Tricks of the Trade
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Keep a Router Bit in Place When Tightening the Collet
Since it requires two wrenches (and two hands) to tighten the collet on most routers the bit will often slip too far down into the collet while both hands are busy.
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Homemade Portable Worklight
With a clip on light, a length of stock, and a 12 inch handscrew, you’ll be able to quickly make a portable light source for the workshop.
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Extend the Life of Your Respirator Cartridges
Respirator cartridges for gases and vapors have a limited life. You can help extend it.
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Shaping with a Router
I don’t have a shaper so I came up with this alternative.
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Preventing Laminate Trim Burn
When trimming plastic laminate on a table top, the pilot on a table top, the pilot a solid carbide router bit can burn the laminate already applied to a panel’s edges.
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Improve Visibility when Free Hand Routing
When free hand routing, the pattern line is sometimes obscured by wood chips and sawdust, making it difficult or impossible…
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Use an Eraser as a Sanding Block
A simple sander can be found in just about any home.
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Make Your V-Gouge Carving Knife More Comfortable
When working on a carving project and using my V-gouge to make light cuts, I like to hold the gouge like a pencil and push it through the wood with my fingertips.
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Easy Scroll Saw Blade Identification
I have a rather large assortment of 5 inch scroll saw blades. But, because many of the blades are quite small, it can be difficult to identify the various sizes.
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Shop Storage Trick for Dowels
I mounted a short length of plastic rain gutter downspout to my basement ceiling and found that it’s a perfect spot to store dowel stock.
