Workshop Tips: Router Depth Setter

This jig makes it easy to set up the bit for routing flutes and dadoes. I simply drop the appropriate depth gauge into the channel, set my router on top and lower the bit until it touches the [...]

Workshop Tips: No-Slip Miter Gauge Face

Trimming miters used to drive me crazy, because I couldn’t hold the piece I was trimming securely enough against the miter gauge. The piece would always slide away from the blade during the [...]

Router Table Safety Boost

Tool: Mushroom Mag Switch Manufacturer: General International A magnetic switch is a safety device that’s common on many new stationary tools. They’re quickly becoming a requirement [...]

Zero Clearance Relief Cut

A zero-clearance throat plate is a must-have for every tablesaw. It prevents small offcuts and thin strips from dropping down alongside the blade which is really annoying. Some manufacturers sell [...]

Tablet Shop Stand

A computer in the shop is becoming increasingly common. I use my tablet in the shop all the time; it’s where I keep project plans, cutting lists, etc. I also use it to video chat with other [...]

Workshop Tips: Table Saw Storage

Pegboard isn’t just for walls—it’s perfect for organizing stuff wherever you need to store it. I’ve bolted a piece of perfboard to the end of my table saw’s extension table to hold all the [...]

Dowels and Tenons with a Grip

Editors note: This item no longer appears to be available. Dowels and loose tenons have been around for some time. Both have stood the test of time, making strong, simple, reliable joints. While [...]

Workshop Tips: Stop Block that Stays Put

When making repetitive cuts, I found that my stop block would shift. With a hardwood cutoff, a leftover piece of T-track, a 1/4–20 hex head bolt and a jig knob, I constructed a stop block that [...]

Workshop Tips: Hook for Inset Doors

Have you ever closed an inset door in a cabinet you were building and found that you couldn’t open it, because you hadn’t added the knob yet? Well, I have. Here’s an easy effective solution: Make [...]

Workshop Tips: Benchtop Board Clamp

My father showed me this “bird’s mouth” jig almost 60 years ago. It securely clamps 1/4- to 3″thick boards on edge. It’s so useful that I’ve never bothered to add a vise to my workbench. [...]

Workshop Tips: Clamp-Free Rip Fence

After years of fumbling with clamps, I decided there must be a better way to attach featherboards to my tablesaw’s rip fence. Two T-tracks screwed to the fence allow me to mount a piece of [...]

Workshop Tips: Square The Table

Square the table using this old machinists’ trick. Bend a piece of 1/4”. steel rod (available at home centers) into an S shape, as shown in the photo above. Mount it in the chuck and swing it by [...]

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