Clamping cauls are indispensable for gluing up casework. A caul is simply a stiff piece of wood used to apply pressure where a clamp can’t reach. Sooner or later, you’re going to run into a situation like this; you’re clamping a wide shelf, for example, far from the end of the cabinet’s side. You can’t…

Every little bit helps when trying to keep your shop and tools clean. That’s why we’ve compiled some of our favorite tips all in one place. Mobile Suction My dust collector, though pieced-together, is the perfect solution for my one-car garage shop. I use a cyclone separator and 5-gallon bucket in conjunction with my shop…

Sanding is nobody’s favorite task, but if you use these tricks, you might find it just a little more bearable. Flexible Sanding Tool A complex moulding can be difficult to sand. Softening its crisp edges is a crime, so I’ve been using a thin, flexible stick with sandpaper adhered to it for getting into the…

Tool: Pen Plus Jaws Manufacturer: Nova Price: $40 Drilling pen blanks often involves a drill press and a vise. Doing this operation on your lathe offers a finer degree of control and accuracy – particularly on long blanks – to help prevent break-out on a delicate piece, as well as free end turning, where one end isn’t…

Face jointing boards requires some safety precautions to keep your fingers out of the danger zone. I made this simple push plate with a cleat on the back end. Two handles allow me to apply downward pressure, and the cleat hooks over the workpiece’s end, providing forward pressure. The push plate is made from two thicknesses…

Tool: CMS Router Table Manufacturer: Festool Price: $1720 On one end of the spectrum, there’s the router screwed to the underside of a piece of plywood, supported on sawhorses, with a board clamped across for a fence. On the other end, there’s the Festool CMS router table. The basic principle and end result may be the…

PVC spring clamps aren’t new. I like using them, but thought they could use some improvement. Here’s what I came up with. First, I added two dowels installed 90° from each other (into tight-fitting holes so they will stay put) to act as handles. To be honest, those aren’t actually dowels. Being a thrifty sort,…

Tool: Fusion F2 Manufacturer: Laguna Price: $1800 A cabinet saw is the dream of many woodworkers, but many simply can’t afford one, or don’t have a 220 volt circuit to accommodate one. The folks at Laguna have been working hard to put a cabinet saw within reach of more woodworkers, and the Laguna Fusion – a 110…

Perhaps woodturners should sell naming rights. The field has never standardized the names of woodturning tools (or measurements of their widths or how to describe their angles), so they often go by different names. One tool stands out in this regard: Whether it’s called a spindle gouge, detail gouge, shallow-fluted gouge, fingernail gouge, lady-fingernail gouge,…

Changing saw blades or router bits without unplugging your machine is an often overlooked “no-no”. The risk of bumping the switch and inadvertently turning the machine on is probably low, but certainly not worth taking chances. As a reminder, I fasten my machine’s wrenches to the business end of the power cord using a piece…

Tool: Veritas Shooting Plane Manufacturer: Veritas Price: $356 Shooting a board’s edge with a hand plane is a time-tested way to create perfect fitting joints. Veritas’ new Shooting Plane, made specifically for the task, hits the mark dead on. This modern take on the Stanley #51 shooting plane oozes quality, and is a dream to use….

Squeeze-out happens! You can’t stop it, so you just have to try to contain it. One day while shopping the local home center, I found a product called DRIcore Subfloor.  It’s used as a subfloor in basements as a moisture barrier.I thought it’d make a great glue-up platform.  The panels are flat, and the squeezed-out…

Tool: Lock Miter Master Manufacturer: Infinity Tools Price: $29.90 The lock miter is a strong, beautifully simple joint. Using just one router bit, both halves of the joint are cut using the same setting; one vertically and one horizontally. But have you ever tried setting one up? In order to work, it has to be dead-on perfect,…

Bandsawing long boards without a helper is tricky business. I don’t like roller stands. Most aren’t tall enough for a bandsaw. Also, if your stock butts into the roller instead of riding over it, the stand can tip over. So I made this detachable outfeed table.  When not in use, it lifts off the saw…

Tool: The Dremel Moto-Saw Manufacturer: Dremel Price: $107 A scroll saw is the go-to tool for making fine, detailed cuts. But a scroll saw, for many shops, doesn’t even break into the top ten must-have tools. The Dremel Moto-Saw is at a price point that puts a scroll saw within easy reach for non scroll saw…

Using an awl to precisely locate a hole for drilling can be problematic. Sometimes the awl will drift, going slightly off mark as it’s deflected by the wood’s growth rings. I found that using a nail set instead alleviates the problem. I use the smallest diameter nail set I can find, and use it only…

Tool: GRR-Rip Block Manufacturer: MICROJIG Price: $83 (pack of 2) Push blocks are essential in every shop. I’ve used my fair share of them, and the new GRR-Rip Block from MicroJig just might be the nicest one so far. Most push blocks use a soft rubber pad for a gripping surface. These pads work great for a…

  Add these great performers to advance your skills. Increase your woodworking capabilities and maximize your router’s potential by adding these great performers to your collection of basic straight and edge-forming bits. Tiny Roundover Every router bit “starter set” includes at least one round-over profile, but it won’t be as small as this 1/8″ radius—or…

