Tool: Stainless Steel Precision Rulers Shop Now  Manufacturer: JessEm MSRP: $24.99+ The Canadian company JessEm, known for their high-quality router lifts, recently released a new line of precision steel rules. As you can see in the photo above, what makes these rules different than others is the laser-cut shapes in the center. These shapes are…

Why you’re better off to look this gift horse in the mouth. There is a trap lurking within the pages of our magazine. It is also in most woodworking magazines, and many books. It is called the cutlist, and while it poses as your helpful friend, you’re better off to ignore it and make your…

Tools: A Visual Exploration of Implements & Devices in the Workshop If there’s one thing to be said about woodworkers, it’s that we’re old school and prefer to pick up a book (or a magazine). With that in mind, I’m thankful for the community of master woodworkers that put forth a great effort to put…

Over the years I have used about every type of marking gauge made. I prefer the newer wheel gauges because they’re easy to adjust and tighten, but I think they’re hard to grip. To solve this problem, drill a hole in a piece of 3/4-in.-thick maple that exactly fits the steel rod of the gauge….

You’re measuring wrong, and making it more difficult to do good work. If the title has you expecting high-tech procedures or suggestions for expensive measurement gear that’ll get you closer to Angstrom-level measurements, then let me disappoint you quite thoroughly before paragraph one ends. This isn’t that kind of party. That shouldn’t suggest that I’m…

Tool: STSQ4 4-1/2″ Trim Square Shop Now • STSQ7 7″ Carpenter Square Shop Now • STSQ7-L 7″ Carpenter Square with Level Shop Now Manufacturer: Stiletto MSRP: $74.99 • $84.99 • $99.99 Stiletto, a longtime hand tool maker known for their hammers, is entering the measurement tool market with a trio of new squares. There’s a pair…

Establishing Depth Reference A recent project required making a series of small wooden panels with shallow concave faces. For efficiency and accuracy, I decided to make a series of preliminary cuts on the table saw to establish the basic concave surface, then clean up the faces with an angle grinder and disc sander. It worked…

Tool:ProBlade Tape Measure TB-H2-T-12225 Shop Now Manufacturer: ToughBuilt MSRP: $20.99-$25.99 If you think of a “sexy tool,” a tape measure probably is one of the last things that you’d consider. But at the very least, most of us probably have our favorite one. That is when we can remember where we sat it, at least….

Woodworkers are both cursed and blessed with our hopelessly archaic system of measuring. When it comes time to divide any distance in half, like marking the center of a board’s edge for resawing, it’s best to avoid arithmetic altogether. A combination square will do the trick; just ignore the numbers.  Finding the center takes no…

When I first started teaching the 8th-grade stool-making class, I needed to find an easy method for my students to mark the leg length accurately before trimming them to a parallel surface with the seat. While there are various techniques available, such as using wedges to level the seat and scribing a line on the…

Sometimes it’s fun to build a gadget just because it’s a neat idea. There are many ways to draw a centerline, for example, but this method is very clever. It doesn’t require any measuring or trial-and-error adjustments. To build the marker, you’ll need two hardwood bars 3/4″ x 1″ x 12″, two Plexiglas links 1/4″…

From the PW archives: Megan Fitzpatrick covers the essential measuring tools for beginners, and shows you how to choose ones that will provide accurate results.

The awl is one of the most useful tools in woodworking and perhaps the most basic of them all. Awls help to initiate indentations into which screws, nails, and drill bits will bore. We use them to mark locations for sawing, and score lines to define parts’ parameters. And awls are used to pock holes…

Tool: FitFinder 1/2 Gauge Shop Now   Manufacturer: MicroJig MSRP: $34.99 Dialing in a saw blade, router bit, or other cutting tool to make a cut exactly half the depth of stock seems like a simple task. However, if you’ve ever spent time dialing in a dado or rabbet depth or test fitting a lap…

To mark the exact center of a board, I measure an equal distance from both ends and make two marks. This distance is just an approximation—it doesn’t matter if it’s longer or shorter than exactly half the  length of the board, as long as the marks are reasonably close together. Then I just split the…

To conclude this series of entries about lapping/flattening the soles of metal planes (read them here #1, #2, #3, #4), I wish to share some information about the precision tools I use.  The difference between Straight Edges and Rules The primary tool I mentioned throughout this series was the straight edge. I use it to…

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 graduations overlap. To calculate the exact inside measurement, I read one ruler from the 10-in. mark on the other…

Tool: 3-In-1 Digital Laser Measurer Shop Now   Manufacturer: Dremel MSRP: $79 Dremel recently released a new 3-in-1 digital measurer that would be a great addition to a carpenter’s toolkit. In addition to the laser measure, it has a tape measure attachment and a wheel attachment for measuring curved and uneven surfaces. All functions are…

For the cost of one large piece of machinery, you can set up a complete shop with hand tools. Here’s what you need to get started.

