesaw. All of the designs I’d seen required drilling holes in my saw’s fence or positioning clamps strategically out of…

Epoxy is a two-part glue: a hardener and a resin that combine to form a hard, durable plastic. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and use correct ratios of…

If you’ve had trouble grinding a straight edge on a chisel or plane iron, try using your disc sander. All you need is a guide that slides in your sander’s…

Toggle clamps are great for all sorts of jigs and fixtures. However, you need a wrench to adjust the length of their posts. To make life easier, replace the clamp’s…

Drilling small pieces on the drill press can be difficult because most clamps won’t reach to the center of the table. This simple three-piece platform jig solves the problem and…

My beam compass is perfect for drawing huge arcs. It’s super easy to make, and I can adjust it quickly without using screws or clamps. To change the arc’s radius,…

As hard as I try to avoid it, every now and then I need to mill a small part on the router table. I’ve learned the hard way that you…

The fastest way to rabbet the back of a cabinet is to do it all at once, after the cabinet is assembled. Unlike rabbeting individual pieces before assembly, I don’t…

Achieving exact thickness is really important when making splines to reinforce box corners. The splines have to fit perfectly in the saw kerfs—a few thousandths of an inch one way…

Drawer knobs that work loose and spin around drive me crazy. So instead of drilling a hole through the drawer front and screwing the knobs on from the back, I…

As a guitar maker, I rip a lot of very narrow wood strips, which can be difficult and dangerous to cut on a table saw. Instead, I cut them on…

To save space, my trash can doubles as a work support. I made a dolly with locking casters to fit the can’s bottom, so I can roll the unit to…

I use lots of Phillips-head sheetrock screws, which are made of hardened steel. They’re tough on bits. A worn-out bit can’t be re-sharpened, so I reshape it to fit a…

Hoses and dustports come in so many different diameters that you can go crazy trying to match them up. Sometimes, you can find a hose or adapter that will fit…

After hooking up my new dust collector to my contractor’s saw, I found that it just didn’t pull as much air as I’d like, even after sealing up the most…

To prevent rust and reduce feed friction, I apply paste wax regularly to my metal tool tables and other surfaces. It does a great job – but what a chore…

Sturdy yet collapsible is easier said than done, but this drying rack is both. It folds flat against the wall to save space until I need it. I made my…

Have you ever closed an inset door in a cabinet you were building and found that you couldn’t open it, because you hadn’t added the knob yet? Well, I have….

One roll of shelf liner will provide a lifetime supply of pads to improve the performance of your sanding block. I bought a 18″ x 48″ roll at a local…

A toilet bowl floor gasket is an excellent lubricant for screws–much better than paraffin, soap, or all of the other materials I’ve tried. It’s very soft, so all you have…

If your shop is inside or attached to your house, you know that migrating sawdust is a problem, especially if you do a lot of power carving.  To minimize dust,…

Here’s a fast, inexpensive way to keep your edge tools razor sharp. First, cut out a few 5″ x 3/4″ MDF discs.  Drill a 1/4″ hole in the center of…

My task: 28 kitchen drawers of different sizes, all with hand-cut dovetails. The thought of laying these out was overwhelming, so I designed a jig to simplify the process. To…

My dovetail jig doesn’t have a depth gauge, and with my engineering background, I like things to be precise. This depth gauge allows me to set my router bits to…

In the good old days, when a woodworker wanted to plane a board’s edge, he’d clamp one end in the bench’s face vise and support the cantilevered end with a…

Any push stick adds a measure of safety, but I prefer using one that straddles the saw’s fence. It lifts right off when I’m done. A saddle-style push stick has…

  Tips for taming those awkward and heavy sheets. Woodworking alone is peaceful, serene and quiet. Just you, the radio and your project. It’s also a pain in the posterior…

A complex moulding can be difficult to sand. Softening its crisp edges is a crime, so I’ve been using a thin, flexible stick with sandpaper adhered to it for getting…

When sawdust got packed into the back end of my planer’s blast gate, I couldn’t close the gate all the way.  I solved this annoying problem by cutting a notch…

Tighter Corner Joints Ahead Dadoes and, rabbets are two of the most widely used cabinetmaking joints. Cabinet carcasses, drawer boxes and jewelry boxes all lend themselves to this simple but…

