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Workbench Tips and Tricks

Here are eight ideas to make your bench work harder.

Elevated pad for sanding spoons

Raising your workpiece allows you to shape and sand tricky angles.

Tape down push paddle for tricky cuts

Double-stick tape ensures safe plunge cuts at the router table or table saw.

Easier way to hand-cut mortises

Scribing your chisel line is a good way for beginners to start chopping mortises.

Simple, effective clamp rack

This simple version of a clamp rack is nothing more than a few pieces of 2x4 lumber screwed together and leaned against the wall

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Recent Shop Tips Stories

Smart board jack
February 18, 2025

To support long boards on edge for planing, sawing, and drilling, place one end in the vise and the other on this simple but effective board jack.
Clear cauls let you see what’s clamped
February 11, 2025

To see at a glance what's being clamped, use clear acrylic for the top clamping cauls.
Use a roller shade as a photo backdrop
February 4, 2025

For photographing projects, a large white plastic shade—the kind that comes on a wood roller—works great and is much cheaper than a professional seamless backdrop.
Video: 4 Glue-brush tips
January 31, 2025

If you don’t like getting geeky about glue-up stuff—glue brushes specifically—then this is not the video for you.
Make small pulls with a modified pencil sharpener
January 28, 2025

If you're making a project such as a spice box that requires lots of small pulls but you don't have a lathe, a modified cheap pencil sharpener works great.
Cap your glue bottle with a wire nut
January 21, 2025

An easy-to-find electrical connector makes a good glue cap.
Use saw reflection to cut square
January 14, 2025

Use the reflection on the saw plate to gauge your accuracy.
Shopmade, low-profile benchdogs
December 31, 2024

These wooden benchdogs can be made to support any thickness of material.
Improve your drill-press stop
December 24, 2024

A quick, inexpensive modification for your drill press that is a vast improvement over the double-nut depth stop.
Small stick stops crosscut sled in safe position
December 17, 2024

This simple solution keeps the blade safely away from your body and hands

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Get the latest from Fine Woodworking Magazine

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