Adjustable-Width File

Hacksaw blades ganged together make a really useful file, one that can be as wide or narrow as you wish. The blades may be full length or half-length. (Use a rotary tool to cut them in half). To [...]

Finishing Stick

Finishing the plugs for covering screw holes is a pain. When you run a brush or rag over them after they’re installed, they’ll probably cause the finish to run or drip. Finishing them [...]

Perfectly Square Edges Using a Planer

I’ve had trouble making square and smooth edges on face frame parts, but this planer jig solved all my problems. It produces accurate and consistent results. For the jig’s base, cut T-slots in a [...]

Eye-Catching Finishes for Small Projects

Take a walk on the wild side of finishing. I’ve got six good reasons to skip the stain and polyurethane on your next small project: bleached, blended, charred, marbled, salt and pepper, and iron [...]

Miter Gauge Grip

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 [...]

Finishing Turntable

My finishing turntable is perfect for spraying large parts or projects. To make the device, I mounted five fixed 3-1/2” casters on a plywood panel. They’re equally spaced in a 16” diameter [...]

5 Ways to Make a Mortise

A hole is just a hole, no matter how you dig it. The mortise-and-tenon joint is fundamental in woodworking. Along with the dovetail, this joint has been used for thousands of years. If you judge [...]

Cheap On-board Task Lighting

I’ve been noticing a lot of new tools these days that come equipped with on-board task lighting. Then while recently perusing my local home-improvement center, I noticed these small [...]

8 Ways to Make Tenons

A quick guide to the pros and cons of how to make the difficult part of a classic joint. Many pieces of old handmade furniture owe their long life to mortise and tenon joints. There are many [...]

Start typing and press Enter to search