Table Saw Tape Tear-Out Test: Part 2 / Woodworking Fact or Fiction

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If you are following along with these tests and have looked at the melamine tests I did a few weeks back using masking tape and Frog tape to see if either one of them will reduce or eliminate tear out, the results are quite clear, the tape did nothing to reduce tear out, in fact, it  could be argued the Frog tape made the cuts slightly worse. 
Since most people are using natural wood, it only follows that I should be testing natural wood as well to give some conclusive results to these tests.

Does Tape on Wood Give Less Tear-Outs (Part 1)

I had many people provide many suggestions in the comments section of the last test offering their knowledge on how to better cut melamine, but the test was not how to cut melamine, the test was to see if tape could actually make a difference in the cuts, and in that case, it did not ... check out the results of what it did on natural woods here ...

5 Quick Table Saw Hacks Part 3 / Woodworking Tips and Tricks

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I don't always need to make permanent jigs or adaptions to my table saw, sometimes I only need something for a one-time cut. There are many ways of making adaptions so that think wedges of wood will not fall through or get caught between the blade and the insert. One way, if you have a fence suitable is to find yourself an very thin, like 1/8th thick plywood off-cut and slide it under the fence and lock the fence. This will prevent the plywood from moving. Now you can wind the table saw blade up through the plywood and now instantly have adapted a zero clearance insert ... but on TOP of you existing insert.

Now you can run the wood through that you want. In order for this to work, you need to know where to position the fence so you will need to mark or adapt it, but  there is also another way, similar, but more adaptable especially for those who don't have bigger cabinet type saws ... 

Buying Wood from the Lumber Yard: Money Saving Hacks for Woodworking Part 4

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There are a variety of ways we can all save money when purchasing lumber from the wood store, and any wood store I have dealt with is interested in trying to get you the best value for your money, because they know if they help you save money buying wood, you will be back, again and again, to deal with them so don't discount their help. If you are new to buying wood or new to the wood store the first thing to do is talk to someone at the store, tell them what you are doing and what you are looking for and ASK them for their suggestions ... 

They might have specials or perhaps they have wood stored in another area that could be part of what you are looking for. It is not unusual for wood stores to have the same species of wood stored in different areas for a variety of reasons, the most common ... being price.

How to Make Finger Joints: Finger Joint Router Bits

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I have never had a chance to use a finger joint bit on the router, and since I picked one up some time ago, I would like to know how it works. It was on special at a tool store I deal with and being sold "as is" because the box was open and of course there were no instructions with it, and I don't even know if it even comes with instructions, or like most router bits you figure it out on your own. The one I got was the Freud Finger joint #99-037  I had it in my mind that this must be a simple bit to use so my first idea was to have 2 pieces of wood of exactly the same width and run them through the bit one face up, the other face down and see what that would do.

Well ... as it turns out, nope, that wasn't how this bit worked, then I wondered if it was the height that I had the bit at, maybe that had something to do with it so I raised the bit slightly to expose more of the base ...