Double-check your tools, your technique, and your thinking. One of the most important skills in woodworking is rarely discussed or considered as a thing that needs to be learned or practiced. The basic skills of measuring and its close cousin, layout, are essential to produce quality work. As a bonus, mastery of these basics reduces…

This jig makes it easy to set up the bit for routing flutes and dadoes. I simply drop the appropriate depth gauge into the channel, set my router on top and lower the bit until it touches the gauge. The base is an 8“ square piece of 3/4“ MDF. Two strips of 3/4“ MDF on…

Check out these 11 methods to make layout easier. Write With Chalk Lay out “cut here” marks on rough lumber with chalk. Chalk marks are easy to read, even on the scruffiest surface. Unlike ink, pencil or crayon, chalk marks are easy to erase if you change your mind. (I often do!) Just scrub the…

Tool: Small Double Square Shop Now  Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $49.50 A diemakers’ square with a narrow blade is an excellent tool for determining minute problems with your joinery, allowing you to get in between narrow dovetail pins, for example, to check for sloping walls. But a true diemakers’ square (on which the blade angle…

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 caliper. When I need the caliper without the stand, it’s easy to remove. The exact position of the caliper on the…

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 installing trimwork–especially crown molding–it sure would be nice to have a device that directly reads a corner’s angle and instantly gives the exact setting for…

Tool: M1 Caliber Shop Now  Manufacturer: REEKON MSRP: $150 Most tools we review are ones woodworkers are directly familiar with (table saw), or an innovation to an otherwise common idea (the Festool Domino is a hybrid of a doweling jig and biscuit joiner). The M1 Caliber doesn’t really fit into any specific archetype though- it’s…

Did you know that feeler fauges are not just for machinists or for checking and adjusting our steel and cast iron woodworking equipment? How do I know this? Because I recently found out that a set of feeler gauges can be very handy in setting up the exact amount of play (tolerance) that was needed…

Select a reliable tool with these simple tests. I can’t think of one project I’ve made that hasn’t involved using one or more of my combination squares. I use these to lay out joints and cuts, and to check cuts to confirm that they’re square (a test I perform on a scrap piece every time…

Setting the depth-of-cut on my circular saw was awkward at best before I made this handy gauge. It’s just a thick block of wood with 1/4″ wide slots cut at precise, incremental depths. I made the slots on the table saw. To set the depth-of-cut, I place the circular saw on the appropriate slot on the…

In the proto-CAD (Computer-Aided Design) world, draftsmen and draftswomen had to rely on a set of curvy templates when they needed to connect two or more points via a graceful arc or curve. In places where a simple arc, drawn with a compass, could not make the cut the designer would have pulled out the…

I’m making and installing approx. 5000-bd.ft. of hard maple trim. Keeping track of what I’ve already sanded is difficult, so before sanding, I rub artists non-oil pastel chalks (also available at artist supply stores) onto the wood and into the grain with a dry staining sponge. Then I simply sand until all the chalk is…

“Measure twice cut once” is probably the most commonly passed-on bit of woodworking advice. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some of our favorite tips to make measuring easier, more accurate, and sometimes altogether unnecessary! Benchtop Ruler I wish I had three hands sometimes, when I’m measuring and marking. After dropping a tape measure I…

Tool: R1 Tape Measure [Buy Now]  Manufacturer: M-Power MSRP: $15.90 Have you ever noticed that the numbers on a tape measure read upside down? Think about it. If you’re right-handed, like me, you hold a pencil in your right hand and a tape in your left. Whenever you pull the tape from right to left to make…

Tool: Trim Square Manufacturer: Milwaukee MSRP: $11 This gem of square has become a go-to for use around the shop. Taking its design cues from the common rafter square, the compact size is a much better fit for wood-working than its larger cousins. The aluminum square is laser etched (light colored readings on red) for high visibility….

