Archives

Q & A: Steam Bending Gear   Q: What do I need to know before building a simple steam-bending rig?   A: Steam bending doesn’t require sophisticated equipment. For a single [...]

Lightweight Extension Wings     Extension wings on the miter saw make cutting long stock a breeze. My shop-made wings install and knock down in seconds and they’re as light as [...]

Sanding through a veneer happens to everyone sooner or later. Here’s an old cabinetmaker’s trick that will salvage what looks to be a hopeless situation.

10 Things You Need to Know About Plastic Lumber By Brad Holden No, we haven’t changed our name to American Plasticworker. I love wood, with all its beautiful textures, figures and smells. [...]

Q & A: Router Table Miter Joints   Q: I plan to build some jewelry boxes with mitered corners, but my contractor’s saw does a poor job of cutting miters. Can I use my router table [...]

Tackle Box Storage This is my all-time favorite way to store screws, small hardware and router bits. Fishing tackle boxes come in a variety of sizes and shapes but I picked this one because the [...]

Q & A: Avoiding Swirl Marks   Q: I just stained a tabletop and found it covered with tiny swirl marks from my random-orbital sander.What did I do wrong? A: Swirl marks are inevitable. [...]

Tablesaw Tool Drawer It seems like I’m always misplacing my push sticks, blade wrench, featherboards and other small tablesaw accessories.To solve my problem I added a shallow drawer under [...]

Q & A: Cordless Impact Drivers   Q: What’s the difference between a cordless drill and a cordless impact driver? A: An impact driver is specifically designed to drive threaded fasteners. [...]

by Jack Phillips I never throw anything away. Some day, I tell myself, the stuff in that neglected pile of junk will come in handy. I was right! I resurrected my old Craftsman table saw fence and [...]

Q & A: Safely Rough-Cut Twisted Lumber   Q: I buy my lumber rough, and sometimes I get a very twisted or crooked board. What’s a safe way to crosscut and put a straight edge on these [...]

Spray Booth for Waterborne Finishes   Fifty bucks and a few hours is all it takes to put together this finishing booth. It keeps overspray off my tools and dust off my projects. Since I use [...]