Difficult glue-ups are troublesome enough without having to position clamp pads as part of the process. I’ve tried using hot-melt glue, double-sided tape and various other methods to hold pads…

I usually work alone, but when I install upper cabinets, I always enlist the help of two shop-made cabinet jacks. They’re steadier than an extra pair of hands. The jacks…

A tenon should be one-third the thickness of a rail—at least, that’s what an old rule of thumb recommends. A 3/4″ board should have 1/4″ tenons, for example. But what…

Zero clearance inserts are wonderful for eliminating tear out, but unfortunately, they also eliminate dust collection. To give my collection system an opening to pull sawdust through, I cut a…

While I was gluing up the pedestals for an oak desk, I realized I needed a way to hold the sides parallel at the front. Three Quick-Grip clamps and a…

My flush-trimming setup allows trimming veneer and solid wood edging up to 7/8-in. thick. It consists of a router with a 1/2-in. straight bit, a table and a perpendicular fence….

My dust collector, though pieced-together, is the perfect solution for my one-car garage shop. I use a cyclone separator and 5-gallon bucket in conjunction with my shop vacuum. For easy…

I’ve found that padding my vise faces with cork prevents them from marring many surfaces, especially softer woods or finished workpieces. I use 1⁄4“-thick cork, which is available by the…

Practical solutions for a cleaner shop Vacuum-Assisted Bench I got tired of hooking my bench tools to my shop vac. Now I simply plug their dust collection hoses into the…

I use a piece of painter’s tape to mark dadoes when I assemble cabinets. Then I know exactly where to shoot nails or install screws and there aren’t any pencil…

I felt like I won the storage-space lottery when I came up with this bench design for my shop. I wanted a way to store lumber and my benchtop tools….

When my bench’s tool tray fills up with sawdust and hardware, I’ve found that the easiest way to clean it is to use a vacuum. To keep the hardware from…

If you use a cyclone dust collector, you’ve no doubt struggled with emptying the barrel. When it’s filled with dust, it’s really heavy, not to mention the face full of…

Establishing Depth Reference A recent project required making a series of small wooden panels with shallow concave faces. For efficiency and accuracy, I decided to make a series of preliminary…

Large plastic boxes, the kind that restaurants use for bussing dishes, are perfect for shop drawers. They’re strong, durable and lightweight, plus they have built-in handles. They’re perfect for storing…

I’m a great fan of aerosol finishes, especially now that many of them have adjustable tips that make much less splatter. But my shop got so cluttered with half-used cans…

The strong adhesive and tough plastic of packaging tape allow it to work as a hinge on long, mitered corners. After carefully cutting the miters, lay the boards outside-face up…

Simplification and organization are the keys to success. I’ve worked in a small workshop for many years now. Many, if not most woodworkers, would classify my 7′ x 13′ space…

My tight finances forced me to devise an alternative to an expensive bench vise. This simple leg vise – cobbled together from a board, a 3⁄4“-diameter pipe clamp, and a…

Maximize your drum sander’s potential. 1. Skip the Scrape Eliminate laborious hand scraping of dried glue: contrary to popular belief, you can take glue-ups directly to your drum sander. The…

Whenever I have to cut down a sheet of plywood, I reach for one of my trusty metal stud straightedges. Metal studs are available in different thicknesses for different applications….

When crosscutting a series of short pieces from a longer board using the table saw’s miter gauge, it’s dangerous to use the rip fence as a stop. The freed pieces…

Here’s a dirt cheap way to store your saw blades and keep their carbide teeth from knocking into each other. Slip the blades onto a 3/8″ dia. landscape nail, using…

I use bench holdfasts because they’re so convenient and provide such a tremendous amount of clamping force. However, in the process, they can mar workpieces, especially softwoods. The traditional solution…

How do you know when your miter gauge is set exactly at 90°? Here’s a method I learned years ago, before I could afford a precision square to check the…

The blade of a marking gauge must be as sharp as a scalpel in order to cut a fine line across the grain. Sharpening it can be very difficult because…

Accurately drilling an angled hole with a hand drill is a challenge – particularly if you’re using a brad point or Forstner bit. This angled drilling guide solves the problem…

When using my miter saw, I’ve found that the easiest way to sneak up on a line is to use a stack of sticky notes. First, set a stop block…

