Shop Tips - Page 2 of 161

A steel tool chest forms the skeleton of Thom Lipiczky's workbench.

Wedges and rope keep joints tight

A round block, two bench dogs, and a bench-dog screw clamp make an adaptable mount for carving.

An improvised version of a commercial scraper-burnishing jig, but with a bonus!

Slots help clamps stand up, enabling a variety of glue-ups.

Team up your dial calipers with a set of feeler gauges to sneak up on the perfect tenon size.

Start with a jigsaw and sand up to the layout lines using a pattern.

This bandsaw fence allows the board to spring open or closed without affecting the cut.

Here's a look at some easily made tools that will make life easier in the shop: the dovetail marker, the glue-bottle wrench, a drawer opening strap, pins for centering a tabletop, spacers for aligning drawer parts when cutting dovetails, and a foolproof depth stop for drilling.

For precise thickness changes, you can use digital calipers as a depth gauge.