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Some years back, when the company I worked for relocated out of state, I lost my job. While hunting for a new position and feeling a bit down, I visited a shop that sold used woodworking [...]

Drawer Helper Desperation is the mother of invention—isn’t that how the old saying should go for woodworkers? I invented this device when I realized that the drawers in my new armoire tipped down [...]

The dust collection port on my sliding miter saw missed a lot of sawdust, so I added an additional port mounted directly behind the blade. The port is a piece of 3-in. ABS pipe that’s cut at 45 [...]

Rare earth magnets make really slick hinges for small boxes. The lid on this ring box pivots on two hinges made from 10mm magnets—nothing more. Each hinge is composed of two magnets: one is glued [...]

When I’m sanding pitchy wood or removing old finish, my sandpaper gets really gummed up and I can’t get it clean with the rubber eraser-type cleaner. I used to throw it away and buy more. [...]

I needed a way to lift pieces off the surface of my bench for finishing, so I made some 3/4″ x 2″ x 3″ blocks and inserted 1/4″ x 1-1/4″ dowels into them. [...]

I’ve dried my own lumber for years, but I always had a problem getting enough weight on top of the stack, to keep the upper boards from warping. Here’s a solution: Use clamps made from threaded [...]

Shocking Taste I turned on my shop vac to clean up the pile of sawdust that had accumulated while I ripped some pine boards for a cabinet. I live in Colorado, where the air is always dry, and my [...]

Hoisting heavy sheets of plywood and MDF onto my tablesaw is not my idea of workshop fun. That’s why I devised this pivoting rack— and began storing my sheet stock vertically. The rack’s frame [...]

After designing and building custom furniture in southern California for 24 years, I finally got to build my dream workshop. Inspired by the Craftsman style and the designs of the brothers Green, [...]

  I built a deep drawer for my workbench so I would have lots of storage, but it created another problem. The tools I wanted were always at the bottom of the heap. I solved my frustration by [...]

Here’s a simple way to protect your chisels from getting nicked and rusty rattling around in your toolbox. Just cut the fingers off some old leather work gloves. Poke holes with an awl at [...]