After brushing the first coat of finish on my shelf project, quite a bit remained in the disposable cup. I didn’t want to pour it back, because that would contaminate…

Gambler’s Micro-Adjust Precise fence adjustments are a sure bet when I clamp this shop-made device on my router table. I simply drilled and tapped a hole to accept a 1/4″-20…

While turning wooden pens, students in my woodshop classes kept wearing out the points on the live centers of our mini lathes. The points fit into the hollowed end of…

Small logs from a local downed tree are a great windfall of free lumber for small projects. They’re easy to saw into boards on the band saw once you have…

I recently came across another handy solution to prevent jaw-racking when clamping a workpiece on the side of a vise. Most parallel vises tend to rack in such scenarios, but…

I like to buy used electric motors for powering various tools around the shop. I also use them to mount grinding wheels, wire brushes and buffing wheels. I typically outfit…

I always sign my work, now that I’ve figured out an easy and permanent way to do it: I use an engraver. But not just any engraver—it has to have…

Filling knots with colored epoxy usually works quite well, but sometimes the void is in a spot that’s difficult to fill, like the edge of a board. Here’s how to…

Before the advent of magnetic-based LED lights, many of us used flexible gooseneck lamps with an incandescent bulb as auxiliary lights on our drill presses and band saws. These lamps…

Mice used to rule my shop. They got into everything! That all changed when someone told me that fresh mint repels mice. Mint grows wild in one corner of my…

Chamfering an edge with a block plane is often easier, faster and safer than using a router or tablesaw—particularly on a small part. I do it so often that I’ve…

How do you know if the table on your drill press is square? Not more-or-less square, but precisely square? I’ve adopted an old machinist’s trick, using a very simple jig….

Here’s a simple way to sharpen chisels using a 3″ sanding drum mounted in an oscillating spindle sander or a drill press. Cut a squared-up 2×4 the length of the…

Wiping is fast, almost as fast as spraying (without the downside of having to clean the spray gun). Wiping is also every bit as effective in all situations except possibly into recesses such as inside corners, fluting, deep carvings and the like.

Dust is a real problem when you can’t use a router table’s fence and its dustport. Here’s a clever way to suck up that dust using your shop vacuum’s nozzle.

My lathe came with a lamp, but the lathe’s manual has this weird warning: “Position the work lamp so that wood chips do not accumulate inside the lamp shade and…

For small cabinets, I prefer to use small, discreet shelf pins that I make myself. I also make sleeves for the pins to fit into. Sleeves help hold the pins…

Flush-cutting dowels, corner keys or screw-hole plugs used to frustrate me because my saw’s teeth always left scratches on the project’s surface. Rather than buy a special flush-cutting saw, I…

I used to have three shooting boards for planing end grain: one for 90° cuts, one for 45° horizontal miters and one for 45° vertical miters. Now I’ve combined them…

An F-style clamp works well for getting into tight spaces, but how do you turn the handle? The answer: Just drill a couple of holes through it and insert a…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

I made my own try square using a 1″ x 4″ corner mending plate and a couple scrap pieces of hardwood. To make one yourself, first check the mending plate…

I wanted to rout some shelf dados, but I didn’t have the correct-size bit for the job. Fortunately, my dad stopped by and, as usual, had the answer to my…

To sand a lot of molding, glue 80-grit sandpaper to several inches of the molding. Rub a block of Styrofoam on the sandpaper until the block conforms to the molding’s…

I don’t like to lay my router on its side with the bit exposed, so I built a stand for it. It’s just a 3/4″ x 8″ x 8″ board…

Bench grips are handy for holding parts above the bench for routing, sanding or finishing.  To make them, just cut some wood and rubber shelf liner into 2″ to 3″…

Good light is a must in every workshop, but sometimes I need a little extra light in just the right place. To make my light/magnifier more portable, I drilled a…

Instead of measuring for my circular saw’s offset each time I need to make a cut, I use a modified edge guide. I screwed two 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 12″…

Let’s face it: running a twisted board through the planer doesn’t make it flat. The board will still be twisted when it comes out. The trick is to use a…

To support a large panel while I drilled holes in the edge for dowels, I added a second sliding clamp jaw to a pipe clamp and clamped it to the…

I own several routers and they all have thin wrenches that are awkward to hold. To avoid frustration, I made the handles thicker by housing them in transparent plastic tubing…

I have a hard time throwing things away, such as these chucks from a couple of worn-out drills. To put them back into service, I bought a 3 ft. long,…

On a crosscut sled, the fence must be absolutely square to the blade. Here’s a super-accurate method of testing for square. It makes errors easier to detect by magnifying them…

My crosscut sled is my “go-to” jig for precise, square cuts. Recently, I added this self-adhesive tape scale – called Peel-n-Stick Ruler Tape – that makes it even more efficient….

