Make Your Own File for Tight Spots

When smoothing curved profiles, you'll need a fine-cutting file to get into the inside corners that your sanding drum can’t reach. But the thick square edges of the file can get in the way and sometimes even damage the workpiece. So rather than abandon this method, Woodsmith's Ted Raife simply modified the tool to fit the job.

As you can see in the drawings above, he ground a bevel on both edges of the file to get more clearance in tight corners. You can make this modification with just a few minutes work at the bench grinder. But you want to be careful to not let the file get so hot that it loses its temper. Keep a container of water close by to quench it and this won't be a problem.

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Dogs that Don't Bite

I think we've all had this happen: You clamp a workpiece onto your bench for a little sanding or planning and then discover the faces of your metal bench dogs left their marks. There are lots of work arounds to avoid this happening, and this is one of the simplest and handiest.

See how to build these simple "dogs that don't bite" here. They're from the editors at Woodsmith magazine. You can get tips like these delivered to you computer each week. Sign up here.

Perfect Miters on a Deck Rail

While installing the handrail on a newly constructed deck, I found that the 45° miters I had so carefully cut didn't fit tightly together. As it turned out, a small variation in the deck meant that the boards came together at an angle slightly less than 90°.
Rather than guess at the angle and recut the boards on my miter saw, I clamped the boards into position and used a circular saw to cut across the joint. This created matching angles — and a perfect-fitting miter joint. Note: This technique works well with a hand saw too.

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Good-bye Baby Food Jars

When I was growing up a half-century or so ago, my father and grandfather stored screws, nails and other small hardware items in used baby food jars. Maybe there are fewer babies, or they're just not eating out of little glass jars. But I don't see the migration of jars from kitchen to shop anymore. For safety reasons, that's probably a good thing, but what's taking their place? Surely the modern woodworker has just as many odds and ends to save, label, and inventory?
Talking to Ted Raife at Woodsmith Magazine, I learned of one replacement: plastic containers that once held a stack of blank computer CDs.

The deep, clear plastic lids of these containers simply lock to the base with a slight twist. So Ted removes the center post from the base and then screws the base to the underside of a shop cabinet. The lid can then be filled with whatever hardware items require organization and quickly stashed out of the way, but easily accessible when needed.
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Measuring Diagonals, Again

I talked about how to do this before, but this tip is even easier than the last one.

The last step to assembling a case is to make sure it's square. And the quickest way to do this is to measure diagonally from corner to corner. (If it's square these measurements will be the same. If not, you'll need to make some adjustments.) Using a tape measure is an easy way to check for square. The problem is that keeping the end of the tape on the corners can be difficult. But, as Woodsmith's Ted Raife shows us, a quick modification to the hook of the tape solves this problem.
To do this, simply cut a small slot on the hook with a rotary tool (or hack saw), see the drawing above right.
The slot slips over the point of the corner of the case, see the drawing and detail at right. The slot holds the tape in place for those large projects where an extra set of hands would be a big help. And it doesn't effect the tape measure's accuracy when I use it for other projects.

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Checking for Square

The most reliable way to check an assembly for square is to compare diagonal measurements. The only drawback is that making these measurments accurately with only a tape measure is often easier said than done. But Ted Raife, an editor at Woodsmith Magazine, has a terrific idea. He made a very simple set of tape holders.
Each holder consists of a square block of plywood with two pieces of hardboard attached to adjacent sides, as shown in the drawings. The hardboard laps over the edges of the block on both sides so that the holder can hook over the corner of the assembly. The adjoining ends of the hardboard are mitered to form a slot that can hold the end of the tape or act as a "cursor" for your measurement (drawing and photo).

The holders make taking the two diagonal measurements quick and easy. One minor regret is that I no longer have any excuse for an out of square assembly.

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