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Woodworkers are both cursed and blessed with our hopelessly archaic system of measuring. When it comes time to divide any distance in half, like marking the center of a board’s edge for resawing, [...]

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. For example, [...]

Put a ton of tools up on the wall in this tool “book.” Hang 1/2“ or 3/4“ thick plywood “pages” 4“ apart on horizontal 2x4s with 3“ door hinges. Screw and glue …

Sheets of sandpaper aren’t easy to work with. It’s tempting to scrunch a sheet up so you can get a better grip, but if you do that, most of the paper gets wasted. Tame the abrasive beast by [...]

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 can get jammed between the blade [...]

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 [...]

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 cut. You’ll need a 24″ [...]

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 the fresh finish that [...]

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 machine screw [...]

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 the motors with toggle [...]

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 an adjustable stroke (the distance the tip moves [...]

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 do it. First, apply some paste wax [...]