I came across some wonderful oak boards for a small table I wanted to build. The problem was the boards were too wide for my jointer and I didn’t want to [...]
After years of wishing my old workbench had a tail vise, I realized I could make one of my new Jorgensen Cabinet Master bar clamps do the job. All I had to do was reverse the [...]
The next time you use your saber saw, forget about hauling out the sawhorses or cantilevering a hard-to-hold workpiece off your bench. Extruded polystyrene insulation board, the rigid pink sheets [...]
My bench has only one vise, so it needs to be versatile. The jaws on my vise can be positioned to hold objects flat on the bench or cantilevered off the end. In addition, the clamp is [...]
I use my biscuit joiner all the time to quickly make strong joints. With narrow boards like face frames, I used to spend a lot of time figuring out which biscuit size to use so the slots [...]
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 way to [...]
Make this handy little gem for less than $5. You’ll need one piece of hardwood for the beam and another for the fence. You’ll also need two 1/4-20 threaded inserts and a thumbscrew. [...]
In Ireland, where I was taught, the first jig a woodworking apprentice makes is a bench hook—a simple, yet amazingly effective device used to hold small stock for sawing and trimming. The [...]
Tips for Mastering Featherboards Featherboards are like having an extra set of hands in the shop, going where no fingers ever should. By Jock and Susan Holmen The featherboard gets its name from [...]
Super-Tune Your Tools with a Dial Indicator By George Vondriska Machinists use a simple measuring device called a dial indicator for setting up metalworking equipment. It works great in the [...]
I don't have room in my garage shop for a permanent clamp table, so I made this folding version from a leftover 2-ft.-wide sheet of 3/4-in.-thick plywood. Folded, it's less than 2 in. [...]
When I need holes drilled too far from the edge of a board to use my drill press, I reach for this handy drilling guide. It allows me to position the bit exactly and assures that I’ll drill [...]
