Task Light Retro-Fit

I made a go-anywhere task light by retrofitting an old, broken fixture with a new, battery-powered LED light. First, I removed the cord and inner workings from the task light. Then I screwed a [...]

High And Dry Ply

After ruining four $90 sheets of plywood by storing them on a damp floor, I came up with a simple fix: PVC feet. Cut several 12″ sections of 2″ dia. PVC pipe in half, lengthwise. [...]

Ultra-Cheap Face Vise

For years, I sanded and hand planed panel edges by laying them flat on my workbench.  I could never quite squeeze a bench vise into my woodworking budget, so I came up with this fast, inexpensive [...]

Miter Saw Dust Collection Box

Effective control for a notorious sawdust creator In addition to being versatile, accurate and virtually indispensable, my sliding miter saw also excels at spewing sawdust and resisting effective [...]

Zero-Clearance Miter Table

Here’s a dirt-simple but effective accessory for your miter saw. It eliminates tear-out, allows you to make precision cuts by aligning a pencil mark with the kerf, and provides room to screw or [...]

My Penmaker’s Workshop

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in American Woodwork #142, June/July 2009. I stumbled onto pen making seven years ago, as I was scouring through my husband Jerry’s [...]

Under-Stairs Mobile Storage

Crawling around under the basement stairs to find what may or may not be in this box or that was a pain. However, leaving the space empty was not an option. I built this cart to make use of every [...]

Easy-to-Adjust Featherboards

Tool: Paralign Single Featherboard Shop Now and Paralign Double Featherboard Shop Now Manufacturer: JessEm MSRP: $27.99 & $48.99 At first glance, JessEm’s Paralign Featherboard might look [...]

Precision Height Gauge

To set the height of a router bit—within .001″, if necessary—I made this simple stand for my caliper. It works on a router table or a hand-held router. Two screws with washers secure the [...]

Bee Gone 

Bee Gone  So, I’m using a wire brush chucked in a drill to clean the rust off of some old metal brackets that I’m planning to use in my new lumber rack. I’ve got a bracket in one hand and …

Rolling Scrap Bin

Who says you can’t put a square peg in a round hole?  My scrap bin is made from round cardboard tubes made for concrete forms. These tubes are available at home centers; they’re [...]

No-Mistake Protractor

Tool: 5-in-1 Combination Protractor Shop Now  Manufacturer: Starrett MSRP: $142 If walls were all exactly 90 degrees, installing cabinets and trim would be a lot easier. When it comes to [...]

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