To sand a lot of molding, glue 80-grit sandpaper to several inches of the molding. Rub a block of Styrofoam on the sandpaper until the block conforms to the molding’s contour. Glue sandpaper to the block, then sand the molding. This method works best on large cove moldings; small rounds or hollows can loose their…

I don’t like to lay my router on its side with the bit exposed, so I built a stand for it. It’s just a 3/4″ x 8″ x 8″ board with a 2″ dia. hole in the center. The board sits on 2″ tall legs. I added shelf liner to the top of the stand…

The limited crosscut capacity of my cabinet saw made it a challenge to cut wider boards, so I designed an infeed table that hangs on a wall when not in use and quickly and securely attaches to the front rail of my saw with Universal Fence Clamps (Rockler #31373). To make the infeed table, use…

Bench grips are handy for holding parts above the bench for routing, sanding or finishing.  To make them, just cut some wood and rubber shelf liner into 2″ to 3″ squares. Glue the shelf liner onto both sides of each square using spray adhesive, such as 3M Super 77. –Marlin Davis

Good light is a must in every workshop, but sometimes I need a little extra light in just the right place. To make my light/magnifier more portable, I drilled a hole in a handscrew to fit the light’s post. Now I can clamp the light to any of my benches, stationary tools, or shelves. –Edward…

Instead of measuring for my circular saw’s offset each time I need to make a cut, I use a modified edge guide. I screwed two 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 12″ hardwood blocks to the front and back clamp bars of the guide and clamped the guide to a board. Next, I placed the saw’s base…

Let’s face it: running a twisted board through the planer doesn’t make it flat. The board will still be twisted when it comes out. The trick is to use a sled that prevents the board from rocking as it’s being planed. That’s not a new idea, but I’ve made a sled that accommodates a board…

To support a large panel while I drilled holes in the edge for dowels, I added a second sliding clamp jaw to a pipe clamp and clamped it to the edge of my workbench. -Steve Keller

I own several routers and they all have thin wrenches that are awkward to hold. To avoid frustration, I made the handles thicker by housing them in transparent plastic tubing from the hardware store. To keep the tubing in place, I wrapped the handles with athletic tape first. –Serge Duclos

I have a hard time throwing things away, such as these chucks from a couple of worn-out drills. To put them back into service, I bought a 3 ft. long, 3/8″ dia. threaded rod at the hardware store and cut it into two pieces, 12″ and 24″ long. I threaded the old chucks onto the rods and…

On a crosscut sled, the fence must be absolutely square to the blade. Here’s a super-accurate method of testing for square. It makes errors easier to detect by magnifying them by a factor of four. The same method also works for a miter gauge, using smaller test pieces. Start with a piece of plywood about…

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 can buy this tape on Amazon or at most fabric stores. Peel-n-Stick Ruler Tape is non-metallic, and comes in a 1/2″-wide x 30′-long roll….