5 Measuring Hacks - Woodworking Tips and Tricks

Read Time: 6 mins

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One thing that is constant in woodworking - there is LOTS of measuring and working with numbers and woodworkers have devised many different ways to quickly do things that doesn't involve sitting down with a calculator or trying to work out some complicated math. And first up are tape measures, probably one of the tools we use the most in the workshop, or at least I do. I am always measuring ...

For years I always heard the refrain ... measure twice, cut once and for some reason that always bothered me and there are many time I measured twice and still cut the wood too short. I hate that!!  Then one day I stumbled upon a tape measure that when I hold it in my left hand (because I always hold the pencil in my right hand) and low and behold, all the numbers were right way up. I didn't have to try and work the numbers from upside down. That was one of the turning points in my woodworking ... 

Wood Finishing and Drying Racks

Read Time: 3 mins

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Finding a way to coat the woodworking projects I make with some sort of finish, then find a place for all of them to dry has been a perennial problem for me .. oh, and did I mention, preferably at least somewhat dust free!! My long time woodworking friend Len, told me about these drying racks he had been using quite some time ago, and for some reason the went out of my brain, then a couple of weeks ago he showed me a sample of what they look like and explained how versatile they were ... I instantly knew I had to make these, I don`t know who invented them by they are a great idea. I made some minor changes to my version, to make them a bit more user friendly, but the basic design remains.

I thought about how many pieces there are to some of my last projects and decided that 10 or 12 pairs of these should cover most things. As it turned out, I had some used 3/4 inch firm boards that I wasn`t sure what to do with ...

5 Quick Wood Finishing Hacks

Read Time: 7 mins

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There are many, many different options when it comes to putting a final finish on your woodworking project and to make sure that finish goes on the way you want, there are often some tips and tricks that we can learn along the way to help us do a quicker and better job, and when it comes to the topic of "finishing" many woodworkers (myself included) find the finishing process long and tedious, so anything we can do to help it along is a bonus ...

Finishing Story or Sample Boards

A fancy name for noting more that selection of finishes on some boards that are all the same species so you can see what they look like and make your determinations from there in terms of color, type of finish and type of surface .. glossy, semi-gloss or matte.

Small Parts Holding Router Jig for the Router Table

Read Time: 3 mins

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Attempting to make small parts on any woodworking machine means extra care is needed and almost always some sort of a holding jig to keep your hands and fingers away from cutting bits and blades, which is why this jig is so handy. Router bit spin at very high speeds and for some, just the noise can be intimidating. The high speed spinning bits will normally produce excellent results, but if you ware working with smaller pieces, if then are not supported properly, can whip smaller pieces out of your hand in an instant so support for smaller pars means a safer way to cut, and equally as important ... a better quality cut because working safely means we can take our time to ensure better quality results.

This small parts holding jig is easy to build and doesn't take a lot of time and when you are done you will appreciate how well it works for holding those small parts in the router table. I started off with some bits of plywood ...