Emptying my dust collector has never been something I looked forward to. For years I wrestled with the unit to empty the contents. First, I’d remove the bag and empty it into a plastic garbage bag. Then I’d lift the blower off the barrel cover, and then empty the drum, a bucket full at a…

My grama always used lemon oil to clean and polish her wood furniture. Either she just enjoyed having everything clean and dust free or she believed everything she read on the label. Many interesting myths surround furniture polishes, because marketing and selling them is big business. The labels on some of these products make entertaining…

The modern router didn’t arrive on the scene fully evolved; it descended from a hand-powered tool called the router plane. A quick glance at the router plane’s handles – and the tasks for which it was used – makes the family resemblance clear. Though these tools went out of favor in the woodworking trades long…

My Boring Story I needed to rout a deep stopped groove in a long 2×12. So, I installed an up-cut spiral bit in my plunge router, jointed a board to use as a straightedge and clamped everything to a pair of sawhorses. My first pass—3/8″ deep—went without incident. But halfway down the board on the…

Simple Storage by Bill Wells Storage space in a small shop is hard to come by. My tool collection keeps growing, but my shop stays the same size! I needed to organize, so I bought a couple milk crate-type boxes, and turned them into sliding storage bins underneath a shop table. The crates have a…

Turning Tool Tamer by Richard Tendick I was turning a vase recently, and as I got deeper into the turning, the vase’s rotation pulled the tool’s tip down, making it very difficult to keep the tool straight. I made a jig that cost me about $5. It prevents the handle from being pulled up, but…

There are lots of excuses for not using dovetails; cutting them by hand takes time, patience, and lots of practice. A dovetail jig is relatively fool proof, but if you don’t use it regularly, be prepared for an hour or so of re-learning each time you use it. Also, dovetail jigs are expensive; particularly those…

Tool: Mushroom Mag Switch Manufacturer: General International A magnetic switch is a safety device that’s common on many new stationary tools. They’re quickly becoming a requirement for schools and industry. For older tools, two new Mag Switches from General International provide an easy safety upgrade. Imagine this scenario; you trip a breaker while your tool is…

A zero-clearance throat plate is a must-have for every tablesaw. It prevents small offcuts and thin strips from dropping down alongside the blade which is really annoying. Some manufacturers sell blanks specifically for their saws. If not, you have to make your own. It’s pretty easy. You just raise the blade through the blank, and…

Paul McCartney once said that he always walked around with his antenna up.  Random sounds and images were stored in his cerebral temp folder only to reappear years later in unexpected combinations. My Radial Wave Lamp was born in the same way. It’s an amalgam of an unusual router bit that I purchased before I…

So tell me—how many jigs do you have scattered around your shop? Is it true that a guy can’t have too many, just like you can’t have too many clamps? Well, here’s one that I’ll bet you haven’t seen before. I designed it to make a corrugated lamp reflector, but when I was done, I…

Many woodworking tools, like the saw, chisel and plane, go way, way back. We’ve no idea who invented them or who refined them. This jig is one of those anonymous acts of genius. How in the world did somebody come up with such a neat idea? You spin an arm around and around, and instead…

Sliding dovetail joints are peculiar—sometimes, the two parts are meant to travel past one another; other times, they’re glued together. Whatever their purpose, making these joints is craftsmanship at its best. You need decent tools, an eye for precision, and practice. In this article, you’ll learn a surefire method for getting fantastic results. I’ll describe…

Curved lines in any project are both a blessing and a curse. They’re a blessing for the eye of the beholder, but a curse for the poor guy who has to make them. Executing a perfect, fair curve—particularly a large one—isn’t easy. If you cut one freehand, you’re often faced with hours of sanding to…

On one end of the spectrum, there’s the router screwed to the underside of a piece of plywood, supported on sawhorses, with a board clamped across for a fence. On the other end, there’s the Festool CMS router table. The basic principle and end result may be the same, but then, the same could be…

Remember the slide rule? I sure do. Back in high school chemistry, years ago, we all had to learn how to use a slide rule to quickly multiply and divide large numbers. Not everybody succeeded; the gizmo looked so complicated that a lot of kids just gave up. But if you strip a slide rule…

Cordless Drill Mortise Mill Editor’s note: This product no longer appears to be available. This mortising jig is small, but don’t be fooled by its toy-like appearance; the JessEm Pocket Mortise Mill II is a finely crafted, precision jig. Coupled with a hand drill, you can make clean, accurate 1/4″ mortises for loose tenon joinery….

The JDS Multi-Router recently passed its 25th anniversary. In all those years, there’s been only one relatively minor change to this venerable joint-making machine—a remarkable feat when you consider how frequently woodworking tools are upgraded or redesigned. The Multi-Router can be used to cut dovetails and many other useful woodworking joints, but it excels at…

Editor’s note: this product no longer appears to be available. Cyanoacrylite (CA) glues have been around for years, but the folks at Bioformix have come out with a new twist, making a product that’s much more practical for general woodworking. Most CA glues have a very short working time. Nexabond 2500 is available in three…

Router Table with Nice Features, Nice Price Looking for a full-featured router table? Don’t want to break the bank? If so, the Premium Die Cast Aluminum Router Table from Craftsman is definitely worth a look. It has all the necessary features and a few nice extras. The 20″ wide x 30″ long cast aluminum top…