Choosing and using this must-have measuring and layout tool. In 1878, Laroy S. Starrett designed and patented the combination square. His invention was a multi-purpose layout and measuring tool for machinists and it was rapidly adopted in the trade. Woodworking books of the period don’t mention this tool. After all, the try square and marking…

Tool: iGaging AccuMarking Digital Wheel Marking Gauge Manufacturer: iGaging MSRP: $39 A digital marking gauge? Really? Well, why not, right? The iGaging Digital Marking Gauge still does everything a traditional marking gauge does. In fact, you don’t even have to use the digital readout, but it’s there if you want it. So first let’s imagine it didn’t…

An accurate inside measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain. For example, I needed to take a measurement behind a cabinet’s face frame to fit a new shelf. Typically, most people would solve this one of two ways. Some would try the quick and dirty method of bending the tape into the corner which is a…

Making equal divisions on parts isn’t always straightforward when it comes to dividing fractions. On a recent trip to my local office supply store, I found a drafting tool that has become a valuable addition to my shop; a triangular engineer’s scale. It’s a six-edged ruler with a different scale on each edge; full size,…

Tool: Precision Strait Edge Manufacturer: iGaging Price: $36 (24″) A precision ruler is just one of those tools that every shop should have. Let’s face it; not everything can be done digitally. You may know the iGaging name from their digital devices, but they offer traditional measuring tools as well. These Premium Straight Edges are quite…

Precise height adjustments on router bits and saw blades can be tricky because it’s really hard to see or measure small changes. This 1:8 tapered gauge “magnifies” them. Each mark on the gauge is 1/4″ apart, indicating a 1/32″ change in height. The gauge goes from 0 to 2″, is easy to read and accurate….

Part Three: Design Read: Part 1 • Part 2 Though digital woodworking tools may be different and the scales are finer, the importance of precision is the same for every woodworker. If you’re working to a precision standard and your processes reinforce it, then the only differences between digital and machine tool woodworking are the…

  Part Two: Commitment Read: Part 1 • Part 3 To be successful as a woodworker, either hobbyist or professional, precision needs to be a standard you set that you’re willing to live by. Professionals have obvious reasons to do this as their success is at least partially measured by efficiency with time and materials. If…

Part One: Precision Read: Part 2 • Part 3 There are two sides to this story. The first is obvious. The other not so much. First, digital woodworking is all about numbers. Very small numbers. That makes it simple, direct and precise. Your drawings, your setups, the instructions you give to digital tools and the machining…

In this series, I’ve covered tools for standardization, tools for measuring and tools for precision. Now, it’s time to bring it all together with a few recommendations for different kinds of woodworking. How much accuracy you need depends on the kind of woodworking that you do. Remember that for hundreds of years, woodworkers got away…

Over the last few weeks, I’ve made several posts about measuring tools in the series Precision Instruments for Woodworkers. The purpose of the series is to introduce the idea of precision through establishing standards for accuracy with a few high-quality instruments and to test all of your measuring tools against them. It’s a simple theory: If…

In part one we introduced tools for standardization. These are the measuring tools that you also use to verify and quality your other tools. Every woodworker should have a high-quality combination square at the very least. In part two, I covered basic measuring tools: rules, tapes, and squares. Certainly, these are the tools that get the…

When you don’t need an absolutely accurate line drawn on a piece (say for a shooting/nailing line or layout line) all you need is a wooden folding ruler, a pencil and your two hands. Lay the rule on your piece the proper distance in, then hold the rule in your left hand with your index…

Tapes and Rulers Early on, I remember reading somewhere that you should never rely on measuring tapes in a woodworking shop. Only use your rulers, never tapes. Though I understand the conclusion suggested because tapes are heavily used and vulnerable, I thought it seemed an odd idea. In practice, I neither agree with nor follow…

Tools for measuring. Tools for Accuracy. Precision Instruments for Woodworkers is a 4-part series. I’ve been working as a furniture maker for quite a while, now. Along the way, you refine your processes, develop techniques and create a lot of habits over time. Certainly, an important part of working professionally is to work efficiently —you…

Whenever I leave town to teach a woodworking class, I make two stops to pick up a supply of two essential things for project layout. The first stop is the office supply store for a box of Bic .5mm mechanical pencils. Next stop is the “big box home center” for a dozen lumber crayons. The…

In this short video, executive editor Robert W. Lang demonstrates how to find the center of a board using a combination square, it’s easy, accurate and no numbers were harmed in the making of this video. – Robert Lang  

