500 Workshop Tips & Jigs
by Stuart Lawson
Softcover
210 x 275mm
256pp
Published by Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd, East Sussex UK
R.R.P.$39.90
ISBN 1-86108-423-4
As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 134
Some jobs are never done - because once you've got to the end, you immediately have to start over from the beginning.
500 Workshop Tips & Jigs might prove to be much the same. With 500 ideas spread over more than 250 pages, there is little chance of absorbing all the information in one reading - particularly when the reader will probably want to go into the workshop from time to time to try out one of the ideas.
The first section, General Workshop Tips, contains 190 ideas that relate to hand tools, power tools and machines, as well as operations such as marking and measuring, jointing, sanding, finishing and storing. They range from cleaning saw blades with oven cleaner to pulling a frame into square using a 'Spanish Windlass'.
Next are 172 ideas on Routing - from techniques, measuring, setting up and workholding, to the use of fences, guides and jigs as well as router tables and accessories.
In addition there are 83 woodturning and 17 woodcarving ideas.
The notes are brief and easy to read. The illustrations - a mixture of photographs and diagrams - are clear and well presented.
This book will be of most interest and benefit to those who have had limited formal instruction in woodworking. Some of the ideas are just common sense, while others probably qualify as, what are sometimes called, 'trade secrets'.
Photos: Colour
Units of Measurement: Imperial & Metric
Contents
Introduction
General
Workshop Tips
Hand
tools
Lapping
planes
Planing aid
Hand router
Shooting board
Keeping planes cosy
Scraper
holder
Improving a chisel
Bench hook
Short screwdriver
Preserving
your mallet
Easier mitres
Mitre saw adjustment
Recycled blades
Straight
sawing
Fretwork tips
Grinding aid (1)
Grinding aid (2)
Diamond whetstones
Constant
honing
Power tools and machines
Drill press improvements (1)
Drill
press improvements (2)
Truing a drill-press table
Drilling angled holes
Mortising
on the drill press
Drilling small holes
Drilling plastic
Home-made roller
stand
Tablesaw cutting aid
Push stick
Reversa-stick
Cleaning saw blades
Improving
the mitre gauge
Cutting accurate multiples
Straightening waney-edged boards
Sawing
stop
Cutting multiples with the mitre gauge
Resawing aid
Avoiding breakout
on the tablesaw
Gaps under fences
Blade storage
Longer life for scrollsaw
blades
Straight cuts with a jigsaw
Door-trimming jig
Making spheres
Accurate
mortising
Homemade lobe nuts
PTFE spray
PTFE for saw blades
Easier
machine adjustment
Cheap alternative
Marking and measuring
Making
the most of sheet materials
Metric conversions (1)
Using a tape measure
Measuring
equal intervals
Metric conversions (2)
A fixed marking gauge
Marking
gauge and scratch stock
Handy marking gauge
Pencil gauge
Using dial callipers
Marking
the centre
Homemade marking knife
Clip-on pencil
Alcove measurer
Tape
around drill bit
Centre punch
Depth gauge
Centre punch or screw to locate
drill bits
Scribing aid (1)
Scribing aid (2)
Scribing aid (3)
Scribing
with a compass
Marking out with notelets
Drilling accurate holes in walls
A
non-slip ruler
Colour-coding joints
Pinch sticks (1)
Pinch sticks (2)
Pinch-stick
variation
Squaring large boards
Checking a square for square
Custom-made
square
Big bevel
Drawing ovals
Seeking circle centres
Simple trammel
Marking
square lines on turned parts
Woodworking materials
Grain direction
Rescuing
warped wood
Cross grain
Carrying sheet materials
Sliding table for cutting
sheet materials
Storing board materials
Lifting sheet materials
Removing
nails (1)
Removing nails (2)
Iron-on veneer edging
Plugging screw holes
Cutting
latex foam
Workholding
A traditional sawhorse
Three-legged trestle
Folding
sawhorse
Cramp heads
Edge cramping
Lightweight sash cramps
Corner
cramp
Cheap holdfast
Replacing cramp pads
Banana bars
Bench hook for
Workmate
Pulling a frame into square
Packing blocks for cramps
Cork clamp
cushions
Avoiding stains
Fold-down workbench
Bench-top extension
Safer
chainsawing
Clamp blocks
Lightweight stop
Veneer cutting table
Grooving
dowels
Dovetail jig
