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it’s very useful to have one very precise square in your shop. You can rely on this square for machinery setup, such as setting your jointer fence and your tablesaw blade square to the table.

Q & A: What’s the Deal with Combination Planer/Molders? Q: I’m shopping for a planer, and am also planning to do a bunch of trim work in my house: crown moldings, door casings, [...]

Mortise Centering Jig With this jig I can rout mortises exactly centered on the workpiece— no measurement or layout necessary. First I drilled and tapped two holes in my router base plate [...]

Q & A: Best Grinder for Woodworking Q: I’d like to buy a grinder that will handle a variety of maintenance projects and also be good for sharpening my woodworking tools.What should I [...]

Q & A: Clean Bandsaw Tires   Q: My bandsaw tires have a buildup of pitch and sawdust that seems to be embedded right into the rubber. What’s the best way to clean my tires? A: An [...]

Q & A: One Step at a Time Q: ARGH! I cut all the parts according to the cutting list and my face-frame came up short! I worked out the math and the cutting list was correct. What went [...]

Triangle Sandpaper Triangular hook-and-loop sandpaper for detail sanders first loses it’s bite at the end because that part does most of the work. By cutting a used piece, as shown, and [...]

Breaking Rules Don’t throw away that broken, wooden rule. Strip the hardware from a 6-in. section. Then cut a slot for it in the front edge of your workbench with a router. Place the zero mark [...]

Portable Shaving Horse Bring your shop to the woods. In the modern workshop, the tablesaw is the central tool. A few centuries ago, for coopers (barrel makers), bodgers (chairmakers), and [...]

Q & A: A Brush for Tight Spots   Q: I built a little TV stand for our living room that included a 4-in. space for the DVD player. It seemed like a great idea until I went to varnish …

Q & A: Lock Miter Joint Q:   How do you set up a lock miter bit?     A:   There are two critical adjustments (Fig. A). First, you set the bit’s height; second, you [...]

Laser Cutting Guide I use a laser pen to improve accuracy when making miter cuts on a compound miter saw. It’s especially helpful when cutting ornate or rabbeted moldings. First I mark the edge [...]