Years ago, when I was woodworking as a full-time occupation, I remember a couple jobs in particular that required me to set up a drill press to drill a sequence of holes where accuracy was a must. One job was producing prototype cabinets for JBL, the company that makes speakers. The cabinets were intended to…

Making woodworking tools doesn’t interest me as much as making furniture, but my recent encounter with Henry O. Studley’s tool chest has me eyeing the metals section of the  McMaster-Carr web site. The tool that turned my head is small and simple, but boy do I have a crush on it. It’s a locking thickness…

Exotic woods don’t blow my skirt/kilt/skort up much. In small doses they can look beautiful, but for the most part I find them oily, difficult to work and far too wild looking for full-size furniture. I’ve always preferred hardwoods and softwoods from the Northern hemisphere. Quartersawn beech is exotic to me. Quartersawn sycamore is too…

Sharpening a spear-point marking knife isn’t difficult, but it sure seems to flummox some woodworkers. The bevels on the knife are small, and if you aren’t used to freehand sharpening, you might be afraid of rounding over the edge. Dave Jeske of Blue Spruce Toolworks was at the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, Wash.,…

Today I’m in Portland, Maine, eating myself sick at Duckfat and studying the architectural details on the old houses in this coastal city. As I started picking apart some Victorian houses on the city’s east side, I remembered something that a student once said about the English Layout Square I built for the December 2010…

Tool seller Patrick Leach has a new sliding bevel in the works that does something that no other modern bevel does: It locks at a perfect 90°. Yup. Sliding bevels are great at describing almost every angle except 90°, which is why we have try squares. With this new sliding bevel, some woodworkers might throw…

If you remember the Veritas Dodeca-Gauge – the company’s hilarious April Fool’s prank that featured a marking gauge with 12 independent sliding rods – then the company’s newest tool might look a little familiar to you. The Veritas Dual Marking Gauge offers only one-sixth of the rods of the fictional Dodeca-Gauge, but the good news…

This weekend I built a contemporary lamp for the August 2011 issue of the magazine that was all-electrons, all the time. It has been a while since I have worked this way – usually my mode is to use machines for the heavy lifting and hand tools for the details. And I was surprised by…

Jim Tolpin’s article “Secrets of the Sector” in the June 2011 issue has stirred up a lot of interest and discussion among our readers. A sector is a way to eliminate arithmetic, especially division (multiplication’s tricky friend). To help readers understand the sector, I made a couple short videos: Video: Jim Tolpin’s ‘Secret of the…

As Jim Tolpin’s article on sectors from the June 2011 issue is getting into the hands of readers, we have had a few questions about the tool. One question is, of course: “Where can I buy one?” I don’t recommend you try to purchase a real sector. They are small affairs that were intended more…

In the June 2011 issue we have Jim Tolpin building the “Ultimate Router Table.” Nah, just yanking your chain. He’s actually building a wombat house. Ha. Got you. In truth, Tolpin wrote a great article about how to build and use a “sector.” What’s a sector? It is like magic wands that have been hinged…

When building the Monticello Bookcases for the June 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, I used through-dovetails with a mitered shoulder to join the cases. This joint gives a nice finished look to the front edge of the boxes, yet it is easier to do than some other similar joints, including the secret mitered dovetail….

Getting the four feet of a sawbench, chair or stool all in the same plane is a challenge for some woodworkers. You can end up nibbling a bar stool into an ottoman if you take the wrong approach. I’m sure there is some way to do this with the power of math, triangles and unicorn…

Several readers have asked how to go about squaring up the two legs of the English Layout Square from the December 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Do you square it up before assembly? After? What tools do you use to make it square? How do I determine if the square is indeed square? Why…

Between meetings, classes and regular living, I’ve cut 132 dovetails during the last couple weeks to build my next project, which will be featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Many of these dovetails have been mitered at their front corners, which I cut freehand (thank you Joseph Moxon)….

Installing traditional mortise hinges makes some woodworkers want to turn their electric drill on themselves to just end it all. While practice is the best teacher, there are little tricks that can help when installing hardware. I have a bunch of “dodges” that people have taught me through the years. This one is ridiculously basic,…

If there were a woodworking tool hall of fame, the Bridge City TS-2 try square would definitely be on display there. In my travels through shops all over the country I’ve seen this square in the hands of many woodworkers, including those who prefer their tools to be salvaged from junk stores and incorporating bottlecaps,…

I make lots of pencil marks on the wood as I work. Removing them is either easy or excruciating. Whenever I can, I use a handplane to dress my stock, so the pencil marks usually come off without any visible residue of the charcoal or polymer lead or indentation from the penciling process. But sometimes…

I can be a bit obsessive-compulsive at times. And woodworking sure doesn’t help my malady. My family would be much better off if I’d just lick a few light switches or check 63 times to make sure the stove was off. Instead, I’ll build an entertainment center. Then I’ll strip the finish. Strip it again….