Bench-hook shooting board
Door-machining stand
Pivoting
stop
Planing stop for thin wood
Improved folding wedges (1)
Improved
folding wedges (2)
Joints and fixings
Correcting loose tenons
Making
round rod
Recycled dowels
Better visibility for joint cutting
Jig for
dowel holes
Burnishing mitred corners
Mirror trick
Taping picture frames
Reinforcing
large picture frames
Table-leg connectors
Screwing into the edge of MDF
(1)
Screwing into the edge of MDF (2)
Button biscuits
End-grain solution
Better
plugs
Allowing for movement (1)
Allowing for movement (2)
Pocket screws
(1)
Pocket screws (2)
Nail alignment
Inserting small pins
Sanding
a hammer head
Bed brackets
Keyhole escutcheons
Abrasives
Superior
sanding block
Making
the most of sandpaper
Contour sander
Sandpaper dispenser
Cutting sandpaper
(1)
Cutting sandpaper (2)
Cleaning abrasives
Heavyweight sanding block
Making
sandpaper last
Improved drum sander
Reviving a palm sander
Cheap belts
for Powerfiles
Making a drum sander
Sandpaper storage
Colour-coding sandpaper
(1)
Wire-wool dispenser
Colour-coding sandpaper (2)
Finishing
Finishing
stands
Instant filler knife
Preparing MDF for finishing
Good results
from varnishing
Recycling spirits
Van Dyke crystals
Workshop storage
Revolving
tool holder
Fold-down shelf
Itemised storage
Stacking storage
Safer
shelves
Keeping knives safe
New uses for old bottles
String biscuits
Glue
storage (1)
Glue storage (2)
Glue storage (3)
Sealed environment
Workshop
health & safety
Dust control (1)
Dust control (2)
Electrical
safety
Routing
tips
Router techniques
Direction of cut
Fine adjustment
Right-hand
rule
Lubricating plunge rods
Drawer-bottom grooves
Routing tongue grooves
for mitres
Better finish on cross grain
Ramp-cutting
Attaching and removing
patterns
Steaming out depressions in wood
Panel-raising
There and back
Routing
on a curved edge
Small circle jig
Circle cutting
Routing very small circles
Extended
fence bar for circle cutting
Large circle jig
Routing a concave edge
Large-scale
trammer
Cutting an open-ended curve
Stopped cuts
Quick repeats
Crisper
mouldings
Making narrow mouldings
Moulding samples
Stopped mouldings
in pre-jointed frames
Avoiding break-out
Stopped mouldings
Clean corners
Trimming
edges (1)
Trimming edges (2)
Affordable housing
Stopped grooves
Clean
grooves
Routing stopped chamfers
Routing paralled grooves
Routed door
handles
Removing glue squeeze-out
Routing large dowels
Routing long holes
Secret
shelf support
Plug trimming
Secret fixing holes
Precision drilling
Fences,
guides and jigs
Easy fence setting
Improved fence for router table
Continuous
fence for mitre cutters
Budget router fence
Continuous side fence
T-square
guide (1)
T-square guide (2)
Batten lines
Routing tricky housings
Sash-cramp
fence
Grooving gauge
Long straightedge
Router guide channel
Bevelled
rebates
Repeat angles
Improving router stability (1)
Improving router
stability (2)
Improving router stability (3)
Improving router stability
(4)
Improving router stability (5)
Truing edges
Packing pieces
Non-stick
strip
Multiple-pass routing channel
The final pass
Jigs from laminate
flooring
Flush-trimmed jig
Dovetail aid
Cleaning up dovetail sockets
Far
side jig
Routing angled grooves
Variable slotting jig
Dado jig
Jig
for repeat housings
Jig for bookcase housings
Modified housing jig
End-trimmed
jig for hand-held router
End-trimming jig for router table
Surfacing jig
Round-tenon
jig (1)
Round-tenon jig (2)
Mortising box
Adjustable mortising box
Easy
scarfing
Router cutters
Bearings make cutters more versatile
Rabbet
cutting
Trimming haunches and dovetails with a laminate trimmer
Down-shear
cutters
In praise of straight cutters
Dovetail cutters
Coping with collets
Uneven
wear
Shank length
Collet inserts
Easy cutter removal
Easier cutter
installation
Cleaning
collets
Rust-free collets
Beware the loose washer
Changing cutters
Sharpening
with diamond
Looking after bearings
Clean cutters
Holding cutters securely
Improved
cleaning brush
Rustproof storage
Storing collets
Toolboxes
Protecting
cutters
Dangers of foam
Measuring and setting up
Setting depth
of cut (1)
Setting depth of cut (2)
Gauge block to set cutter depth
Using
drill bits to set plunge depth
Homemade feeler gauge
Router positioning
on jigs and table inserts
