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A bevel is a bevel… except when it’s a miter, unless it’s a chamfer. Confused yet? You’re not alone. To the uninitiated, woodworking can be a tough nut to crack. Even the most basic of projects [...]

Tools and techniques for general metalwork in the shop. While the woodshop may be where I’m most comfortable, I’ve been fascinated by metalwork for some time. I’m always watching for tips and [...]

Basic woodworking tools are different from beginner woodworking tools. For one thing, I don’t like to use the word “beginner” unless I am using it accurately. It’s not a very useful label, in my [...]

Do you feel that? The chill in the air? It’s the sign that peak woodworking season is upon us (especially for those of us without climate-controlled workshops). This year the first [...]

“So this is what they used to look like. Wow!” That’s what I told all my friends after spending hours completely disassembling, cleaning and polishing a Porter-Cable Model 507 Extra Heavy-Duty [...]

I’ve always had bad luck with really small drill bits–if I don’t break them, I lose them. I’ve stopped buying new ones, and now clip the heads off finish nails and use the nails [...]

In my previous post, I shared two useful tips to streamline the assembly of a SawStop cabinet saw. In this installment, I’ll focus on aligning the tabletop and the miter gauge slots with the saw [...]

Routers — love them or hate them, there are an overwhelming amount of options available. Here’s the breakdown on how this midsized lot performs. A router is a fundamental woodworking tool [...]

I like to use carpenter’s pencils until they’re worn down to stubs. Stubs aren’t very handy, though–they’re hard to dig out of a pocket. To solve this problem, I gathered up all [...]

Building for the love of wood. A visit to the Design in Wood exhibition, the annual show sponsored by the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, inspired me to enter this chest of drawers, which [...]

My tablesaw’s top often does double duty as an assembly table. It’s a guaranteed-flat surface. When I glue or screw together a project, it won’t come out twisted. Sometimes I use the saw’s fence [...]

I bought this old 18” bandsaw for a song from a used machinery dealer over 30 years ago. “It came from a local high school,” he said. “I heard that it was purchased by the school back in the [...]