My simple tenoning jig produces flawless tenons in minutes— even haunched tenons. The jig consists of a sled with a glued-on support block and a screwed-on sacrificial backstop. The sled…

My contractor saw shares a garage with my car, so it’s stowed against a wall when not in use. It’s not an easy thing to drag into place when it’s…

Spring clamps are easily converted to miter clamps by adding swivel jaws. Remove the vinyl tips, and then hacksaw a 1/2″ long slot down the center of the metal jaws….

A sharp pencil is a must for accurate work, but having a pencil sharpener permanently mounted in one place isn’t always ideal. The further away I am from my pencil…

Planing stock to fit standard dados is much easier than trying to find the right chipper and shim combination to fit the dado to your stock. I cut five grooves…

Occasionally, I like to veneer my own cabinet doors. Like many small-shop woodworkers, I do the job by covering the veneered face with a platen, then applying clamping pressure onto…

Planing or scraping parts with angled or mitered ends is tricky. Bench dogs will damage a crisp corner, and clamps get in the way. To hold the work, I use…

A coping sled is a must-have accessory for router table work. It helps you hold a narrow piece, such as a door rail, perpendicular to the fence and backs up…

This light-duty clamp is ideal for small parts-and easy to make by the dozen. All you need are a couple wood scraps, a rubber band, and a short piece of…

Even with a zero-clearance throat plate in my tablesaw, a thin cut-off slips through now and then. These pieces can clog a vacuum hose or damage the blades of a…

Watching an expensive router bit roll onto the floor is a heartbreaking experience. In the middle of a project, it can be a disaster. I drilled a few 1/2” and…

New hardware is often way too shiny for my taste, so I chemically “age” it. If the metal is raw steel, I use standard gun bluing. But if it’s plated…

Chisels don’t wait to get dull until you’ve finished a job—do they? The trick is to keep them sharp while you’re working. Rather than pull out my stones to renew…

This sandpaper storage system is about as simple as it gets. It’s just a stack of folded envelopes bound with a big rubber band. Each envelope is marked with a…

To mark the exact center of a board, I measure an equal distance from both ends and make two marks. This distance is just an approximation—it doesn’t matter if it’s…

Here’s a quick way to glue up a mitered frame of any size using only two clamps, with no worry that the frame will shift out of alignment. You’ll need…

Here’s a quick way to get all the dust out of your machine’s nooks and crannies. Most shop vacuums have one port for vacuuming and a second port for blowing….

Drawer Helper Desperation is the mother of invention—isn’t that how the old saying should go for woodworkers? I invented this device when I realized that the drawers in my new…

When I crosscut hardwood plywood, I use an old technique to minimize tearout on the bottom face. I simply make two passes with my general-purpose blade. After setting the rip…

The dust collection port on my sliding miter saw missed a lot of sawdust, so I added an additional port mounted directly behind the blade. The port is a piece…

Instead of making disposable inserts for my drill press table, I found that it’s faster and cheaper to make disposable fence/table assemblies. I can use the entire surface of my…

I use biscuit joints in lots of small projects, particularly for joining rails to legs. I usually reference from the bottom of the plate joiner rather than use its fence….

Rare earth magnets make really slick hinges for small boxes. The lid on this ring box pivots on two hinges made from 10mm magnets—nothing more. Each hinge is composed of…

When I’m sanding pitchy wood or removing old finish, my sandpaper gets really gummed up and I can’t get it clean with the rubber eraser-type cleaner. I used to throw…

I needed a way to lift pieces off the surface of my bench for finishing, so I made some 3/4″ x 2″ x 3″ blocks and inserted 1/4″ x 1-1/4″…

I’ve dried my own lumber for years, but I always had a problem getting enough weight on top of the stack, to keep the upper boards from warping. Here’s a…

Whenever creating small pieces that include a routed detail of some sort, it’s best to do the routing on the larger “parent” board, and then separate the small piece from…

