How to Make an Ellipse Template Jig / Oval Template Jig

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It's nice once in a while to get away from the square designs we so often make in woodworking, with something a bit softer, like circle and ovals, Recently one of my subscribers "Phil" asked if there was an easy way of making ovals. He didn't say what he needed them for, but I thought this would be a good time to show one way of making ovals that I have used in the past ... many, many years ago.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/hwOGAEr536g

What's nice about this jig is that you can adjust how you want the ovals to look, do you want them almost round looking or do you want them much taller than they are wide? All these things can be done by making adjustments to the jig or the re-sizing the jig it'self.

Workshop Hacks # 7 - Woodworking Tips and Tricks

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Today I was in the middle of another project when I realized that I had just used at least 3 little workshop tricks that I should share with everyone so rather than write them down and do them later, best I do them right now while I still have the machines at still somewhat set up for them.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/J1PSJtPNHBw

The first 2 are on the drill press ... you could use a corded or cordless drill for the same, but if you have a drill press, this hack is better done with a bit more control on a drill press ...

5 Essential Wood Router Bits

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I wonder if the person who invented the first working wood router, really knew what kind of a versatile tool he was opening up the world to? There have been so many different add-ons, attachments, jigs and bits, not to mention the variety of routers, their features and how they work, the whole thing can be quite daunting for newcomers to woodworking. What's nice about wood routers is you can make things as simple or as complicated as you want to get but everything still comes back to basics which includes the most used router bits.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/WLpd3YebeLw

My first router was single speed, half horsepower with a fixed base and took only 1/4" router bits. I still have some of those bit and they were very rudimentary but even then I thought this was an amazing tool and the reason I purchased it was because I could use a round over bit in it and save myself some time while making a better job ... 

Trim Router / Palm Router Design Base Jig

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Thanks to one of my subscribers Fred, who sent me a picture of what this jig looks like, I thought it was a neat idea so decided to make one for myself. Like many things in woodworking there are often many ways to accomplish the same thing and I have made designs in doors like this in the past and there are pros and cons to each method but this looked like a fun little project  ... so here goes ...

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_PdtkqFz5X0

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/GzUgJ66dyWk

The first thing I decided to do was to make it out of clear plastic. This base needs to be very accurate in order to go around the whole inside of the frame and still end up in the same place for the cuts and that is another reason I preferred plastic. Hardboard would work fine and be easier to work with but plastic is a bit sturdier for a job like this ...