Two Edge-trimming Tricks

I make a lot of shelving from hardwood plywood, covering the panel edges with 1⁄4“-thick solid-wood edging. The edging, which is oversized in length and width, is trimmed flush with the [...]

Miter Gauge Shooting Board

While I have a shooting board with a 90° fence, any other angle requires fussing with wood, screws and a protractor. In a moment of desperation, I cut a groove down the center of an old bench [...]

Shorts-Cut Jig

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 [...]

Creating a Cord Channel for a Lamp Base

I recently ran into a turning dilemma when my wife asked me to make her a quick, inexpensive lamp base. I decided that a two-piece base would do the trick, attaching a long, narrow “neck” to a [...]

Jigsaw Cushion

The next time you use your jigsaw, forget about hauling out the sawhorses or cantilevering a hard-to-hold workpiece off your bench. Extruded polystyrene insulation board, the rigid pink sheets [...]

Board-Stretching Joint

Board-Stretching Joint I bought a planer/molder so I could make my own moldings. My living room required one 28‘.-long molding, but all I had to make it were 12‘. boards. I didn’t [...]

Practical Paraffin

Ordinary paraffin canning wax has dozens of uses in my shop. It’s cheap at a few bucks a pound, available at any grocery store, and easy to cut into small chunks. Unlike candle wax, which often [...]

A Hoseline Clothesline

There’s nothing more annoying than a vacuum hose dragging on the bench when you’re working with a router, sander or other power tool. These big hoses always seem to hang up on workpieces and [...]

Triangle Marking System

Keeping project parts organized and in proper relation to one another while machining and assembling them can be a real challenge, especially if you’re organizing the pieces for attractive grain [...]

Permanent Clamp Pads

I lost the rubber pads that came with my clamps. I liked the way the pads protected the wood, so I decided to make my own. After a couple dips in liquid plastic ($9 at a hardware store), my [...]

Accurate and Easy Joint-depth Gauge

A straight mortise-and-tenon joint requires each tenon cheek to be flat, of consistent thickness and parallel to the body of the workpiece. If a cheek is twisted or angled relative to the faces [...]