Hoisting heavy sheets of plywood and MDF onto my tablesaw is not my idea of workshop fun. That’s why I devised this pivoting rack— and began storing my sheet stock…

Nobody likes wrapping up the last bit of finishing on a project and suddenly catching a run or imperfection you missed earlier. You can either ignore it, or more likely…

  I built a deep drawer for my workbench so I would have lots of storage, but it created another problem. The tools I wanted were always at the bottom…

Here’s a simple way to protect your chisels from getting nicked and rusty rattling around in your toolbox. Just cut the fingers off some old leather work gloves. Poke holes…

My shop is in a walkout basement with a steep grassy slope from the driveway.  The skateboard-like devices made for moving stock work well on hard surfaces, but not on…

While making a base for a wooden vase, I had to glue up a small octagonal shape. I made this simple band clamp from a piece of string and a…

A nice scraper burnisher can be made quickly for little or no cost. All you need is a cheap wooden file handle (available at hardware stores) and an old drill…

I can’t stand throwing away good wood. When I’m turning a goblet or any other object, I don’t leave the waste areas blank. I pick up a gouge or a…

Ripping very narrow stock on the table saw can be a bit dicey because your push stick runs so close to the blade. If you’re not careful to keep it…

Every woodworker knows not to rely on inside measurements made with a tape measure. Instead, I use two steel rules with dimensions that run to the edges. I butt one…

While looking around the shop to find a shim for my dado set, I saw the plastic lid from a cottage cheese container in the trash. Hmm, I thought, that…

In my work I often need to draw large-radii curves, for which I use this long beam compass. Built from scrap wood and a dowel center, it’s cheap and easy…

Like many woodworkers, I use a bench hook to support small pieces on the bench for handsawing. A typical bench hook is just a small panel with a shortened topside…

When doing repair work, I often have to inlay small patches of wood into a finished surface. To help level the patch afterward without marring the adjacent surface, I made…

This workshop tip saves both time and money. Make your table saw inserts two-sided to pull double duty on projects.

Making an inset drawer line up flush with the face of a cabinet can be fussy work. To make it easy, I just install two screws on the back of…

Like most planers, mine snipes, overcutting a bit at both ends of a board. Sometimes I’ll simply cut off the sniped areas if I can afford the extra board length….

Nothing in handplaning is more frustrating than tear-out

After cutting out plugs on the drill press, I used to saw them from their blank using the table saw. Unfortunately, this would often send the freed plugs flying across…

I use lots of wedges in my shop, sometimes as disposable clamp pads for tricky glue-ups or for general shimming chores. Sometimes they’re incorporated into a project, as when making…

When working on small projects, I often need to glue odd-shaped mouldings and tiny trim to box sides and other pieces. Not much pressure is required to hold these small…

My basement shop is quite small and my drill press is right next to my workbench. When I needed to drill a long board, I would stack pieces of wood…

Although I have several commercially made accessories for clamping mitered frames, they don’t work well on small frames. So, I devised my own small-frame clamping method. First, I made four…

Like most woodworkers, I never have enough clamps. Adding to a clamp collection is expensive, so when I needed some deep reach clamps, I made these auxiliary hardwood jaws. The…

In need of some quick lumber storage, I rummaged around my shop for a solution.  I discovered a length of PVC pipe left over from a plumbing job and cut…

Efficient storage is important in my garage shop, so after use, my assembly tables tip, fold, clamp and roll. Each table has one apron-mounted caster ($10 at a home center)….

I made this rack so the finish on my small projects would dry without leaving marks. I cut strips off of a 3/4″ board with my tablesaw’s blade tilted 30…

I have a humble number of bar and pipe clamps and no time or desire right now to build a dedicated clamp rack for them. Instead, I installed a standard…

I don’t have a lathe, so when I need to make a cylindrical part, I do it by hand. Using this holding device, I can easily turn a square piece…

Bessey K-Blocks are great for holding K-clamps in position for glue-ups, but they’re also quite handy for other things. I milled hardwood strips the same dimensions as my K-clamps and…

Ready-to-carve 3D images make it easy to produce finished machine carvings or hand tool ready roughouts. Creating stunning carved woodwork has never been easier with a CNC router. Think of…

I found yet another use for my trusty speed squares. Just clamp one or two of them inside the corners of a cabinet when you’re gluing it up. This guarantees…

