We’ve all had that problem - how do you support the end of a long piece of timber whilst you’re doing work on one end of it? I’ve done it and I know alot of others have too - using a makeshift ladder on one end. Problem is, it doesn’t allow the timber to slide smoothly and you risk having it jack knife up, thus ruining your work. The solution : roller stands or better still, the ball bearing stands.

Now this is a fancy piece of work - the advantage the ball bearing stand has over the standard roller stand is that it allows travel in whatever direction you choose making it perfect as an out-feed support. Positioning it so that it’s exactly 90 degrees to the fence would ensure that you won’t get that dreaded ’stock off course’ scenario. This is particularly important if your timber is long and heavy as it’s near nigh impossible to force the stock up against the fence when you reach the end of the cut. The only thing you have to watch out for is if you’re working with narrow pieces of stock or when you have to work with the narrow edge of timber. You’ll encounter this difficulty because no matter how hard you try to position the narrow piece of timber in the center of the ball bearing, if the stock is narrower than the distance between the centers of 2 ball bearings, murphy’s law says that it will fall off and ruin your cut.

What about roller stands? If you just require support to cut trim to length on your miter saw, or putting holes in long pieces of timber with your drill press, then the roller stand is the thing for you. A roller support with integrated bench clamp is a great tool that can be hooked up to your workbench or alternatively onto your sawhorse.

How about having the best of both worlds with Rockler’s Heavy Duty Flip Top Roller Stand which converts in seconds from your run of the mill roller stand to one with 8 ball bearings. With a load rating of an impressive 440lbs, this is no flimsy lightweight stand, it will stay rigid and upright for you - no worries. With easy height and levelling adjustments, it ensures that you’re not fiddling forever to get the fitting right before you get to work.

Click here for all roller stands

When was the last time you were in the middle of a project only to find that you are one clamp short? Clamps you never have enough of and F-style camps are one of the most often used clamps in the shop. The adaptable quick-adjusting F-style is superb for holding parts in place when you need to screw or nail them together, when you’re in the middle of a complex glue job, or when you need to quickly clamp down featherboards and other jigs.

Yup, F-style clamps are your generic woodshop standard so you might think that one clamp’s just as good as the other. Dig a little deeper though and you will find subtle differences in quality that can make one F-clamp a pleasure to use and another, which has had less thought in the manufacturing process one you’d relegate to the ‘only use if absolutely necessary’ section of your tools. Jet Tools however, goes the extra mile with it’s version of the F-clamp with added padding on clamping surfaces with their trademarked “Sumogrip” ergonomic handle. These Jet F-style clamps are tough enough to give you some actual clamping pressure, with the added ability to adjust quickly and reliably, and have the all essential detents on the bar that ensures the rear jaw won’t slip when you crank the handle. Use it once and you’ll never look back.

Clamps

Dreading the horrible splintering that results from plywood table saw cuts? Well it doesn’t have to be that way. The first thing you should check (if you haven’t already) is your saw blade. Do you require a new table saw blade? Or is the existing one just not appropriate? If you experiencing the wood actually splintering on top as the saw blade comes up, then check these things :
1. if the splintering is only happening on one side of the kerf, check if the blade is parallel to the fence. It has to be 90 degrees to the front edge of the table.
2. is your motor actually mounted square to the table?
3. if splintering is happening on both sides of the kerf, then the most likely problem is a wobbly saw blade. Check that your arbors aren’t bent, and also be on the lookout for burrs and grime build up on the blade.

Then when you cut, make sure you make 2 passes. First scoring the top layer of veneer and then second with the full thickness cut. Alternatively you may want to check out the special plywood/veneer cutting saw blades on the market (Freud’s Ultimate Plywood and Melamine Blade) - especially useful if you are going to cut a lot of plywood.

Recommended Reading :
1. Table Saw Book
2. The Accurate Table Saw

The Magswitch Magnetic Jig is a compact, easy to install fixture designed to be used in conjunction with a shop-built jig. The most outstanding thing about this strong, jig-holding magnet is the simple fact that with a single knob turn you can turn it on and off. This technology is patented and means that you can rapidly and readily affix a wide variety of shop-built jigs to any ferrous metal surface. This would sidestep the frustrating and awkward one-handed clamping ritual that’s usually required when working with ferrous metals.

What about ‘featherboards’ you ask? Well, the team at Rockler has solved this with the Magswitch Magnetic Table Saw Featherboard - Magnetic Fence Featherboard and the Magswitch jig combo. Magswitch magnetic featherboards’ radical approach to the problem permanantly solves this ageold problem. One of the main reasons for featherboard is that you often have to keep moving the jig as you work and with movement, you’ll have to steady the featherboard with one hand and then trying to clamp it to the tool surface with the other. Here’s where the Magswitch proves its worth as being a revolutionary tool. It makes it simple to secure with just one free hand!

