Sander "Holding Pen"

Recently, I was working on a project that required a lot of sanding. I quickly became annoyed at having to turn off the sander and wait for it to stop vibrating before I could set it down.
So I created a small platform, a sort of "holding pen," for my sander to sit in while it stops vibrating. It's just a piece of hardboard with a few small strips of wood glued to the top to create the "holding pen." A piece of carpet is glued down to the hardboard.
The platform just sits on top of my workbench (you can clamp it to the workbench if you want). When I want to set my sander down, I just place it in the carpeted area--I don't even have to turn it off.
The carpet absorbs the vibrations of the sander and keeps it from jumping off the bench. But there's another benefit as well. The fibers of the carpet actually help clean dust and debris off the sandpaper.

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Another Chuck Key Keeper

The July issue of Woodsmith magazine has a short tip from a reader for making a drill press chuck key keeper. I'm not generally impressed by this sort of quickie tip. BUT this one is pretty cool, and it works really well.

The key keeper is just an inexpensive white plastic cable clamp from a hardware store. One end is screwed to the drill press. The barrel of the key fits neatly in the clamp.

I promise this will be the only chuck key holder tip you'll see in this blog.

Checking for Square

Comparing the diagonals of a cabinet or a box is a great way to check it for square. But when you're working alone in the shop, measuring long diagonals accurately can be difficult. To make this job easier, make a pair of simple tape holders.
Each holder is just a scrap of ¾″ thick plywood cut to 4½″ square. Screw two pieces of ¼″ Masonite 2″ × 4½″ to two edges of the plywood to make up a corner. Then, miter the corner to form a slot to hold the tape and allow for an accurate reading.

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