Archives

Tool: Leg-Up Shop Now   Manufacturer: Gorilla Gripper MSRP: $54.90 Most of us know all too well the hassles of working with large sheets of plywood. You get home from the lumberyard, drag [...]

Runaway Router My first router, a 1968 Stanley, was a heavy, single-speed machine. I remember it well because of what happened the very first time I used it. I chucked up a Roman ogee bit and [...]

Every woodworker knows not to rely on inside measurements made with a tape measure. Instead, I use two steel rules with dimensions that run to the edges. I butt one rule at each end, so the [...]

While looking around the shop to find a shim for my dado set, I saw the plastic lid from a cottage cheese container in the trash. Hmm, I thought, that could be it. I trimmed away the edge and [...]

Shavings Shower Last spring I reorganized my shop and moved my planer near the garage door so it could spew its shavings harmlessly onto the driveway. Now that it’s colder, I work with the garage [...]

Making an inset drawer line up flush with the face of a cabinet can be fussy work. To make it easy, I just install two screws on the back of the drawer and turn them until the drawer’s front is [...]

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 [...]

A master craftsman’s method for making perfectly spaced drawers. I made this dresser for a client whose father designed and built similar furniture back in the 1950s. Its grid system is very [...]

Six great ideas for space-challenged woodworkers to get more out of their small shops.

Old glasses cases are great for protecting, containing and organizing small tools, scrapers and plane irons. I label the outside so I can see at a glance what’s inside each case. -John Rustan…

Like most woodworkers, I never have enough clamps. Adding to a clamp collection is expensive, so when I needed some deep reach clamps, I made these auxiliary hardwood jaws. The jaws are mortised [...]

In need of some quick lumber storage, I rummaged around my shop for a solution.  I discovered a length of PVC pipe left over from a plumbing job and cut it into three 12″ pieces. I also [...]