Archives

Minimize Router Burns End grain burns easily on maple and cherry, and those burns are hard to remove. After sanding my fingers to the bone following one particularly unfortunate routing pass, I [...]

Whether applied or integral, recessed or relieved, mouldings bring style to a structure. Different combinations of these concave and convex surfaces, or profiles, play with light and shadow to [...]

Scratch-Free Flush Cuts No matter how carefully I cut with my economy-model flushcutting saw, it always left scratch marks on the wood’s surface. To solve the problem, I attached a playing card [...]

Q: Does varnish go bad sitting on the shelf? A: Unopened varnish should last for years on the shelf when kept away from excessive heat. When a can is opened and the finish exposed to oxygen, [...]

Tambour Doors Disappearing doors hide your clutter and show off your skill. Tambour doors are a bit of woodworking sleight of hand. Now you see them, now you don’t. Fun to open and fun to close, [...]

Glue Squeegee I stack-laminate boards to create turning blanks. Each blank contains numerous laminations, so I have to work fast during assembly. To spread glue quickly and evenly, I use a [...]

Wedged Mortise and Tenon This joint will never loosen! By Tom Caspar   Tap, tap, tap. The wedges go home, the glue squeezes out and a big smile lights up your face. “This joint [...]

Dovetailer’s Dream Vise Treat yourself to the secure, even grip that’s essential for precision work. By Brad Holden Cutting dovetails by hand is satisfying and rewarding work, but [...]

Q: I make my own guards and router bases from plastic. How can I drill clean holes without the bit grabbing the plastic? A: A simple solution is to file a flat edge on a regular twist bit’s [...]

Soup Up Your Router Table By Dave Munkittrick Your router table will really sing with these great accessories. Like all good tools, our accessories will increase safety and improve results. Even [...]

Desktop File Holder   A desktop file holder is a great office accessory. It provides easy and immediate access to the files you’re currently working with so you don’t wear a path between [...]

Stuck Gib Nut Q: I managed to round-over a gib nut on my planer’s blade holder. I’ve tried everything to free that nut. Any suggestions? A: AYou can free a stuck nut by striking it with a center [...]