I’ve used the “ticking stick” method to fit countertops into odd spaces in a home, but I’ve never used it in the workshop. But then Indiana carpenter Carl Bilderback showed me how to use the method to fit a door to a face frame. As soon as he mentioned it, I slapped my forehead and…

Right before “Woodworking in America” turned into “Dead Tired in Covington,” I finished this square for the December 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. The square is based closely on an original that tool pusher Patrick Leach brought back from England. I showed him my curly maple version of the square at Woodworking in America,…

With Woodworking in America breathing down our necks (we’re beginning to count it down in hours instead of days), we’re trying to get a workbench built, machines assembled, wood processed, questions answered and problems solved. Of course, we also have to finish the December 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine , the day job. I’ve…

I’ve been purging my shop and tool chests of excess tools this week. But now I’m afraid some of my tools are “taking the hint” and leaving on their own. This morning I set out to dovetail a walnut carcase and found that one of my beloved dividers , an old Brown & Sharpe ,…

David Brookshaw has been making amazing tools since 1988 — many of them miniatures that have appeared in some of the gorgeous tool books from Sandor Nagyszalanczy, including the cover of “Tools: Rare and Ingenious.” This November, Brookshaw is coming to Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Miniaturia show Nov. 6-7, where he’ll be showing his miniature…

I’m packing up all the tools I’ll need in North Carolina for the coming week, and I was a bit shocked this morning as I went through my checklist. One of the “Woodwright’s Shop” television programs Roy Underhill and I are shooting this weekend will deal with the typical toolkit of a joiner circa 1839….

Some days I forget that not all woodworking tools are designed by woodworkers (see: many of the honing guides on the market). And I forget that some tools are just designed to trick your family members into buying them for you at Christmas (see also: the battery-operated tape measure and C-clamp). This weekend as I…

Expanded and detailed plans for the Roubo Try Square from the February 2010 issue are now for sale as a download in our store. The plans include the original two-page article published in the February 2010 issue of Popular Woodworking, plus another six pages of detailed step-by-step instructions on the construction and truing process. There’s…

The longer I’m a woodworker, the less I like systems of measurement. Whether you’re a machinist who works in metric, an imperious advocate of imperial, or a Bob who measures in “bobs,” there is one thing that is true about all these systems: They invite error. When you add, subtract, multiply or divide these measurements,…

Several readers have encouraged me to take a look at the OXO 16″ folding ruler, which is an inexpensive aluminum recreation of the classic 19th-century folding ruler. I picked one up at Staples for $6.99 and have been fiddling with it to determine if it’s the second coming or just a second-string tool for the…

From the “I need three hands” file: Sometimes when you scribe a line on a board with the guidance of a try square you need one hand to hold the knife, one hand to press the blade down against the work and a third hand to hold the square’s handle up and against the edge…

Marking gauges have all manner of ways for you to lock the head to the beam, but most involve a screw or wedge mechanism. I think the coolest method I’ve ever seen is a cam-lock on the vintage Star Tools gauge. The head locks on the beam by twisting the head (or beam). It locks…

Ever since I saw George Walker’s DVD on furniture design and his lecture at Woodworking in America, I’ve been trying out some of his ideas on pieces of furniture that I know and love. With a pair of dividers (and sometimes a beer) I’ve been walking around the drawings and thinking about shapes, proportions and…

Though I need another sliding bevel like I need a goat in my living room, I recently ordered one of the new sliding bevels from Chris Vesper Tools in Australia and have been putting it through its paces. I reviewed Vesper’s sliding bevels in the April 2009 issue of Popular Woodworking. I also wrote about…

I finished up building a set of try squares based on Andre Roubo’s 18th-century plans this weekend and need to put the finish on them. What’s holding me back? Well, I keep using the squares and getting pencil marks on the blades, which need to be removed before I can finish them. I really like…