For turning spindles, there’s nothing like having a  really long tool rest. You never have to move it! I made my own with parts from the hardware store. This rest…

There’s no single surface in my shop that’s the ideal height for every job. With my adjustable-height sawhorses, I can quickly set up an outfeet table, drawing table, or assembly…

This jig makes it easy to set up the bit for routing flutes and dadoes. I simply drop the appropriate depth gauge into the channel, set my router on top…

Editor’s note: Special thanks to reader Bob L, who pointed out that putting a rare earth magnet that close to a moving saw blade can have catastrophic consequences. If you…

A felt-tip pen is the best tool I’ve found for adjusting a grinder’s tool rest. When you need to find the center of a bevel in order to duplicate an…

This sled allows me to cut the 1/8-in.- wide strips of veneer that I often use for inlays. I can cut strips all day without having to measure or reposition…

In my work as a luthier, I sand a lot of curved surfaces. I’ve found that I can make perfect sandpaper backing pads from “kneeling cushions” sold for garden work….

Small tools are easier to reach since I added two rare-earth magnets to my apron. I epoxied the 1/2″ dia. magnets to two 1″ square pieces of leather, punched 1/2″…

I don’t know about you, but when I’m working in the shop, I usually try and carve out at least a few hours. Enough time to make some progress on…

Bullet-Catch Bench Dogs When I built my workbench, I drilled round bench-dog holes in the top so I didn’t have to cut square mortises. Being a thrifty sort, I didn’t…

Specialty hardware can be really annoying. Take the T-bolt—it’s essential for attaching anything to a T-track, but where can you buy one at a moment’s notice? Hardware stores don’t carry…

Get better woodworking results with these 12 tips. I’ve been teaching now for more than 15 years. And in that time I’ve thought a lot about why students are or…

Ordinary push pads tend to slip, I’ve found, when face-jointing a board. I modified one of mine by cutting 1/2″ of the rubber padding off its back end and then…

Old bandsaw blades can easily be recycled into useful marking or carving knives. One blade nets you a slew of small pieces. Use a tin snip to cut off a…

When finishing a flat panel, I use plastic soda bottle caps as standoffs to raise the panel above the bench. First, I finish the back side of the panel. Then…

When gluing miters for small mouldings, clear packing tape makes an ideal clamp. Begin by placing a strip of tape across the bottom of the joint; this will prevent glue…

While sawing dovetails for a jewelry box, I found my back was hurting from hunching over my bench vise. In order to work more comfortably, I built this vise extension…

The price of good turning tools can be pretty steep. Since most of the better lathe tools can be purchased without a handle, put your money where it counts—in the…

Check out these 11 methods to make layout easier. Write With Chalk Lay out “cut here” marks on rough lumber with chalk. Chalk marks are easy to read, even on…

Some people get pretty worked up about using the right word for the right joint. Perhaps they have a point since imprecise use of terms can lead to confusion. So,…

I recently thought I’d outfit my portable “benchtop” table saw with a zero-clearance throat plate to reduce tear-out and to prevent narrow strips from falling down through the wide throat…

Whenever I need a cup of water or a damp rag, I just turn the spigot on my $3 water jug. That’s much cheaper than plumbing my shop! –O’Neil Long

My portable planer uses disposable blades. When the first set got dull, I didn’t throw them away–I turned the two blades into very useful drawknives.  I wrapped duct tape around…

I made a built-in bookcase for my daughter that required attaching the face frame after installing the case. I didn’t want to mar the face frame with nail holes, but…

A push stick is a familiar device to prevent kickback while ripping a board, but I prefer to use a “push shoe.” It’s shaped like a shoe with a handle,…

I got tired of jury-rigging extra light for finishing, so I built this light stand from a 4-ft. length of 2×2 and 1/4-in. plywood. The 6-in. by 17-in. legs include…

When I bought my expensive 24″ machinist’s straightedge, I wasn’t sure where to store it. It didn’t include a hole for hanging, and I was reluctant to drill into the…

I made a go-anywhere task light by retrofitting an old, broken fixture with a new, battery-powered LED light. First, I removed the cord and inner workings from the task light….

Some high-end combination squares have a built-in lip or tab for the purpose of resting the tool hands-free on a piece of wood. But because most common combination squares lack…