THE 250 BEST SHOP - Woodworking

1 4365 Willow Drive, Medina, Minnesota 55340-0401 Phone: 800-610-0883 Web site address: over 30 years, woodworkersacross the country have beensharing their favorite shortcuts,jigs and fixtures with the editorsof Woodworker s Journal. Hereare 250 of the best ideas we vepresented in Woodworker sJournal magazine!SHOPTRICKSTHEBEST250A supplement toTHE 250 best SHOP TRICKS FROM WOODWORKER'S JOURNAL3 THE 250 best SHOP TRICKSOne of the best things that happens when a bunch ofwoodworkers get together is sharing shop secrets. You vegot a great idea for getting more accurate cuts? I ll trade youfor some of my hardware storage solutions! Here at Woodworker s Journal, we re lucky enough to get a never-ending stream of these hints from our readers. Wecall them Tricks of the Trade, and we share them regularly inour magazine. We know how useful they are to our readers so we decided to create an even better tool by putting over250 of these tricks in one place!

2 Larr y N. StoiakenEditor in ChiefAll rights reser ved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in electronic retrieval systems, or transmitted inany form or by any means, including electronic, photocopying,mechanical or other wise, without the prior written permission of the copyright 2000 Rockler How do I stop sawdustfrom sticking to the gearand screw mechanism ofmy table saw? The answer, according toWalter France of LithiaSprings, Georgia, is to givethe mechanism a thoroughcleaning, then spray withsilicone. This causes thedust to fall off instead ofaccumulating, and it alsoprevents Simple Scraper HolderThis simple scraper holder consistsof two dowels joined by a flexiblepiece of 1/8" plywood. A 1/4" slot isrouted into each dowel and thedowels are then glued to theplywood. To achieve maximum flexibility, the plywood is cut so theexterior grain runs parallel to thedowels.

3 The blade fits into the slotsand is held by a binder M. BensonHouston, TexasBinderclip3/4" x 4"dowel1/4" slot,21/2" long5 Quick TipProfessional woodworkersgenerally keep theirdrawings and notes on a clipboard, but even thenthey get dog-eared anddirty. A piece of clearPlexiglas , cut to 9" x 11"size, makes a greatprotector, but it also opensup a few other gluing a transparentruler and protractor (bothare available at officesupply stores at very littlecost) to the Plexiglas, you llhave an instant way tomeasure drawings, smallparts and angles. Use a clear Half-lid Paint StrikerNext time you begin a paint jobrequiring a whole can of paint,remove the lid and use a hacksaw tocut it in two. Put one half aside forlater, then slightly bend down thecut edge of the other and press itback in place atop the can. This halflid makes a sturdy brush shelf andthe cut edge can be used to strikeexcess paint from the OlinghouseEverett, WashingtonTape Measure TipThe bulky case of a tape measuresometimes gets in the way in tightspots, so I kept a one-foot section ofan old tape and ground both ends tomake it accurate.

4 I also made 24"and 36" measures this way theywork great inside GuyanPortland, OregonBent downedge6Q&A How do I straighten a warped board? If a board is warped alongits edge, that s an easy run it across a jointer. If it s cuppedacross its width, you can tryripping it into two or eventhree narrow boards,jointing their edges, thenreversing the grain in everyother board when you gluethem back stock is usuallybeyond help: your best betmay be to cut it up and useit where small parts s a Hole in the Bucket ..I put a plastic bag in my Shop-Vac tohold the dust so it would be easierto dump out. But the bag keptgetting sucked up into the filter. So I found a pail that just fits inside theplastic bag, and I cut the bottom , I just take the pail out first andthe bag comes out easily anddust doesn t fly all over!Arthur Duf fieKalamazoo, MichiganBottomlessbucketGarbagebag7 Quick TipA surface planer doesn tflatten boards.

5 All it does ismake them the samethickness along their length. If you feed a warpedboard through a planer, all you ll get at the otherend is a uniformly thickwarped get a flat board, firstdress one face of the boardon a jointer or a wide beltsander. Then lay theflattened (dressed) face on the planer bed, while the knives flatten thesecond rollsBundlewithtwineSmall Stock StorageHeavy cardboard carpet tubes(usually available FREE from a localcarpet layer or store) can be cut toany length and bundled togetherwith cord. Mine are 18" long, and I use them to separate differentdowel scraps and leftover hardwoodmoldings. I can check my inventor yat a glance: the tubes rest on thefloor under my workbench, set on2x4 scraps to keep them off theconcrete. While tying the cord, use masking tape to temporarilyhold them together (or you ll looklike Charlie Chaplin chasing themall over!).Barb SiddiquiWenatchee, Washington8Q&A What do I do with a worn-out cordless drill battery?

