Techniques

Did you know that feeler fauges are not just for machinists or for checking and adjusting our steel and cast iron woodworking equipment? How do I know this? Because I recently found out that a [...]

Select a reliable tool with these simple tests. I can’t think of one project I’ve made that hasn’t involved using one or more of my combination squares. I use these to lay out joints and cuts, [...]

This jig helps you easily reverse your work for base turning. Properly finished bowls never reveal how the turner mounted them. However, traditional methods for reversing a bowl to turn the base [...]

Methods that allow wood to move with the seasons. About a decade ago, I made a drop-leaf table for a book of projects. When it came time to mount the top, I just drilled pilot holes and drove cut [...]

Hand-cut appearance with half the fuss. If you’ve labored over hand-cut through dovetails, you’ll be amazed how much faster they can be cut on the bandsaw. You get all the benefits, including [...]

Improve your router techniques with these four simple, shop-made router jigs that are easy to use and just as easy to build. I’m a power-tool woodworker. Sure I use hand tools for some parts of [...]

While we lust for a 20″ monster, most woodworkers would be just as well off (or better) with a ‘suitcase planer.’ When I started woodworking in about 1993, I wanted two things: a table saw [...]

Is it necessary? And if so, what are the best techniques? Like any tool or machine, a workbench requires accessories (jigs, fixtures, appliances) and occasional maintenance to actually do [...]

When I need to cut a bunch of small, equally sized pieces, I install this simple jig. It holds short pieces securely during and after cutting, so they don’t get caught by the blade and thrown [...]

Add a new dimension to your woodworking skills. With the right techniques and tooling your CNC router can mill brass and aluminum with dependability, accuracy and consistency. Milling these [...]

In the proto-CAD (Computer-Aided Design) world, draftsmen and draftswomen had to rely on a set of curvy templates when they needed to connect two or more points via a graceful arc or curve. In [...]

Small pieces transform your work from austere to awesome. Signature features of Federal-style furniture include bellflowers and stringing that often adorn furniture legs, but are also found on [...]