Tricks of the Trade

Shelf-pin Table Clips

Here's a quick and easy way to mount small tabletops to an apron base. I use several metal shelf pins with a stud on one end and a flat support on the other end. To install these "clips," drill a 1/4"-diameter hole for the stud near the top edge of the apron so the flat lip will rest against the tabletop.

I position two or three clips along the aprons that follow the long grain of the tabletop and one on each of the other two aprons, centered in the middle. Leave the long-grain clips about 1/8" shy of seating all the way in their holes to allow for wood movement. Fasten the clips to the underside of the tabletop with screws.

- Dick Pettigrew; Vancouver, Washington

Bridging a Gap for Better Clamping

A table saw makes a handy assembly and sanding table, but it's hard to clamp workpieces along the front edge unless your rip fence rails are flush with the table surface.

To fix the problem on my saw, I bridged this gap with a couple of strips of scrap wood, planed to fill the space. I fitted and glued a second strip of 1/4" plywood into a kerf on the bottom of each filler to form a "T" shape, which keeps the filler strips from falling off the saw.

Now, my saw table is flush all the way to the edge of the fence rail - perfect for clamping. Whenever I need to move the rip fence, my filler strips slide right with it.

- Rob Richards; Mystic, Connecticut

Secret Messages

I like to leave a "secret" message on every piece of furniture I build. I find a place - usually a back panel or under a tabletop - to leave my note, using a woodburning tool. I include the date and current weather, a couple of snippets of world news, where the piece was built and, of course, my name. My only regret in leaving the surprise is that I'm not around to see the look on the owner's face when they find it.

- Ken Wallace; Fairbanks, Alaska