Archives

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, [...]

Master this most basic turning tool. When I introduce someone to woodturning, I choose the spindle roughing gouge. When I work with kids, it’s the first tool I place in their hands. Why? [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Three LEDs and a 30″ flexible neck deliver durable, excellent task lighting. Tool: Super Nova Bright LED Machine Lamp Shop Now Manufacturer: Woodturners Wonders MSRP: $159.95 Good lighting [...]

I had a project on which I needed to rout out a large area about 3⁄8” deep. It was a wooden case for a Nook reader, and the eReader had to fit into the excavation. I had …

Like most of the woodworking community, I spent more time in my shop during 2020 and 2021. Over the last two years, I used a variety of tools and gained new appreciation for a handful of them. [...]

Tool: 8″ Drawknife Shop Now  Manufacturer: Ray Iles MSRP: $88.45 In October of 2017, I took a chairmaking class with Larry Barrett, a student of Jennie Alexander’s who has built 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 [...]

For accurate drilling, build an engineered table. Did you know that most drill press tables are made for metalworking? Woodworkers need a better table: it should have a broad surface, an easily [...]

I own three bandsaws. Two are hand-me-downs from neighbors and the most recent arrival is a brand new Grizzly 17”  that I bought. The Grizzly is a great machine but like many of its peers, most [...]

A swing of an arc is the solution to many layout and construction problems. If you think a compass is only for drawing circles, think again. This simple and inexpensive device can divide almost [...]