Tricks of the Trade

The fastest way to rabbet the back of a cabinet is to do it all at once, after the cabinet is assembled. Unlike rabbeting individual pieces before assembly, I don’t have to worry about where to [...]

Achieving exact thickness is really important when making splines to reinforce box corners. The splines have to fit perfectly in the saw kerfs—a few thousandths of an inch one way or the other [...]

Drawer knobs that work loose and spin around drive me crazy. So instead of drilling a hole through the drawer front and screwing the knobs on from the back, I fasten them to a post that’s [...]

As a guitar maker, I rip a lot of very narrow wood strips, which can be difficult and dangerous to cut on a table saw. Instead, I cut them on the band saw using a low-profile fence, which allows [...]

To save space, my trash can doubles as a work support. I made a dolly with locking casters to fit the can’s bottom, so I can roll the unit to wherever it’s needed. The work support is adjustable [...]

I use lots of Phillips-head sheetrock screws, which are made of hardened steel. They’re tough on bits. A worn-out bit can’t be re-sharpened, so I reshape it to fit a slotted screw [...]

Hoses and dustports come in so many different diameters that you can go crazy trying to match them up. Sometimes, you can find a hose or adapter that will fit inside a dustport, but its smaller [...]

After hooking up my new dust collector to my contractor’s saw, I found that it just didn’t pull as much air as I’d like, even after sealing up the most obvious leaks. After further inspection, I [...]

To prevent rust and reduce feed friction, I apply paste wax regularly to my metal tool tables and other surfaces. It does a great job – but what a chore to buff the wax by hand! To make the job [...]

I use a sled for cross cutting 3/4-in. melamine and plywood panels up to 24 inches wide. These panels can be hard to hold in position while making a cut, so I installed a cam lever that securely [...]

Sturdy yet collapsible is easier said than done, but this drying rack is both. It folds flat against the wall to save space until I need it. I made my rack 36 in. tall, with 8 in. between levels. [...]

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: [...]