If any of your woodworking tools seem to be losing their zip, make sure they aren’t suffering from surface drag instead of a dull blade. Rubbing a thin coat of paste wax or paraffin on the top surfaces of tools like tablesaws, planers or jointers, or onto the sole plates of portable tools like circular saws, sabersaws or even hand planes, can make a big difference in how they perform.
Professional woodworkers often don’t use pads on their clamps because they know how to set them up without marring the wood. But if you prefer to use them for pipe or bar clamps, you can buy some or make up your own. Scrap rubber, shoe soles, even old mud flaps, can do the trick. For pipe clamps, cut out a slightly undersize circle to fit over the pipe using a sabersaw. Next, cut out the perimeter about 1/8 in. oversize. Then make a slit in the pad bottom so it can stretch over the pipe without taking off the jaw end.
Professional woodworkers buy quality tools capable of precision adjustments. Two tools which give them a leg up are the thinckness planer and planer/joiner. If you don’t have these tools to help make sure your stock is perfectly dimensioned, try to find someone who has them and will dress up your project lumber for you. Chances are good that the wood you buy from the lumberyard will not be precisely square and true, and will need further processing if you are building a project to critical dimensions.
When setting up workbenches, the height is generally figured at about hip pocket high. But before you buy or build a workbench, consider the height of your tablesaw. If the bench is the same height as the saw it can then be used for extra support when sawing over-size materials.
If you are working on a project with a partner and using two different measuring tapes, take the time to check that both tapes are in synch. Sometimes if the hook end of an older tape happens to get bent, it may throw off the measurement as much as a sixteenth of an inch. That error can be enough to cause problems if you need to do precision work. To doublecheck two metal measuring tapes for accuracy, mark a line at a certain distance on a board, draw the tapes out and compare readings.
Have a rather large collection of adjustable wrenches, c-clamps or odd-shaped screw clamps laying around the workshop? You can store them neatly side by side just by tightening up their jaws on the edge or lip of a shelf that is out of the way. They will take up very little room and will always be easy to spot and retrieve. If the ceiling joists are accessible in your shop, they also can be used for clamp-on storage.
A picture-framing vise, or miter clamp, has screw holes on the bottom for attaching to a workbench. But for occasional framing it can get in the way of other benchwork. A solution is to mount it on a wooden base that can be readily clamped and unclamped in your bench vise. The base can be of scrap wood, and made up so that the framing vise will be about chest high for comfortable working.
If a bandsaw blade breaks, it can be brazed or welded. But check for the cause. The most common causes include: 1) misalignment or adjustment of the guides, 2) either forcing or twisting a wide blade around a curve, 3) feeding in the work too fast, 4) dull teeth or not enough tooth set, 5) excessive tightening of blade, 6) top guide set too high above work being cut, 7) using a blade with improperly finished braze or weld, and 8) continuously running the blade when it is not used for cutting.
Applying a little beeswax to the threads of wood screws can make driving them in much easier. The added lubricant can also reduce the potential for broken screws, especially if the screws you are using are of solid brass. You will find another big payback is that your cordless drill will be able to drive more screws per battery charge.
After a few uses, resin will build up on your drill and router bits and lessen their effectiveness. An easy way to clean them is to slip on a pair of rubber gloves and safety goggles then spray each bit with household oven cleaner. Scrub away the resin with a medium bristle toothbrush. Rinse and thoroughly dry each bit.
