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About 30 years ago, my girlfriend led me to a dark, cluttered basement workshop to meet a sweet, 70-ish gem of a man: her grandfather, Hayes. He was surrounded by a lifetime’s collection of [...]

Chisel Sharpening Jig If you’ve had trouble grinding a straight edge on a chisel or plane iron, try using your disc sander. All you need is a guide that slides in your sander’s miter gauge slot [...]

My beam compass is perfect for drawing huge arcs. It’s super easy to make, and I can adjust it quickly without using screws or clamps. To change the arc’s radius, I just slide a [...]

Even though my shop is well-lit, sometimes I need more light right on my work area. Instead of rigging up additional lights, I attach a small clip-on LED light to my cap’s brim. It’s great for [...]

With all the high-tech, expensive tools in my shop, I still find a dozen uses for a simple, inexpensive hunk of paraffin wax. I use it anywhere I need lubrication to slide material: the tops of [...]

My shop may appear rustic, but you won’t find a dirt floor or antique machinery inside. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in American Woodworker #146. In fact, my friends all [...]

Resawing can be a wild ride. You never know exactly what’s going to happen when you cut open a board! Just getting your tablesaw or bandsaw to work right can be an adventure, too. Resawing [...]

Rout raised panel look-alikes in minutes.  Raised panel doors made with traditional stile and rail joinery are my first choice for cabinets. But I don’t always use them. For example, cabinets for [...]

Editor’s note: Special thanks to reader Bob L, who pointed out that putting a rare earth magnet that close to a moving saw blade can have catastrophic consequences. If you choose to use [...]

Simple Router Table While many woodworkers spend weekends making stationary router tables, mine have always been very simple, driven by expediency, and the desire to get other things done. My [...]

To Get the most from my limited shop space, I built a two-sided “mobile tool wall” to park in front of my overhead garage door. The wall is just basic carpentry construction, with a 3/4″ [...]