Clamp the Clamp

When your hands aren’t strong or large enough to put the last squeeze on a big clamp, try clamping the clamp. My ingenious wife, who has very small hands, invented this solution. She works [...]

Sweet-Cutting Blade

Tool: Super General T.K. Manufacturer: Infinity Price: $109 Do you avoid changing blades on your tablesaw? Do you feel like your tablesaw doesn’t have enough power? Is your current blade [...]

Pipe Clamp Vise

Tool: Pipe Vise Manufacturer: Lee Valley Price: $65 A tail vise is an essential part of a first-class workbench. It’s used to hold work on top of the bench, between dogs. Most types of tail [...]

One Coat Coverage

One Coat Coverage I had finished building new frame and panel doors for my kitchen cabinets and knew the stain would really make the grain pop. I laid the first door on my workbench, with the [...]

Plywood Cutting Guide

Think of it almost like a DIY track saw. Crosscutting a full sheet of plywood on a tablesaw is pretty difficult, particularly when you don’t have any help. I use a circular saw and this [...]

Gorilla Glue, Travel Size

Tool: Gorilla Glue Minis Manufacturer: Gorilla Glue Price: $7 (pack of 4) A little bit of Gorilla Glue will do just fine, thank you, for lots of jobs. It now comes in small Single Use Tubes, 4 to [...]

Lumberyard Bowl

Although most bowls are turned from green material, working with kiln-dried lumber has its advantages. You don’t have to deal with checks and cracks or significant distortion. Sanding is [...]

Small-Job Sprayer

Tool: Preval Spray System Manufacturer: Preval Price: $5 For spraying small projects, this portable, self-contained Preval Spray System sprays almost any finish quickly and easily. Just fill the [...]

Easy Bench Upgrade

Tool: Inset Vise Manufacturer: Veritas Price: $98 A good tail vise sometimes ends up being an after-thought. When you built your bench, maybe you could only afford to shell out for the face vise, [...]

Down-to-Earth Shop

I always look forward to reading “My Shop” in American Woodworker. I envy those guys who have woodshops the size of a five-car garage that look more like castles than workshops.  Some [...]

Crosscut Sled Stop & Hold Down

I had to crosscut narrow strips to make a cutting board. The boards were too wide for my miter saw, so I decided to use my tablesaw’s crosscut sled. I tried a standard stop, but after a few [...]

Accurate Inside Measurement

An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf. Typically, most people would [...]

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