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I own several routers and they all have thin wrenches that are awkward to hold. To avoid frustration, I made the handles thicker by housing them in transparent plastic tubing from the hardware [...]

An ancient European tool that still has a place in the modern American shop. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Why [...]

My contractor saw shares a garage with my car, so it’s stowed against a wall when not in use. It’s not an easy thing to drag into place when it’s time to set up for woodworking, so I decided to [...]

This versatile hand tool should be every woodworker’s first plane purchase. As a “professional woodworker” I often get asked what’s the best bang-for-the-buck tool by people getting into [...]

No matter what your style of woodworking, you need a basic set of hand tools. Here’s where to begin. When I came to America, I had a lovely wife, two suitcases and 50 bucks. Oh man, where do I …

This sandpaper storage system is about as simple as it gets. It’s just a stack of folded envelopes bound with a big rubber band. Each envelope is marked with a grit number. A thin piece of wood [...]

Tool: The Original OmniSquare Shop Now   Manufacturer: Omni Tool Works MSRP: $29.95 This clever and inexpensive milled aluminum square functions as a try square, miter square, bevel square, [...]

Some years back, when the company I worked for relocated out of state, I lost my job. While hunting for a new position and feeling a bit down, I visited a shop that sold used woodworking [...]

Tool: Glue Pot & Tabletop Warmer Shop Now  Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $49.50 This stainless steel replica of a late 19th-century double-boiler cast iron glue pot from Landers, Frary [...]

Tool: Sure-Foot F-Style Clamp Shop Now   Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $19.99+ There are few tools that couldn’t use an improvement or two—even the humble bar clamp. Rockler thought of a few [...]

Sometimes a little talking-to (and video surveillance) is all it takes. I have noticed three things about tools and kids. Kids can find tools even if it requires tunneling under the garage wall. [...]

Tool: Detail Rabbet Plane Shop Now   Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $72.50 Years ago, I bought my first rabbet plane, a Clifton 410, to get me out of a jam. My bread and butter work was [...]