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Welcome to Our Tool & Woodworking Articles.
This page was updated on 07/31/20.
Standard Disclaimer:
Any project which requires the use of tools carries the potential for injury. Use caution and your safety gear, this site won't be liable!
Featured Articles
Here's our most recent tool and woodworking articles. Enjoy!
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Finishing Techniques
- Applying Wood Stain on Hardwood and Softwood Inexpensive pine, expensive oak, or cherry has more character after a coat of stain.
- Choose the Correct Wood Finish for the Job For your selection of which wood finish product to apply on cutting boards, kitchen cabinets, fascia boards, and wood siding the options are many. Would you like an oil finish, paint, or a wood stain?
- Exterior Wood Finishes for Decks, Siding, and Raised Bed Gardens Your choices include paint, penetrating sealers, and stains.
- How to Make Homemade Wood Putty Get a perfect color match on your woodworking project.
- Knowing Lumber Grades can Save Money on Home Improvement Projects Dont overbuy on hardwood and pine.
- How to Strip Paint Refinish furniture with a chemical or eco-friendly citrus paint stripper and a bit of elbow grease.
- Picture Frame and Cabinet Refinishing with Washi The Japanese use this sustainable paper for wall partitions and origami; adapt it to your own woodworking projects.
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Tools and Accessories
- 5 Benefits of a Wood Shop Dust Collector Keep your shop clean, minimize fire hazards, save your health.
- Top 10 Table Saw Safety Tips Your table saw is an inherently dangerous tool. Follow these safety tips and keep your body parts.
- 20 Top iPhone Apps for Home Improvement Projects Home Maintenance is Less Complicated than Ever Thanks to Apples Best Selling Phone. Floors? Painting? Woodworking? Theres an app for that!
- Affordable Benchtop Table Saws These workhorses are affordable, portable, and powerful.
- Best Power Tool Christmas Gift Ideas Got a DIY'er on your gift list? This article will give you some great ideas.
- Centrifugal Air Compressors Used in HVAC systems and jet engines, these units are workhorses.
- Choose the Right Saw for Your DIY Projects Choose the correct saw for the job, whether you are framing a basement, miter cutting baseboard, or hand cutting tight dovetail joints. There's a tool for any carpentry task, from simple hand saws to track saws.
- Choosing Trim Nailers and Finish Nailers The choice depends on the size of the nail and compressor-driven or airless.
- Circular Saw Options and Features to Consider Circular saws, also called Skil® saws, are the most versatile power tools on the construction site, whether renovation or building a new home.
- Construction Adhesive Giant Titebond Goes Green with GREENchoice Branching out from the popular woodworking glues, Titebond I, II, and III, the company now offers many no-solvent VOC-compliant building glues.
- Cordless Impact Drivers, Corded, and Battery-Powered Drills The tool industry continues to offer lighter, stronger, more efficient gear.
- Hand Tool Gift Ideas A companion piece to the power tool gift guide, these selections will reap you a lot of points with the giftee (and who couldn't use a few of those?).
- Craftsman #21807 Table Saw Power Tool Review This benchtop saw is well equipped right out of the box. Included are a number of accessories, a 10 blade and an unassembled 4-leg stand. Its got sufficient power for handymen, building contractors, DIY woodworking projects, and a broad range of remodeling tasks.
- DeWalt DWS520 Track Saw Power Tool Review The DeWalt track saw is available in both a corded and cordless saw model. It is handy for making table saw accurate cuts with a hand-held tool.
- Make a Water Level to Transfer Benchmarks Home remodeling projects need to be level in most cases; no problem with a 4 or 2 foot level. But transferring benchmarks around corners calls for a water level.
- The Advantages of Custom Hinges Special order hardware for woodworking and DIY projects.
- The Best Gift Ideas for the Handyman (or Woman) in Your Life Stock the workshop with the basics for common DIY tasks.
- Tool Holders and Eight Essential Tools How to keep your tool inventory organized and the eight essential tools for minor home maintenance.
- Use Table Saw Extensions to Increase Your Reach These handy little devils will allow you to handle larger stock with ease, and make the most of a small work shop.
- Use the Right Tool for the Job When Working in Wet Areas Work safe and avoid electrocution.
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Wood Shop Helpers: Jigs
- Metal and Hardware for Woodworking Jigs Woodworking jigs are ideal for making your woodworking projects easier and safer. Whether it's a polycarbonate see-through guard for your jigsaw or an MDF dovetail jig, you can build it yourself!