The other commonly encountered featherboard problem is that there’s often nothing to clamp it to! Clamping the featherboard near the center of your tablesaw bed would require an extremely long featherboard for the clampable edge of your saw. With the Magswitch Magnetic Table Saw Featherboard, you can position it anywhere on the tool surface easily. The Fence Featherboard works on the same premise but its lower profile does make it the better choice for tools with metal fences or tools with a smaller bed.

We’ve all encountered the problem of looking at our router bits and thinking that they’re a bit worse for wear. So here’s the question : do we salvage old router bits or do we just trash them? First thing to do is to take a good hard look at the router bit. Is it salvageable? By that I mean that if you notice chips and bits that are supposed to be there but aren’t then of course the answer to that is to trash it and get a new one. Next thing to do is to find out if it is actually dull - ie is it just dirty and that’s why you’re not getting the finish you require when using it? WD40 is the solution to that - carefully clean the pitch and resin off the router bit and take another look at it. After cleaning it, you need to test it’s sharpness. How do you test the sharpness of the router bit? Some have suggested using your fingernail to test the cutting edge of the bit ie if you manage to take off a bit of the surface of it, it’s probably sharp enough. Ever wonder why woodworker’s fingers and nails are the way they are…well this would explain it to a certain degree If you discover that the router bit is in need of a sharpen, then you’ll need to get yourself a diamond paddle honing stone. There are different grits available (they aren’t going to break the bank - pretty cheap so get yourself at least 2) - ranging from 180 - 1200 grit. Generally the lower the grit number the rougher it is (similar to sandpaper) - so you basically work yourself up the grit numbers. Most woodworkers have a middle of the range diamond honer eg 600 grit paddle is sufficient for most minor touch up sharpens. If you’re diligent in keeping your tools in top nick then that’s probably all you’ll need. Otherwise, if you’re one of the more forgetful woodworkers and leave the touch up jobs till the bit’s in dire need of a sharpen, then you might want to go with something like a 325 grit paddle first and then follow it up with a finishing hone with the 600 grit. In most instances all you need to do is about 5 passes of the carbide cutter on the paddle and that’ll do the job.

See router bits and accessories
See sharpening tools

DON’T forget your eyewear protection! You only have 2 eyes and they are precious. And that goes for your ears as well - any use of power tools on a long term (even short term) basis can and will cause damage to your ears - many a woodworker has ended up with partial hearing loss due to the lack of attention to detail when it comes to protecting themselves. Be safe, not sorry.

Let’s take a look at what options you have for protective eyewear. For a start, get one that meets the ANSI’s Z87.1-1989 for projectiles is a good guide as to what’s good. Look, all it takes is one slip and you could have a nail, or wood chip spin into your eye. Some of the safety glasses out there aren’t meant to protect your eyes from projectiles, all they function to do is to keep the dust out of your eyes. Some of those polycarbonate varieties scratch easily and will become a hazard in themselves as they obscure your vision. And get one that’s comfortable. Not all heads are sized the same, so get an adjustable one. Check out nifty anti-fog ones - if you’re working up a sweat the last thing you want to be doing is to keep having to take them off to clean - the less frustration you have keeping them on, the more likely they are going to stay on in my opinion.

Protective eyewear - what’s on the market

Safety Glasses as protective eyewear

Huge variety out there. Some have detachable side shields. Some are even UV coated. There are even those which you can slip over your prescription glasses. Personally I find that these are okay if performing jobs that don’t require heavy machinery and you’re just trying to keep the dust out of your eyes eg when you’re sanding. You can get prescription ones done for you. However, for them to qualify as safety glasses, the frame and lenses have to carry the ANSI Z87 designation. Your optometrist will be able to show you the range of safety frames.

Goggles as protective eyewear

Fog is the bane of goggles. Some have vent holes on the side or top to minimize fogging - which may not be ideal if you’re working with chemicals as these will allow splashes to get into your eye via the vents. Good for people with glasses (like me) - I slip them over my glasses. You can get ant-fog ones (but I find that even these can fog up in the end when you’re hard at work).

Full-face shields as protective eyewear - the heavy artillery

Really only practical for those who are operating machinery. On their own hinged shields don’t offer full eye protection because they are open at the bottom. It does however protect your WHOLE face, not just your eyes. Most would suggest that you wear goggles or safety glasses even if you are wearing these face shields for added protection.

Welding goggles as protective eyewear

Really only necessary if you’re doing any welding to protect your eyes from being blinded by the light generated from welding.

