1. If you have a moisture problem in your shop keep your cast-iron tools like your tablesaw and lathe bed covered with heavy cotton bath towels when not in use. This will keep rust at bay and save you countless hours removing rust.

2. The strongest wooden tool handles have wood grain that runs parallel to tool head. Handles with grain running perpendicular to the tool head are more likely to break.

3. Hold a saw at 90 degrees to the workpiece for fast cuts. This leaves a rough edge. Hold a saw at 45 degrees to the workpiece for most cuts. This produces a fairly smooth cut. Hold a saw at a 20 degree angle to the workpiece to make very smooth cuts.

4. On the tablesaw cut boards that are too wide for the miter gauge in its normal position by turning it around so that the gauge precedes the workpiece.

5. Checking for square is crucial when building frames, boxes, cabinets, drawers, etc. To check for square quickly measure the distance of the diagonal corners. The measurements should be identical if the workpiece is square.

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.

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1. If you use multiple measuring tools; tapes, rulers, squares, etc. ensure that the distance increments all match. Sometimes they don’t. If they differ, and you use a variety of measuring tools on a project, your dimensions can vary causing sizing problems. It is best to use the same measuring tool thruout the project.

2. Oil finishes can dramatically change the color of light woods. Use sanding sealer prior to application of your oil finishes to reduce this color change.

3. Cover unused electrical outlets in your shop. This will keep out sawdust and dirt out of the slots, a common cause of short circuits.

4. To carry a full size sheet of plywood or panelling by yourself, tie a single length of rope, about 18 feet long, in a loop. Hook the ends of the loop over the lower corners of the sheet and with your arm over the sheet grip the middle of the rope in one hand. Use the other hand to balance the sheet.

5. Lose the cap of your glue bottle? Need a cap for a caulking tube? Try an appropriate sized screw-on electrical wire nut (marret).

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.

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1. Round the edges of the back of your bandsaw blade to increase the allowable radius of a cut. This makes the cutting easier too.

2. To keep panels from bowing under clamp pressure while gluing, clamp lengths of angle aluminum on each end with the two opened edges on the wood (like an upside down ‘V’). Clamp the angle pieces just firmly enough to hold things in place. Then tighten the pipe clamps. Unlike iron or steel, aluminum won’t leave black marks where it contacts squeezed-out glue. Also, unlike a wooden cleat, it won’t become glued to the panel.

3. Don’t grab your wood from a tool like the table or band saw until you can count the teeth on the blade.

4. Do you need a quick zero clearance insert for your table, band or scroll saw? Use masking tape. It won’t last long but just may get you through a small project.

5. It is best not to wipe off the wet glue after clamping, as it will spread the glue around and make finishing difficult. However, if it is a water based glue, it should be removed before it is cured. The moisture of the glue raises the grain a little and when it hardens the moisture is trapped. Then later, when the glue is removed, the wood shrinks and a glue line becomes perceptible. If you use a scraper or chisel when the glue skims over it will come off in nice strips. Washing the glue off with a wet cloth works but you must be careful to get all off or it will be everywhere.

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.

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1. If you resaw wood, keep a bandsaw blade strictly for this purpose. Cutting curves knocks down the set of the blade’s teeth which will cause a blade to wander.

2. Most boards display rift grain at the edges and plain grain in the middle. To cut legs for a project that displays straight riftsawn pattern on all four faces cut your legs from the edges of your boards. You will get legs with four good faces and look good from any angle.

3. When preparing laminates make the bottom board wider than the others, with one long edge machined straight and square. During glue-up have the squared edge proud of the rest of the stack. Once glue has dried you can use this edge against your tablesaw fence to square the other side.

4. Compact discs make excellent shims for setting up dado blades. Simply enlarge the hole to your tablesaw’s arbor size, and insert the discs between the blades to the required thickness you need.

5. Some woods are more prone to tearout and require an extra step when cutting, especially plywood. Run a strip of masking tape down the length of your wood; mark your cutline directly on the tape. Saw and remove tape. It should be tearout free.

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.

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1. Crosscutting large sheets of plywood on the tablesaw can be difficult, and you usually end up binding the blade, burning the wood, or worse. To get around this, clamp a board under the plywood, and use it as an auxiliary fence which rides against the left edge of the tablesaw top.

2. You can use your screwdriver bits with a ratchet using a 1/4″ socket. This comes in especially handy when trying to put a screw in an awkward place.

3. Blunting the end of a nail will often prevent it from splitting the wood because a sharp point tends to separate the fibers of the wood causing it to split, while the blunt end shears the fibres as the nail is driven.

4. When woodturning always work down hill. In other words, work from the outside towards the center of the spindle or bowl. It is easier to work and control the gouge, chisel or scraper working this way.