6 Ni-Cad (nickel-cadmium)batteries pose a seriousthreat to our groundwater,so they re not welcome atthe landfill. Most cities havea system in place fordealing with them: call yourcourthouse or landfill call 800-8-BATTERY andget the name of a localretailer who will take themoff your hands .. without a charge!Sliding SupportsI use a pair of dining table slides and a couple of rollers to supportlong boards on my table saw(above). I attached the slides to thebottom of the saw s tabletop andmounted the rollers on a boardstretched between them. When notin use, the slides can be pushed outof the way (below).Robert FloydHilton, New YorkRollerTableslide9 Quick TipTurners often leave a shortlog inside the bag on theirdust collection system. Thecombination of flowing air,sawdust and chips tends todry out the stock in an even,controlled fashion. But try iton a less favored piece first:results vary widelydepending on how often thedust collector is used, thelog species, the geographiclocation of the shop and thelength of time the log isallowed to stay in the Filler WoesI wanted to avoid the inevitableblemishes that occur when excesswood filler surrounds nail heads intrim and moldings.

7 So I came upwith this idea: place a short piece ofmasking tape over the area aroundthe nail head, then set the nail rightthrough the tape. Apply the woodfiller and, while it is still soft, peel offthe tape. A perfect round spot is left,with no accumulation on thesurrounding VasiWilliamsville, New YorkBench ProtectorsTo protect my maple workbenchfrom paint or stain splatters, I mounted a white vinyl windowshade roller to one end of the worktop. When I m ready to finish, I just extend the shade across thebench. After the finish dries, theshade rolls out of the way. And thebest part is that replacement shadesare ver y inexpensive. Robert O. WendelMarlboro, New JerseyClamp the end of the shade in the bench s viseAttach shadeto the end ofthe bench10Q&A I use wood blocks to savethe workpiece while I tighten clamps, but I runout of fingers trying to holdthem in place. Any ideas? Kenneth J.

8 Shaw of Holley,New York tells us that heattaches those scraps to thejaws of his clamps with hotmelt glue, so they reremovable when he s Moldings on a Router TableNone of my Woodworking friendscould advise me how to cut a profiledown the middle of an S-shapedmolding, so I came up with the solution shown here. After band-sawing and drum sanding the piece to shape, I made pencilmarks ever y inch along the back of the workpiece. These wereperpendicular to the cur ve (seedrawing). Then I clamped a pointedguide fence to the router table thatcentered the bit where I wanted it,set my bit height, and startedrunning the piece through thecutter. By adjusting the work so thatthe pencil lines were always at 90 to the fence, I kept the cut in line. A little car ving and sandingsmoothed out any rough R. WilliamsFostoria, OhioMove in or out to centerthe bit for each profileRaise or lower the bitto cut various profilesRouter tableLines on molding areperpendicular to thecurveClamp11 Quick TipHammering small nails canbe a real challenge,especially if you have largefingers.

9 One way to dealwith the problem is to stickthe nail through a piece ofpaper, then use the paperto hold it in place while youstart driving it. Once the nailis secure, the paper justpulls away. Craig Kimpstonof Grimes, Iowa, has a more innovative method:he uses the teeth on hispocket comb to hold nailswhile he starts Clamp HangerStoring pipe clamps has always been a challenge for me. I think I vecontemplated ever y system in theworld. Quite by accident, I stumbledon the method shown here. Itrequires only three pieces of woodassembled with dr ywall BurtonOgden, Utah6 angle24"11/2" x 51/2" 21/2"3/4"12Q&A How do I know when a saw blade or router bit is dull? The most obvious sign isthat the bit or blade iscutting more slowly than itwas when first installed. Butif you don t use the toolfrequently, you might notnotice that. So, look forrough edges, an unevenkerf and signs of bits and blades have towork harder, so they heatup more.

10 And that leadsto pitch Extra Vise for your ShopWhile working on a project requiringhand-cut dovetails, I came up withthis simple vise idea. I took a scrapof hardwood 1" thick by 18" long by 8" wide and predrilled and countersunk holes 1" from the topedge. Then I cut a slot on both ends, 3" deep and wide enough toaccommodate my Bessey barclamps. I took a second piece thesame size and cut the slots in thesame place. Then I fastened the firstpiece to the workbench, slid in theclamps, and put the second piece onwith the screw ends facing out. NowI have an extra wood vise whenever I need PelkeyOswego, New YorkCreating a CurveTo draw a cur ve, compress a thinstrip of wood between the jaws of a bar clamp. The clamp threads allowmicro-adjustments of the cur AdsitMilford, Illinois12" Besseybar clampsPredrill andcountersink8" x 18" fir3" grooves13 Quick TipIf you re getting a littletearout or feathering onboards as you run themacross the jointer, tryreversing the direction ofthe feed.