Self-Cleaning Blast Gate
When sawdust got packed into the back end of my planer’s blast gate, I couldn’t close the gate all the way. I solved this annoying problem by cutting a notch in the gate. Now, when I close the gate, all …
Source
Category Archives: Tricks of the Trade
Magnetic Clamping Blocks
Difficult glue-ups are troublesome enough without having to position clamp pads as part of the process. I’ve tried using hot-melt glue, double-sided tape and various other methods to hold pads onto clamp jaws, but they always seemed to fall off ……
Read moreCabinet Jacks
I usually work alone, but when I install upper cabinets, I always enlist the help of two shop-made cabinet jacks. They’re steadier than an extra pair of hands. The jacks stand on the lower cabinets. To position and level the …
Source
Tenon Preview
A tenon should be one-third the thickness of a rail—at least, that’s what an old rule of thumb recommends. A 3/4″ board should have 1/4″ tenons, for example. But what about a 7/8″ board? What’s one-third of that? I use …
Source…
Zero Clearance Dust Port
Zero clearance inserts are wonderful for eliminating tear out, but unfortunately, they also eliminate dust collection. To give my collection system an opening to pull sawdust through, I cut a 1/2-in.-dia. hole at the front end of the blade slot. ……
Read more