So you need to cut a few biscuit grooves but don’t own a biscuit (plate) joiner — No problem, cutting the grooves with your router and a slot-cutter bit is easy. So I’ll bet you’re wondering if it’s so easy then why even own a biscuit joiner? Well there are pros and cons: Pros: Great…
Beginning woodworkers all ask this basic question; what is the difference between a jointer and a planer? The answer is simple, a lot! And is there such a thing as a jointer planer. No! Each machine does a completely different surfacing operation. A jointer flattens a face or straightens and squares an edge, and a…
It's a fact of life… Everything eventually wears out. Bruce Kieffer found a great $2 "fix" for worn out table saw arbor threads. It's a super simple solution that saves a lot of cash and repair work.
Table saw safety is critical for every woodworker. Bruce Kieffer's table saw safety article explores options for aftermarket and shop-made table saw guards and splitters. Be safe and saw often!
A customer came into my shop the other day and asked me to replace their uncomfortable and broken fiberglass kitchen stool seats. They wanted to reuse the adjustable chrome bases, but change the seats so they were cushioned and upholstered. I said sure, no problem, and I suggested a simple wrapped padded cushion. The techniques…
I use dowels to assemble parts quite often; things like face frames, table bases, and chairs. Trying to drill and align the dowel holes without a decent dowel hole drilling jig is futile. This dowel jig (see Source below) is the latest version of a long-time favorite of mine. It has 4 threaded holes and…
I’ve long wanted some type of hold-down hold-in system that was faster, easier, safer, and more flexible than the traditional feather boards. Here it is! Thank you JessEm for figuring this out. Plus these new clear-cut stock guides are darn cool looking… and I’m a sucker for cool looking tools! What they are The system…
Problem. I have a real mess in my chisel storage drawer. Good chisels bounce around far too much, and I have to protect every chisel edge otherwise they get banged and dinged. Idea. Will a pair of rare earth magnets hold a chisel rack? Will the setup work for all the different size of chisels…
I love the name…It describes this clamp pad perfectly! I use shop-made 1/4″ thick mdf clamp pads to protect my work when I’m clamping. My clamp pads are easy to position on clamps across short distances, but impossible to set across distances that are greater than my reach. My solution was to embed a small…