Inspired by Robert W. Lang’s article on making wooden try squares in the Autumn 2009 issue, I decided to make a batch of squares this weekend. Yesterday at lunch I bought some quartersawn European steamed beech that was on sale at the local lumberyard. The clerk at the yard described it as “rustic,” which must…

 “The machines need the numbers. We don’t need the numbers.” – Jim Tolpin After attending almost two days of lectures at our Woodworking in America conference, my head is swimming with both big ideas about the craft and the fine details of joinery. Each of the lectures I’ve attended reminds me of a snake eating a…

I got to spend a little time in the Marketplace area of the Woodworking in America conference this morning and got a first look at some new hand tools that will be available soon. First stop was with Dave Jeske at Blue Spruce Toolworks. Dave has a new line of try squares coming out this…

In the history of measuring equipment, there is one blunder so awful that it makes me twitter (old-school twitter) like a smack-addled squirrel every time I encounter it. It’s a 6″ steel rule that I acquired in 1997. The numbers are engraved and filled in. The markings are nice and fine. And there are four…

There is precious little information out there about placing your hardware so it doesn’t look awkward. My theory: Woodworking writers get so worn out by the time that they reach the end of a story that all they do is write: Apply three coats of your favorite finish, attach the hardware and enjoy! Oh, if…

I’m a child of the Cold War. I remember the drills in elementary school where we curled up under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack (to kiss our butts goodbye I suppose). One of my closest friends, Bill Tofflemeier, was obsessed with the Soviet Union and spent a lot of his earnings…

My grandfather’s workbench had an adhesive rule stuck to its front edge, which was extremely useful when woodworking. You could check part dimensions without pulling out a tape measure or steel rule. The only problem was that it was fixed to that one spot. Now a Georgia entrepreneur has made a cool product that allows…

If you want to sell something to a woodworker, the easy way is to start by selling him on the idea that he can’t possibly do it himself. If you can accomplish that, then you have someone ready and willing to buy yet another jig to make joinery simple or publication that reveals the secrets…

When I attended the 20th anniversary of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, John Economaki of Bridge City Tools was at the next table. When Thomas Lie-Nielsen called out Bridge City as one of the other pioneering modern toolmakers, Economaki interrupted the speech. “Bridge City!” Economaki cried out. “Going out of business for 25 years now!” The crowd roared….

When I first learned about the so-called Golden Mean or Golden Section I was enthralled by the concept. I actually remember the moment. I was in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., in 1996 and just discovering that some of the geometry I learned in junior high actually had a use. The Golden Section…

With every project there is always some tool that deserves an Academy Award-style acceptance speech. “In building this chest of drawers I’d like to thank my mom for birthing me, Hanes for making the underwear that needed storing and my shoulder plane for fitting all the tenons in the web frames.” As I wrap up…

Really, I have enough clamps , a couple dozen , to do just about anything. If I can’t clamp it, I can always use pinch dogs, drawboring or some other dodge to get the job done. But I don’t think I have enough marking gauges. I always have at least three or four set up…

In the shop, my mechanical pencil is as important as my eyeglasses. I use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5mm lead to darken in my knife lines when cutting dovetails, tenons or other joinery. I like the really thin lead because I can usually drop it into a knife line and , with just light…

I feel like a dirty English tool dealer this morning. But I’m OK with that. Recently I purchased a bunch of brass-bound folding rules to give to co-workers and friends. Most of these were Stanley No. 62s, a common rule that I really like. If you want to know my favorite one, however, you’ll have…

My grandfather’s folding rule reads from right to left, while my tape measure reads from left to right. I never thought much about it, though I always did like using my folding rule when measuring the distance between the table saw’s rip fence and the blade because of this characteristic. Then last week a reader…

Last week Roy Underhill took me to the back room of his new school in Pittsboro, N.C. “Is this the office?” I asked. “No,” Roy said with a wicked grin. “This is where I keep the confiscated tape measures.” It might surprise some modern-day woodworkers that the spring-loaded tape measure wasn’t always the tool of…

I’ve had a vintage panel gauge for many years, and I’ve hated every minute of our relationship. The beam flops around in the head, no matter how Conan you go on the thumbscrew. And so the gauge’s pin tends to move around as you make your marks. While this defect doesn’t hurt the accuracy of…

In our June issue, our I Can Do That feature is a mitered CD/DVD rack. Our goal for these columns is to show that attractive, well made projects can be made with a minimal amount of tools and time. Most people want something to show for their effort while they are learning and you won’t…