Crosscut Sled Scale
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 [...]
Stock Sizing Board
Planing stock to fit standard dados is much easier than trying to find the right chipper and shim combination to fit the dado to your stock. I cut five grooves in a scrap of plywood, using only [...]
Self Portrait
Self Portrait Seeing that it was a very fine day, I began to carve a gnome. This little guy would be my masterpiece. Hours, then days passed as I worked on my gnome. From his ridiculously long [...]
Wooden Bar Clamp
I saw stars the last time I dropped a bar clamp on my foot. Then I saw the light, in the form of a wooden handscrew. I’d been making my own handscrews—wood threads and all—for years. Why [...]
Set-up / Sanding Combo
Tool: Table Saw Setup and Sanding Disks Manufacturer: Infinity MSRP: $29.90 This tablesaw set-up/sanding kit from Infinity really hits the mark for me. As I’ve noted in the past, a tool [...]
All-Purpose Bench
Tool: Universal Bench Manufacturer: Kreg MSRP: $145+ Every shop needs a bench. In fact, two or three is even better, as you’ll want an assembly table that’s a little lower than your [...]
My Luthier’s Shop
My shop is located in a spare bedroom. As a luthier, I don’t need a lot of space—just enough to allow working on a double bass. What I do need, though, is storage for lots of small parts, [...]
Monticello Lap Desk
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Benjamin Randolph, a Philadelphia cabinetmaker, to build a compact lap desk to serve as a portable office. This small mahogany box, now prominently [...]
Pint-Size Precision
Tool: Micro Plunge Base Manufacturer: Micro Fence Price: $300 The term “precision” tends to be thrown around with impunity, but in this case, it’s warranted. Imagine [...]
Plywood Play Table
Easy to make, easy to assemble and built to last. Back in the Paleozoic era, when I was a kid, one of my favorite pastimes was playing with a Brio wooden train set. I spread the tracks all over [...]
Pinwheel Picture Frame
Both of the prints I planned to frame included a windmill as a minor detail. Thinking, “what if?” I grabbed four pieces of scrap wood, made a pinwheel, and thought, “not [...]
Make a Book-Matched Veneer Door Panel
Peeling surfaces on inexpensive furniture give veneering a bad name. It’s actually a sophisticated technique with a rich history dating all the way back to the Egyptian pharaohs. So it may be [...]