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To keep stock from slipping when using my miter gauge, I rely on this simple jig. Screw a 3/4″ x 2″ fence to your miter gauge. Make it whatever length you need. Use a continuous hinge [...]

Two simple router jigs to get perfectly sized dados and grooves, even for undersized plywood. Project #2217 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Day • Cost: $75 The ability to cut perfectly [...]

With five pieces of wood and a clamp, you can make vertical cuts safely. Most magazine articles about jigs miss the point entirely. Jigs exist to make work easier, safer and more accurate. They [...]

Machine joints that look hand-made. Imagine cutting through dovetails with pins and sockets spaced any way you like—as if they were cut by hand. Now imagine cutting them without using a dovetail [...]

Demystify cutting tenons on curved parts using these simple steps and jigs. Ever wonder how furniture builders cut joinery on curved parts? A common place to see this is on chair backrests, [...]

My task: 28 kitchen drawers of different sizes, all with hand-cut dovetails. The thought of laying these out was overwhelming, so I designed a jig to simplify the process. To make the jig, [...]

These simple shop-made helpers will make marking less of a chore. Marking out dovetails for hand cutting goes much easier with these helpers. Held in place while hooked over the end of a board, [...]

I wanted to rout some shelf dados, but I didn’t have the correct-size bit for the job. Fortunately, my dad stopped by and, as usual, had the answer to my problem. We cobbled up a couple L-shaped [...]

This millwork technique can be used to make curved parts with accuracy and ease. Much of my recent work has been making period-appropriate arch-top sash windows for an historic building. They are [...]

I use lots of wedges in my shop, sometimes as disposable clamp pads for tricky glue-ups or for general shimming chores. Sometimes they’re incorporated into a project, as when making wedged [...]

To build the ultimate jig, use a tap. When I build a jig or fixture that needs to come apart, I don’t use wood screws, I use machine screws–and tap holes in the wood to receive them. It’s very [...]

This extra-long mortising fence helps you cut “blind” joints in your work. Cabinets and furniture often have “blind” joints − dados, grooves or rabbets that are stopped at one end so you can’t [...]