Tricks of the Trade

Bench grips are handy for holding parts above the bench for routing, sanding or finishing.  To make them, just cut some wood and rubber shelf liner into 2″ to 3″ squares. Glue the [...]

Good light is a must in every workshop, but sometimes I need a little extra light in just the right place. To make my light/magnifier more portable, I drilled a hole in a handscrew to fit the [...]

Instead of measuring for my circular saw’s offset each time I need to make a cut, I use a modified edge guide. I screwed two 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 12″ hardwood blocks to the front and [...]

Let’s face it: running a twisted board through the planer doesn’t make it flat. The board will still be twisted when it comes out. The trick is to use a sled that prevents the board from rocking [...]

To support a large panel while I drilled holes in the edge for dowels, I added a second sliding clamp jaw to a pipe clamp and clamped it to the edge of my workbench. -Steve Keller…

I own several routers and they all have thin wrenches that are awkward to hold. To avoid frustration, I made the handles thicker by housing them in transparent plastic tubing from the hardware [...]

I have a hard time throwing things away, such as these chucks from a couple of worn-out drills. To put them back into service, I bought a 3 ft. long, 3/8″ dia. threaded rod at the hardware [...]

On a crosscut sled, the fence must be absolutely square to the blade. Here’s a super-accurate method of testing for square. It makes errors easier to detect by magnifying them by a factor of [...]

My crosscut sled is my “go-to” jig for precise, square cuts. Recently, I added this self-adhesive tape scale – called Peel-n-Stick Ruler Tape – that makes it even more efficient. You [...]

Countersink first, drill the pilot hole second. That may sound backward, but it’s the easiest way to ensure a perfect countersink.

My simple tenoning jig produces flawless tenons in minutes— even haunched tenons. The jig consists of a sled with a glued-on support block and a screwed-on sacrificial backstop. The sled and [...]

Here is my adjustable jig for ripping thin strips on a table saw. Used with a push stick and zero-clearance insert, it keeps my hands a safe distance away from the sawblade. The base is MDF [...]