Measuring from cutter to fence
Simple set-up guide
Setting
out grooves
Finding the centre
Using ski supports
Stopped chamfers
Washer
offset
Curve calculation
Workholding
Versatile holdfast
Sash-cramp
support
Routing small items (1)
Routing small items (2)
Hot-melt glue
Homemade
toggle clamp
Router tables
Horizontal table
Sliding carriage
Back-door
table
Cheap mounting plate
Rapid fence adjustment
Quick clamp
Loose
fittings
Quick cutter changing
Router jack
Cheap inserted inserts
Router
lifter (1)
Router lifter (2)
Homemade height adjuster
Router lifter (3)
Router
lifter (4)
Angled push stick
Improved push stick
Router accessories
Fine
height adjusters
Safe height adjustment
Height adjuster
Flexible height
gauge
Improved roller follower
Tool caddy
Temporary support
Safer
inversion
Router safety
Safe routing procedure
Router cutter safety
Handling
cutters
Using a router lifter
Power-cord safety (1)
Power-cord safety
(2)
Power-cord safety (3)
Finger tip
Dust control (1)
Dust control
(2)
Extraction box
Dust collector
Woodturning
tips
Lathes
Banjo support
Banjo adjustment
Toolrest extension
Easier
locking
Keeping the lathe clean
Emergency stop
Removing the tailstock
centre
Covering the tailstock centre
Workholding
Make your own
screw chuck
Getting the most from a chuck
Prevent chucks jamming
A smaller
faceplate
Wine-bottle stopper jig
Tailstock support
Safe chuck
Longer-lasting
jigs
A long-turning steady
Easier
to handle
Tools
Improving a long-hole borer
Spiralling system
safety
Using scrapers
Sharpening carbon-steel tools
Sharpening small
tools
Lathe-bed tool rack
Grinding aid
Mobile tool rack
Marking
and Measuring
Improving dividers
Transferring measurements
Accurate
repeats
Better callipers
Centre finder
Measuring base thickness
Measuring
wall thickness
Dowel gauge
Tile recess gauge
Stock preparation
Sawing
round stock
Saw slices in safety
Turning technique
Cutting large
blanks accurately
Hollowing
Balancing odd shapes
Thin-walled turnings
Finding
the centre
Finishing to thickness
Reducing waste
Recycling offcuts
Making
wooden eggs
Segmented turning for beginners
Chasing threads
Curtain-rail
toolrest
Coloured inlays
Mock-silver inlays
Moulding drawer pulls
Abrasives
and finishing
Make your own abrasive disks
Sanding speed
Sanding
in tight corners
Sanding with water
Sandpaper store
Sanding edges
Truing
square edges
Abrasive on a ring
Keeping paper dry
Making abrasives last
longer
Homemade drum sander
Easier high-speed rotary sanding
Simple rotary
sander
Save time on polishing
Sanding discs
Power-sanding extension shaft
Airtight
storage
Oil spill
Oil better than wax
Workshop storage
Rust-resisting
tool rack
Using magnets
Portability
Woodturning safety
Keep
the bed clean
Make cleaning child's play
Fire safety
Cheap respirator
Eyecare:
removing particles
Eyecare: keeping dust away
Better dust extraction (1)
Better
dust extraction (2)
Handling superglue safely
Woodcarving
tips
Carving tools
Make a drawknife
Identifying tools
Squaring
gouges
Power stropping
Honing V-tools
Protecting switches
Workholding
Cam
clamp
Sandbags
Close-up clamp
Cheap screw clamps
Carving screw
Carving
horse
Sanding solutions
Custom sanding blocks
Flexible sanders
Instant
sanding stick
Starting and finishing
Drawing with light
Spot repairs
Using
dyes
Do-it-yourself
tips
Doors and doorways
Hanging a new door in an old frame
Marking
hinge recesses
Making wedges
Managing without wedges
Trimming a door
Budget
architrave
Making door linings
Fitting a narrow door
DIY architraves
Frames
without architraves
Cutting and fixing architraves
Sash windows
Pulley
wedges
Cord lengths
Threading the cord
Traditional joinery principles
Skirting
(baseboards)
Homemade period skirting
Concealing cables
Covering
gaps and pipes
Removing skirting board
Making accurate mitres
Planning
scribed joints
Make painting easier
Bathroom tip
Temporary fixing
Ceilings,
floors, partitions
Repairing a sagging ceiling
Scaffold tower versus
board lifter
Setting out screw positions
Applying pressure
Long then
short screws and washers
Planning roof windows
Drilling into carpet
Supporting
a floating floor
Fixing partitions to floating floors
Shelves and worktops
Torsion-box
shelves
Alcove shelf brackets
Using silicone sealant
Index