Instant Antique Hardware
New hardware is often way too shiny for my taste, so I chemically “age” it. If the metal is raw steel, I use standard gun bluing. But if it’s plated with zinc, I turn to Super Blue, a double-strength …
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Author Archives: American Woodworker Editors
Sharpen While You Work
Chisels don’t wait to get dull until you’ve finished a job—do they? The trick is to keep them sharp while you’re working. Rather than pull out my stones to renew an edge, I keep a piece of MDF charged with …
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House of Dust
HOUSE OF DUST To keep airborne dust from getting into the house, I bought a dust collector for my basement workshop. I wanted to start with a clean slate, so I decided to rid the shop of a decade’s worth …
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Picture Frame Glue-up
Here’s a quick way to glue up a mitered frame of any size using only two clamps, with no worry that the frame will shift out of alignment. You’ll need two 1″ x 1″ hardwood bars (make them whatever length …
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Faster Cleaning
Here’s a quick way to get all the dust out of your machine’s nooks and crannies. Most shop vacuums have one port for vacuuming and a second port for blowing. Hook up a hose to each port, then blow and …
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