1. To remove construction adhesive try using baby oil. Pour it on and let it soak in then work it into the adhesive. Once the adhesive has been removed wash off the baby oil.

2. To get a quick and accurate 90 degrees on your miter gauge just turn it upside down in the miter slot and then butt the gauge face up against the table edge. Tighten the gauge head, turn it over and use.

3. To get other accurate angles on your miter gauge use an electronic tilt angle tool. First, loosen the gauge head from the arm and then hang the miter gauge over the table edge with the gauge face on the table. Zero the tilt tool on the table top and then attach it to the side of the hanging gauge arm. Swing the arm until the desired angle is achieved. Then tighten the gauge head and use.

4. To straighten out a bowed board tape a piece of angled aluminum the full length of the concave edge and run it through your tablesaw with the flat edge of the aluminum against the fence. Then remove the aluminum, flip the board and run it through the table saw with the new straight edge against the fence.

5. When drilling a hole in a ceiling you can use an empty coffee cup to protect you from falling debris. Just drill through the bottom of an empty coffee cup and then drill your hole in the ceiling. The coffee cup will catch the falling debris.

These are just a few tips that I picked up lately. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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1. To stop raised panel doors from rattling place a couple of dabs of silicon caulk in the grooves of the rail and stiles and allow it to dry prior to door assembly. The caulk will cushion the panel.

2. If you are concerned about the red or blue stains left by a chalk line try using baby powder or talcum powder instead. It leaves a bright white line and easily washes off.

3. Try using a rotary cutter, like the ones sold in fabric stores, to cut veneer. They cut straight and clean with or across the grain.

4. If you still have some of those older tool batteries that you shouldn’t overcharge get a home security timer like the ones that turn your lights on and off when you are away. Set the timer for the amount of time to charge your battery, plug it in and go. No more overcharge.

5. If you are having trouble inserting dowels in a hole it’s likely because air or glue is preventing it from sliding in easily. You can cut a slit in the side of the dowel to allow the air or glue to escape.

These are just a few tips that I picked up lately. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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1. Have a project that needs a lot of small clamps? Use clothespins! They don’t have much clamping power but you can use a lot of them. They come in handy for a lot of situations.

2. When setting the proper height for a lathe use different thicknesses of plywood on the floor or under the lathe and try each height for a while to determine the most comfortable position to use.

3. Consider the height of rubber fatigue mats in your calculations for work bench and lathe heights. These mats really reduce back and leg strain but can add 1/2″ or more to your height.

4. You can ‘sneak up’ on a cut using your chop saw by butting the end of the workpiece against the body of the blade (not the teeth), while the blade in NOT running. Then hold the piece in position, and raise the blade. Now power up the saw and make the cut to remove just a sliver of material.

5. When clamping something on an angle and the clamp slips try using a folded piece of sandpaper between the clamp face and workpiece to give the clamp some grip.

These are just a few tips that I picked up lately. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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1. You can make reusable patterns for scrollsawing by using plastic stencil material that you get from a sewing supplies store. Cut a piece of this material the size of your project and glue it to the piece using a spray adhesive. Then glue your paper pattern to the top of the stencil material with the adhesive. Next, cut out the pattern with your scrollsaw and peel off the paper pattern and stencil material. The next time just place the stencil pattern on your wood and trace around it.

2. Rub the sides of your rolls of painter’s tape with candle wax to ensure that the edges don’t stick to your project.

3. To measure the true height of caster wheels clamp it in your workbench vise and then just measure the distance between the jaws.

4. If your plate-jointer biscuits have swollen due to moisture simply pop them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds just before using them. This will shrink them back to their compressed size.

5. To ensure that a ladder is at a safe angle check it by placing your toes against the ladder rails and stretching out your arms so they are parallel to the ground. If your palms can rest on top of a rung, the ladder is at a safe angle.

These are just a few tips that I picked up lately. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. To drill a perfect sized pilot hole for a finish nail, just clip the head off a same size finish nail and use it to drill the hole.

3. To glue wood together temporarily make a paper joint with a sheet of paper (brown paper bag works best!) in between them. To break apart place the tip of a chisel at the crack point and tap with a mallet.

4. Use Titebond III for gluing dark woods and Tightbond II for gluing light woods. The color of Titebond III dries dark and Tightbond II dries light, thereby minimizing the visibility of a glue line.

5. Use a small amount of denatured alcohol or mineral spirits to temporarily bring-out the grain in a piece of sanded wood. Once dissipated neither of these will leave any trace that will affect your finishing.

These are just a few tips that I picked up lately. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. Add a strip of fine sandpaper to your Table Saw’s miter fence for added grip.

3. Throw a couple of silica-gel packets in your biscuit storage jars to minimize the biscuits from swelling due to humidity. You can usually find silica-gel packets in product packing boxes.

4. Sanding small pieces of wood? Tape a piece of sandpaper to your workbench. This will hold your wood in place while you machine sand it.

5. If you have to leave a green wood turning for a while wrap it tightly in plastic food wrap. This will keep it from drying out too quickly.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. Using alcohol on a glue line is a great way to clean up excess epoxy, if you do it before it cures.

3. If you find that your chalk line is smudging and becoming unreadable try spraying it with hairspray.

4. A plywood block with a saw kerf in the top edge makes a handy scraper rack.

5. Need to copy something but out of transfer paper? Use a soft lead pencil to shade over the lines of your drawing on the back of the paper. Then tape your pattern to your workpiece and retrace.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. When you need to enlarge a tablesaw dado just a bit tape a piece of paper to the fence and run the wood through again. You can vary the adjustment with different thicknesses of paper.

3. For a quick lubricant for tool miter slots try scribbling on the bottom of the slot with a pencil. The graphite will make things slide more freely.

4. When using wood filler mix in saw dust from the wood you are working on to make the filler a better match.

5. When making wooden toys with wheels use a sharpened piece of copper tube to punch small washers from a plastic coffee can top. The washers make good spacers and the wheels spin better.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. Sometimes masking tape will dry out over time. You can renew it by putting it in the microwave for a few seconds.

3. In addition to frequently filing your lathe toolrest smooth rub a piece of paraffin wax along it. This will allow your tools to glide more easily.

4. Use cooking oil to remove spots of polyurethane from your hands. Rub a small amount on your hands and scrub. Finish up with soap and water.

5. Household vinegar (acetic acid) makes an excellent rust removal agent. Soaking a rusted tool for a couple of hours will chemically dissolve the rust. Follow this by wiping with a neutralizer like baking soda.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

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2. When you only have one hand available and no magnetized screwdriver tip just slip a short piece of plastic tubing over the screwdriver bit to hold a screw. This works well when installing screws with an electric drill too.

3. To stop a hole saw from clogging and burning first score the wood with the hole saw to outline the hole. Then drill a 3/4″ clearance hole through the wood along the inside edge of the scored circle. Then cut the hole as normal. The 3/4″ hole allows the sawdust to escape eliminating the clogging and burning.

4. If you store your waterstones in water, add a few drops of household bleach to the water. This will prevent algae from growing in the water and it will not harm the stones.

5. Foam water-pipe insulation makes a great cover for your pipe camps. It’s inexpensive, comes pre-split and will protect your work. Shower curtain rod covers work well too!

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and some from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

Back to the shop…