Recent Shop Tips Stories

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  Workshop Tip: Router Mortising Template Has Interchangeable Spacers

  April 1, 2019

  I’ve tried hand-cutting mortises, but I find that I get a much cleaner and more accurate slot using a router template and guide bushing. In the past, I created separate…

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  Workshop Tip: Furniture Dollies Make a Great Base for a Rolling Lumber Rack

  April 1, 2019

  If you’re like me, you come across lumber deals that are just too good to pass up. Rather than store this valuable stock on the concrete floor, where it will…

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  Workshop Tips: Parallel-Jaw Clamp Makes a Handy Board Jack

  April 1, 2019

  The first time you place a long board or tall door in your front vise to plane its edges, you’ll realize you need a board jack at one end. These…

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  Workshop Tips: Supercharge your clamps with a screwdriver assist

  April 1, 2019

  When arthritis started making it harder to tighten and loosen clamps, I bored a 3⁄8-in.-dia. hole through the wooden handle of every clamp I own. Now I just insert a…

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  Workshop Tips: Router-Table Jig Makes Perfect Rabbets for Banding

  April 1, 2019

  I created this jig to rout ledges for edge-banding (called “binding”) on the curved sides of a ukulele, but it will cut perfect rabbets for banding or inlay on all…

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  Workshop Tips: Depth gauge for carved chair seats

  April 1, 2019

  When sculpting the seat of a rocking chair, I came up with this simple jig for gauging depth and symmetry. It’s a piece of scrap, with dowels inserted every 2…

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  Workshop Tip: Set Your Honing Guide to Any Angle

  March 21, 2019

  I use two different honing guides at a variety of angles. So I designed a continuous-distance jig that will set any guide to any angle. It relies on a simple…

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  Workshop Tip: Improvised vise uses common clamps

  March 14, 2019

  When I’m away from my workshop with a minimal tool kit, I use this improvised vise to hold workpieces tightly for joinery and other tasks. The wide rear jaw can…

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  Workshop Tip: Find Perfect Center Using a Standard Square

  January 22, 2019

  Whether you are prepping stock for lathe work or drilling a centered hole in the end of a workpiece, you’ll need to find the exact center. This can be tricky…

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  Workshop Tip–Use a pipe clamp to make an adjustable-height shop stool

  January 9, 2019

  After an unsuccessful search for a seat adjustment mechanism, this reader found the perfect solution: the tail jaw of a 3/4-in. pipe clamp