- Plastic Materials for Woodworking Jigs Woodworking jigs come after laying out the big bucks for that new lathe, band saw, or table saw. They're helping tools, they're handmade, and some say they hold a cult status in the wood shop.
- Review of the Kreg K4 Pocket Hole Jig Tool A tool for a hidden woodworking joinery technique without dovetails, glue, or clamps.
- Sheet Goods Materials for Woodworking Jigs A woodworking jig is just a homemade tool to make your project easier or safer. Face it, that new power tool, say, a table saw or band saw is well equipped, but we're creative folk, and there's room for improvement!
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Woodworking Joinery
- Choose the Right Type of Woodworking Glue Every woodworking project has a bonding requirement: contact cement for plastic laminates, hide glue for restoring antiques, Titebond for waterproofing, or Gorilla Grip for strength.
- Choosing the Right Type of Screw for the Job Most DIY and woodworking projects need some kind of fastener, from drywall screws to Tapcon® concrete anchors.
- Joinery with a Dovetail Joint Dovetail joints are one of the strongest corner joints used in woodworking. Why? The strength of any wood joint depends on the amount of open surface area of the two pieces being joined.
- Making Half Lap Joints The half lap joint is one of the simplest wood joinery techniques and lends itself to furniture making.
- Wood Joinery with a Finger or Box Joint Box or finger joints are a strong, simple alternative to cutting dovetail joints using a table saw jig.
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Woodworking Projects and Plans
- 10 DIY New Year Projects to Tackle Roll up your sleeves; time for changes!
- 10 DIY New Year Projects to Tackle–Part 2 Want more projects? Here they are!
- A Wardrobe Bedroom Storage Solution Increase your storage space and reduce clutter with this DIY project.
- Before Building a Coffee Table, Plan Your Project There is a huge variety of living room furniture, but consider making your own woodworking design plan.
- Building a Headboard for the Master Bedroom With a few tools and patience, you can create custom furniture that will last for generations.
- Cheap Homemade Canoe or Kayak Storage Plans I used to store my Heritage Redfish fishing kayak in a sling along with my canoe but with fishing season here, I built this kayak storage rack for convenience.
- Compact Router Table Plans for a Small Wood Shop Build this small router table that you can store away when not in use.
- How to Build a Recessed Medicine Cabinet Building a custom recessed (or inset) bathroom medicine cabinet will maximize your available storage space. Bathroom framing is often doubled to allow for plumbing. You wont find a matching offset fixture at a home improvement store.
- How to Construct a Built-in Entertainment Center Todays media rooms demand an organized storage area.
- How to Create Rustic Furniture Woodworking projects with joinery techniques and domestic wood.
- How to Install Polyurethane Crown Moulding Polyurethane and PVC molding take the difficulty out of upgrading your home.
- How to Make a Homemade PVC Flag Pole Build an inexpensive, permanent in-ground flagpole to fly Old Glory on the 4th of July, Memorial Day.
- Install Closet or Alcove Shelves Increase your storage space with this easy woodworking project.
- Making One Piece of Furniture from Two Woodworking projects for making a beverage serving cart, a hutch from a bookshelf, or an armoire.
- Restoring Antique Furniture Have you got a cherished or recently acquired piece of antique furniture? Read on to learn how to restore it while preserving its vintage value.
- Tips for Your Wood Shop or Hobby Area You just can't have too many woodworking tips.
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Woodworking Techniques
- Cutting and Installing Baseboard A coping saw and a keen eye will work wonders with your finish trim.
- Bending Wood Molding in Your Wood Shop Your woodcrafting projects can use a helping hand sometimes. Wooden trim can be made to conform in steam heat inside a PVC steam chamber or by back-cutting with a coping saw.
- The 3-4-5 Rule for Squaring This is a carpenter's method for getting a perfect square based on the Pythagorean theorem in mathematics.
- Top 10 Woodworking Tips Yet more woodworking tips.
- Knowing Lumber Grades can Save Money on Home Improvement Projects Dont overbuy on your hardwood and pine.
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Landscaping Tools
- Are Reel Lawn Mowers for Sale? Green Landscaping Heats Up High gas prices and the green movement are both factors in the booming reel lawn mower market.
- Lawn Mower Selection Guide Some homeowners hire a lawn care service to groom their suburban castle grounds. Others prefer a DIY approach. At the core of the landscaping arsenal is the lawn mower.
- Rainwater Harvesting 101 Don't waste free water! Make your plants and trees happy.
- Ryobi 20 in. 40-Volt Brushless Mower Review Quiet, efficient landscaping.
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About the Author:
Kelly R. Smith was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.
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