Projects

          I use air tools for sanding, nailing and finishing. I usually work in my garage, but when the weather is nice, I often grab my sawhorses and move outdoors. I [...]

by Eric Smith People give me strange looks when I tell them I don’t mind sanding. Yeah, it’s dusty and a bit tedious, but I enjoy watching the fine detail in the wood grain pop out as I go [...]

          Installing a dado set on my left-tilt saw makes the scale on the rip fence un-usable. Here’s why: The cutters stack from left to right, toward the fence, [...]

          I replaced my bandsaw’s wimpy 1-1/2-in. dust-collection port with a shop-made shroud that makes bandsawing virtually dust-free. The secret: My [...]

          In my crowded shop, there’s no such thing as unusable space. My router bits store under a shop cabinet, out of the way until I need them, thanks to a [...]

Hold It! Roll It! Hang It! Store It!       My bench grinder is out of the way but instantly accessible, thanks to this sturdy flip-up table. It works great and it’s simple to [...]

General International's lumber storage system is a sturdy solution for storing all of your wood. It features six levels and can be used indoors or outdoors. Installation is easy in garages, [...]

After drawing the center line, I trace on a piece of hardboard each half from the paper pattern I made earlier.     Here is the result. Note that an optical illusion from the camera [...]

      I love adjustable clamps, but I used to have trouble gripping and tightening the handles, especially at the end of a long day. Glued-on pieces of drawer liner ($5 per roll at [...]

    I don’t like to throw wood away; offcuts and other short boards work great for small projects, jigs and shop fixtures. But until I built this mobile cart, my shop was littered [...]

      I keep a few landscape pavers handy in my workshop to use as hold-downs and weights when clamping is inconvenient. The only problem is that they leave grit behind with every [...]

      In my small shop, my tablesaw doubles as an assembly table. To protect the saw’s surface when I’m gluing or staining, I installed a heavy-duty vinyl window-shade [...]