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Pants on Fire When Daylight Savings Time begins, I make it a point to change the batteries in the three smoke detectors in my workshop. It was that time again, so I bought new 9-volt batteries [...]

Dust is a real problem when you can’t use a router table’s fence and its dustport. Here's a clever way to suck up that dust using your shop vacuum's nozzle.

Flush-cutting dowels, corner keys or screw-hole plugs used to frustrate me because my saw’s teeth always left scratches on the project’s surface. Rather than buy a special flush-cutting saw, I [...]

I used to have three shooting boards for planing end grain: one for 90° cuts, one for 45° horizontal miters and one for 45° vertical miters. Now I’ve combined them all into one. The jig’s main [...]

An F-style clamp works well for getting into tight spaces, but how do you turn the handle? The answer: Just drill a couple of holes through it and insert a screwdriver. A 90° offset to the holes [...]

While staring at the pile of assorted hardware I just accidentally spilled onto my sawdust-covered floor, my thoughts quickly turned from banging my head against the wall to patting myself on the [...]

Dado a few sticks, then practice your ABCs. Think twice before you take this puzzle apart. It has six faces, each face has nine squares and each square is lettered. That’s two complete alphabets [...]

They’re a sure sign of good craftsmanship, but are almost invisible. Small and discreet, knife hinges lend a tidy, refined look to your project. They’re ideal for a small cabinet if you want the [...]

Super-Accurate Tablesaw Tilt Tablesaw tilt gauges are inherently inaccurate. After all, the degree lines are usually at least 1/16″ wide. I use a digital angle gauge instead, which is [...]

Have you ever clamped a part in one side of a vise, only to find that the piece slips? If you had looked at the vise’s front jaw, you probably would have noticed that it was skewed,  pinching [...]

Tool: Steam Bending Kit Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $79.99 The first hurdle in steam bending is just getting set up. How are you going to boil the water? How are you going to get the steam to the [...]

What makes this wood so special? Fungus. If there’s one wood that can really challenge your sense of design—and your woodworking skills—it’s spalted maple. Those inky black lines can both delight [...]