SURE SHOT When I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child, I decided to make a cradle. Nine months seemed like plenty of time, but naturally, I finished building the cradle with only a [...]
Snake Surprise While I was visiting my brother in Florida, he showed me his latest toy, a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill. A huge hickory log was mounted on the cutting platform. Sawdust puffed as [...]
While making Shaker boxes, I built a jig to accurately rip 1/16″ thick strips without getting my hands too close to the blade. In fact, I can leave the guard on the saw. The jig has two [...]
I like to use purpleheart pen blanks because they’re less expensive than other exotic hardwoods. Recently, I stumbled on a cool trick. I discovered that I could cause the wood to overheat and [...]
Tool: Nx60 Shop Now and DX60 Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $209+ These low-angle block planes from Lee Valley are beautiful marriages of fine art and sound engineering. [...]
After years of use, I could hardly see through my table saw’s guard. While at a car show, I heard that polish for renewing aluminum wheels also worked to clear up old headlight lenses—so I [...]
SUPER GLUED After making a small repair with super glue, I put the tube in my pocket and forgot about it. Later, when I saw the tube’s cap sitting on my workbench, I instinctively reached into my [...]
Tool: Excalibur EX-16 Shop Now Manufacturer: General International MSRP: $499.99 Cramped for space? If so, this compact scroll saw from General International may be just the [...]
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of American Woodworker I share my workshop with about 12,000 others. It’s the military woodshop at Offutt Air Force [...]
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 [...]
Tool: Thin Rip Tablesaw Jig Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $34.99 This tablesaw jig allows you to rip consistent thin strips safely and accurately. The jig clamps in the [...]
Tool: Laser Drill Press Buy Now Manufacturer: Delta Delta’s 18″ drill press is specifically designed for woodworking. The difference is in the table: It’s a big improvement [...]
