Finding and restoring vintage shop machinery. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Popular Woodworking You pick up an old handplane at the local flea [...]
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, [...]
Here’s a hi-tech way to set your tablesaw’s miter gauge to within 1/10 of 1° of any angle. It really works well for cutting picture-frame miters. The key is to use a digital angle gauge. I bought [...]
Tool: 6-Amp Power Planer Shop Now Manufacturer: Porter-Cable MSRP: $69.98 Say you’ve got a huge, uneven roughsawn board. It would make a fantastic top for a coffee table, but how are you [...]
You can tell when you’re holding a good tool in your hands. The way it feels, the way it responds, the way it does everything you ask it to. There’s another dimension to a good tool, though: how [...]
Tool: Sawhorse Supports Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $17.99 An extra work surface is always handy in the shop. We’ve all thrown a large piece of plywood down on a couple of [...]
Tool: Nx60 Shop Now and DX60 Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $209+ These low-angle block planes from Lee Valley are beautiful marriages of fine art and sound engineering. [...]
Tool: Knife Hinges Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $24.90+ The first time I installed knife hinges I did so with an inexpensive pair, thinking it would be a good way to learn [...]
Tool: Carbide Birdcage Awl Shop Now Manufacturer: Czeck Edge MSRP: $74 The first thing you notice when you grasp a Czeck Edge Hand Tool birdcage awl is how well it fits in the hand. [...]
Two years ago I wrote about the ordeal of finding spare parts for the popular (but now discontinued) US-made Jorgensen rapid action vises. Unfortunately, after many years of smooth operation, the [...]
Tool: Magnetic-Mount LED Work Light Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $36.50 I have a perfectly good light for my workbench, on an attachment that slips into the dog holes. And, [...]
Tool: Benchtop DC Personal Dust Collector Shop Now Manufacturer: Oneida MSRP: $599 Dust really is the bane of the power tool woodworker. It’s also hazardous, especially if you [...]