Look for
Protective eyewear

Plywood is a bugger to cut - so to get it right, here are some handy tips.

Tip1

Don’t cross cut - in other words, cut along the grain not across it.

Tip2

Don’t be lazy, use the right blade for cutting the plywood - generally a fine tooth saw blade is better.

Tip3

Use masking tape over the cut to keep the splintering to a minimum. Better still, attach a backing panel as well to take the brunt of the cut. Then score with your trusty utility knife and then again with your saw (ie just take off a small amount of wood - not the full thickness) before you go through it again with a second full thickness cut.

Tip4

When using a table saw, cut with the ‘best face’ up and if you’re using a circular saw, cut with the ‘best face’ down. Better still use a router fitted with a straight bit - using a pilot bit with a straight edge will ensure you get that perfect clean line. If you are planning to do a lot of plywood cutting then it may be worthwhile investing in a panel scoring kit which consists of a smaller blade that does the scoring for you before the cutter takes over to make the second full thickness cut.

• Woodworking hand tools
• Woodworking power tools

It’s that time of the year again where the decorations get pulled out of the garage and the house and yard get decked out with bows of holly and lights. Woodworking comes of its own with these woodworking plans to suit the season.

Create these elegant reindeer figures in minutes with the ready to trace patterns. They stand approximately 3 feet High x 4 feet Long. Click here

Decorate your front yard this holiday season with this trio of notch-together snow crystals. The largest two, standing 42 and 24 respectively when assembled, look great just sitting in the yard. The smallest, measuring 10 across, works well hung from a tree limb or rain gutter. Better yet, build and hang a winter wonderland of small flakes for maximum effect.42, 24, and 10 Tall Click here

The main types of sandpaper used in woodworking

• Aluminum Oxide sandpaper
  by far the most common one used in woodworking. Of all the sandpapers it is the most long lasting of all and that’s because it’s ‘friable’. By that we mean that as you sand, heat and pressure on the aluminum oxide causes it to fragment and therefore create sharp edges for future sanding resulting in a longer lifespan for the sandpaper.
• Ceramic sandpaper
  the hardest of all the sandpapers and really only suitable for really rough sanding of wood. So if you want to take of alot of wood in one hit, then ceramic sandpaper is the way to go. Having said that, it’s also one of the most costly alternatives so I’d go easy on it. Commonly used in most woodworking power tools like power sander belts.
• Garnet sandpaper
  not as friable as aluminum oxide therefore wears out faster but still pretty commonly used in woodworking. As a final sanding paper it’s ideal because it doesn’t tend to keep roughing the surface like aluminum oxide does.
• Silicon carbide sandpaper
  harder than aluminum oxide and garnet but tends to be better used in harder surfaces like plastic and fibreglass. It is also friable but wood isn’t tough enough a surface to fragment the sandpaper surface so it does tend to lose it’s efficacy faster than aluminum oxide.

Sandpaper - the nitty gritty

With sandpaper, the higher the grit number, the finer the sanding result. So as a general rule of thumb you ‘go through the grits’ ie you start with a lower number grit sandpaper and work your way up to the finer sandpapers with the higher grit numbers. In case you are thinking that this means a long and hard slog, most woodworkers will only sand to a maximum of 180grit. For water based stains some woodworkers will go the extra mile to sand to up to 200grit but that’s usually as far as you’ll need to go. As for industrial grade or commercial grade sandpaper, most woodworkers will only really need the commercial grade (industrial grade sandpaper aren’t usually stocked at hardware stores anyway) - unless you’re in a production line the commercial grade stuff will do the job fine.

Read more about wood finishing

Get started on your holiday gift woodworking projects with these woodworking plans

Grind your own beans with a traditional cast iron coffee mill grinding mechanism! Download our Free Coffee Mill Plan to build your own base, or use our ready-to-assemble Coffee Mill Kit bases (sold separately). Choose from cast iron wheel mechanism (shown on left) or crank style mechanism (shown on right). Mechanisms and kits sold separately. See below for a PDF Format of the plan.

Cast Iron Coffee Mill Mechanisms and Coffee Mill Well Kits

Designed in the tradition of the original post office box, this solid brass door can be used in a variety of projects like this Mail Truck Bank. Get this Mail Truck Bank Downloadable Plan FREE! ( HTML or PDF)

Brass Mailbox Door and Mail Truck Bank Plan

Build your own hour glass case with our FREE downloadable plan and this 60-minute hour glass. Precision timepiece is hand-blown in Europe and filled with the finest natural sand to ensure accuracy. 11′’ tall. FREE HTML Hour Glass plan. FREE PDF Hour Glass plan (1.75MB).

Hour Glass Timer

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