5. Some woods, such as walnut or oak, are very tough and hard to carve. You can soften the wood up by applying de-natured alcohol to it. The alcohol will not cause the grain to raise like water will. The alcohol, of course, will evaporate with time.

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.

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1. If your hammer is continually slipping off the nails as you strike, use sand paper to roughen the face.

2. Don’t try to cut a log on a bandsaw without a jig. Because it is round the log will be drawn down to the table jamming the blade, possibly breaking it.

3. When making picture frames always make at least one extra piece. Somewhere along the line, whether cutting, routing or dadoing, you’ll be sure to lose a piece and have to create another. This will involve setting your equipment back up with the exact same measurements as the other pieces, reinstalling blades and bits, etc.

4. A clean shop is a happy shop. Sweep often. It’s a simple thought but I find that a regular sweep of the shop floor and equipment always gives me the feeling of starting anew, ready for the next project. If done at the end of the day it also gives a sense of completeness.

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.

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1. Don’t check your lathe toolrest by running your fingers along it while turning a pen blank. The square edge of the blank will catch your fingertip, ripping the skin away from the nail causing great pain and distress.

2. Always, always, always wear your face shield when turning.

3. Measure twice, cut once is not enough. You must ensure your measurements are correct first, then measure twice and cut once.

4. The higher the clamp pressure, the thinner the glue line. The thinner the glue line, the stronger the joint. Most woodworkers are probably underclamping their joints.

5. Create an ebonizing stain by using equal parts of vinegar, water and steel wool, allowing to soak for two weeks. Store in a glass jar with a breathable lid to allow hydrogen gas to escape.

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.

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1. Logs cut during a tree’s growing season will have bark that is easy to remove while logs cut during a tree’s dormant season will have bark that is hard to remove. This is because during the growing season the tree’s cambial cell contents are quite fluid and making the cambial layer fragile. During the dormant season the cell content thickens and the cambial layer stiffens becoming less vulnerable.

2. Wipe exotic woods with a little acetone to clear the oils before gluing.

3. To slow checking as you turn a piece of green wood you can spray with water.

4. After you rough turn a bowl using green wood seal the outside only, leaving the inside unsealed. This will speed up drying and allow more even drying.

5. If you have one of those vacuum sealers used for food they also work great for keeping your used paint brushes from drying out overnight, minimizing the need to clean them between painting sessions.

6. To mark a straight line on a dowel place it in the miter slot of your table saw and then draw a straight line where the edge of the slot meets the dowel. If your dowel is smaller than 3/4″ round cut a smaller dado in a scrap piece of wood and use the same technique.

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.

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1. Make a dado guide for quick size reference by taking a length of plywood by about 6″ and making cuts across it with all the size variables of your stackable dado blades. Mark the sizes and blade/shim combinations in the appropriate dado. Then all you have to do is fit your wood in the dado that it fits to quickly determine your dado setup.

2. When gluing up large pieces like a table top use a dowel the same size as the thickness of the boards laid parallel between your clamps and the wood. This concentrates the pressure in the middle of the wood and minimizes the tendency of the clamps to force the boards up and down.

3. To help keep sawdust off your safety facemask try rubbing an anti-static dryer sheet over the face shield. You can also try anti-fog spray sold at most sports stores.

4. To force glue into a tight spot like a crack, put a little dab of glue where you want it and then blow it deep into the tight spot using a straw.

5. An old toothbrush (or a new one) makes a terrific glue spreader in some applications like spreading glue on edge of a board.

6. You can steady your pipe clamps and keep them from tipping over making several “cradles” from inexpensive metal broom clips and plywood blocks. The cradles have the added benefits of raising the panel off the clamps, so there’s no worrying about the pipes leaving behind ugly black stains on the wood.

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.

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1. Wax your lathe with car wax. This will keep it from collecting dirt and debris. Also if added to your ways the banjo will move easier and smoother.

2. Create a finish for cutting boards by mixing ten parts mineral oil to one part paraffin wax. Dissolve the wax on a low microwave setting. Once melted, stir to blend and wipe on your board. Let dry and buff.

3. It helps to briefly run your brad point bit in reverse to scribe the outside diameter of the hole. This slices the wood fibers and minimizes tearout, especially on softwoods like pine.

4. Running a board shorter than 12″ through your thickness planer will cause problems like getting caught between the infeed and outfeed rollers, sever snipe and cutterhead damage. To get around this glue long, narrow scrap strips to your piece. Once planed cut off the scrap pieces.

5. Check your bandsaw adustments periodically throughout a project, especially on those that require critical angles.

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.

Back to the shop…