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Strictly speaking, no, they’re not. But these Fire Hose Work Pants from Duluth Trading Co. are as at-home in the shop as any of my tools. The “Fire Hose” name comes from the [...]

Precise height adjustments on router bits and saw blades can be tricky because it’s really hard to see or measure small changes. This 1:8 tapered gauge “magnifies” them. Each [...]

Cutting wooden plugs used to be frustrating. I like to keep the bit going, but each time I would cut a new plug the previous one would be pushed out of the cutter and fly across the shop, landing [...]

Tool: MicroJig Tapering Jig Manufacturer: MicroJig Price: $109 Some jigs get stuck in a design rut—they never seem to change. Take a typical double-armed tapering jig, for example. It’s [...]

A push pad is essential for jointing, routing or ripping because it keeps your fingers away from the danger zone. I’m always on the lookout for a pad that’s larger and grippier than [...]

Wood Filler Fiasco In order to fill some tiny gaps in a box I was making, I decided to make my own wood filler. I dumped fine sawdust from my sander’s filter bag into a small cup. Then I …

Changing saw blades or router bits without unplugging your machine is an often overlooked “no-no”. The risk of bumping the switch and inadvertently turning the machine on is probably [...]

Tool: Veritas Shooting Plane Manufacturer: Veritas Price: $356 Shooting a board’s edge with a hand plane is a time-tested way to create perfect fitting joints. Veritas’ new Shooting [...]

A storage tray is a useful addition to any stationary tool. After adding this one to my tablesaw, I don’t know how I ever did without it. I made the tray about 3″ deep, just deep [...]

Equally-Spaced Dovetails Every Time When laying out dovetails, I always start by marking the centers of the pins so the distance between them is approximately the same. I came up with this trick [...]

Unsatisfactory bandsaw fence? This simple shop-made fence and track system could be the answer. The tracks are formed by gluing up three pieces of hardwood. A slotted fence provides adjustment [...]

Squeeze-out happens! You can’t stop it, so you just have to try to contain it. One day while shopping the local home center, I found a product called DRIcore Subfloor.  It’s used as a [...]